Lovewrecked
It's sort of surprising
that Lovewrecked is just now slipping into video stores without a
wide theatrical release after about two years of studio purgatory. It
has seen some cursory signs of life it was apparently released to
theaters in Russia in 2006 and did finally get its US debut on ABC
Family Channel.
Lovewrecked probably
did not deserve this fate. Not that it's a great film or even a good
one it's not. But it was cute enough fare for the tween-age
demographic that it was obviously courting.
Star Amanda Bynes is not
quite as big as Lindsay or Hilary, but she's probably even more likable than
those two rivals and definitely has a substantial following. The movie
also co-stars some attractive, well-known young actors Chris Carmack of
The OC, Jamie-Lynn Sigler of The Sopranos and Jonathan Bennett
of Mean Girls. There is beautiful tropical scenery and lots of
bikinis and buff guys. There is also a whole island full of
interesting D-level celebrities like Kathy Griffin, Alfonso Ribiero (The
Fresh Prince of Bel Air), Lance Bass (N'SYNC) and Fred Willard.
Bynes plays Jenny, a
beautiful teen who is madly in love with a teen pop star (Carmack). As
is required in these films, she has a cute boy who is her best friend
(Bennett) but is really afraid to tell her that he is in love with her.
Of course, she has never thought of him in that way as far as she's
concerned, he's just her buddy. They get a job working at a Caribbean resort where the singer shows up.
Jenny's high school enemy Alexis (Sigler) also happens to be working there
and the two girls vie for the hunky heartthrob's attention while the best
friend mopes.
So far, so predictable.
There is a bit of a plot stretch when Jenny and the singer get shipwrecked on a
strange beach. He has broken his foot, so Jenny must care for him
and at the same time, get to know him and win him over. Soon enough
Jenny realizes that they are just a short walk from the resort they left,
but she doesn't tell him so that she can monopolize his time. Soon
Alexis finds out and they both fight over the guy while hiding from him the
fact that they are close to civilization.
It seems a little weird
that Jenny would go that far, honestly. Yes, it's true he's rich, a
star and cute, but she quickly realizes that he's kind of shallow and
stupid. She seems disappointed by that, but not enough to give up on
him.
Director Randal Kleiser
a long way from his heyday as the wunderkind director of Grease at
least has some shipwreck experience to draw on. Twenty-five years
earlier he was at the helm of arguably the definitive desert island film,
The Blue Lagoon starring Brooke Shields, so he knows his way around
sand, fauna and fish. He's not quite so up-to-snuff on directing
actors, slapstick and comic pulse.
Bynes is much better than
the material. Most of the time that the movie seems to be losing the
audience, she is able to get things back on track by sheer force of
personality. Lovewrecked is not a movie that will probably
become a favorite for most people, but your 11-year old daughter will most
likely
love it. (3/07)
Jay
S. Jacobs
Copyright ©2007
PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved.
Posted: March 12, 2007.
