If you've heard anything about "Spring Breakers" prior to reading this its for one of two reasons: 1) you've heard it features former Disney stars Vanessa Hudgens and Selena Gomez in their first "adult" roles or 2) you've seen pictures of co-star James Franco in full southern crunk style attire (corn rows and a grill). What you should know is that it features a genius performance by the afore mentioned Franco and is an art pop mix of a David Lynch film and Will Smith's music video for "Miami". In short this translates to "Spring Breakers" being a sometimes brilliant, sometimes too art housey for its own good trip of a movie-going experience. In even shorter it means that you will either love this movie or think it signals the end of western civilization.
The "story" centers around 4 BFF's in college and their obsessive desire to go to St. Petersburg Florida to experience spring break, to these girls spring break is not just a week vacation its a movement-its their Mecca. So determined are the girls to make it to spring break that once their year long savings of a combined 350 dollars comes up short they resort to robbing a local restaurant to fund their trip. Once there the customary partying, drinking, drugs and bikinis ensue until while at a house party the girls get thrown in jail until rapper turned drug/arms dealer Alien (James Franco) bails them out and recruits the girls to join his crew. This is about how in depth the story goes, the overall plotline is not the selling point. Director Harmony Korine until now had only made small quasi art/independent movies which "spring breakers" is if not for the fact that the cast has name recognition. There are segments in this film where it is just dubstep music and images of spring break partying which add nothing to the story but make the overall experience of the movie work.
Its obviously early in the year still but I would give serious consideration for James Franco to at least get a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role as "Alien" here. Both flat out hilarious and terrifying Franco's turn here is one of his best and the first where he just isn't James Franco playing a character, he is Alien. Vanessa Hudgens doesn't do a whole lot here but again in this film acting isn't top priority, she looks good in a bikini and that's what's important. Selena Gomez and rapper turned actor Gucci Mane are the two other than Franco who make the most out of their dialogue, Gomez especially now that she is out from the shadow of ex Justin Bieber shows a lot of vulnerability as the Christian girl tuned bad.
Korine, who also is married to co-star Rachel Korine borrows some camera moves from Scorsese and Fincher and maybe spends a little too much time glamorizing drugs and "thug life" and needless to say tweens should not be seeing this movie. I understand the two ex Disney stars wanting to pull an "Hathaway" and branch out to more serious material and not run the risk of being typecast or pull a complete "Lohan". "Spring Breakers" is definitely a branched out situation but well worth the trip.
