Dominique swain tart8/10/2023 52: Saved By The Bell 3.21 “No Hope With Dope” (dir by Don Barnhart) | Through the Shattered Lens 51: Rage and Honor (dir by Terence Winkless) | Through the Shattered Lens 50: Maid in Manhattan (dir by Wayne Wang) | Through the Shattered Lens 47: Heavenly Bodies (dir by Lawrence Dane) | Through the Shattered Lens 46: Spiker (dir by Roger Tilton) | Through the Shattered Lens 47: The Powers of Matthew Star | Through the Shattered Lens 46: Bar Rescue | Through the Shattered Lens 44: Paranormal State | Through the Shattered Lens 43: The Resurrection of Gavin Stone (dir by Dallas Jenkins) | Through the Shattered Lens 42: Harper’s Island | Through the Shattered Lens 41: The Dead Are After Me (Raiders of the Living Dead), performed by George Edward Ott | Through the Shattered Lens 40: Parking Wars | Through the Shattered Lens 39: Ghost Whisperer | Through the Shattered Lens 38: Shipping Wars | Through the Shattered Lens 37: Death Wish (dir by Eli Roth) | Through the Shattered Lens 36: The Legend of Billie Jean (dir by Matthew Robbins) | Through the Shattered Lens 35: Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann | Through the Shattered Lens It’s the little details that make Tart a guilty pleasure. It’s the little details that allowed me to relate to this massively flawed film. Who hasn’t been embarrassed in front of a crush? Even the scene during the opening credits, in which Cat’s skirt is blown upward just as she happens to walk by the boy she likes, felt painfully familiar. I’ve had best friends like Delilah and it was impossible for me not to wince a little at the scenes where Cat and Delilah argue over Cat’s new friends because, seriously, I’ve been there. It was the little scenes that worked for me, like the scene where Cat shoplifts for the first time and runs out of the store knowing she’s done something wrong and yet still feeling exhilarated to have gotten away with something or the painfully (for this viewer, at least) accurate scenes of Cat waiting for her father to call on her birthday and then spitefully lashing out at her mother when he doesn’t. Tart is one of those films that totally misses the big picture and but manages to get so many of the small details right that I couldn’t help but relate to Dominique Swain’s character. I can’t really think of any way to turn that into a positive.Īnd yet, despite all of the film’s many flaws, I couldn’t dislike Tart. It’s easy to criticize the lack of chemistry between Brad Renfro and Dominique Swain but then again, who hasn’t had a crush on a self-destructive bad boy? Who hasn’t thought that she - and she alone - could see something hidden away inside a damaged soul that only she could understand? Who hasn’t dreamed of understanding (and saving) an enigma? Sometimes, detachment is the ultimate aphrodisiac.ĭoes Bijou Phillips play the same role that she seems to play every time she shows up on screen? Yes, she is playing another wild best friend here but then again, she plays the role well and who hasn’t had a friend who refused to conform?ĭoes Mischa Barton give a rather broad and over-the-top performance in this film? Yes, she does but then again …. Watching the film, you’re struck by just how detached Renfro is from the material. In many ways, his performance is painful to watch, both because his character is fighting the same battle with drugs that would ultimately cost Brad his life and the fact that he doesn’t appear to be all that invested in his performance. However, when you’re a teenager, everything eventually becomes a melodrama.ĭoes Brad Renfro seem to spend the entire film wishing he was somewhere else? Yes, he does. Is the film largely plotless? It is indeed but so is life.Īre all of the film’s adults presented as being one-dimensional jerks? Yes but then again, we are seeing them and their actions through the eyes of a teenage girl and, when you’re a teenager, most adults do seem to be jerks.ĭoes the film get a bit heavy-handed when it comes to dealing with casual anti-Semitism? It sure does but then again, anyone who thinks that anti-Semitism isn’t on the rise in this country obviously hasn’t been paying attention to the news.ĭoes the film’s melodramatic conclusion seem to come out of nowhere? Yes, it does. I will be the first to admit that a lot of the negative criticism of Tart is justified. There’s no telling how many dirty old men were shocked to discover that DVD cover art is often misleading.
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