A film
review by James Berardinelli, for reelviews.net.
Note to readers: this review
contains spoilers. Those who wish to see Here
on Earth without having
previous knowledge of certain plot elements would do well to bail out now and
return after they have seen the film.
They say that anything can happen in the movies, and Here on Earth gives several examples of it. A
self-centered jock willingly gives his lifelong love to his rival. A girl dying
of cancer suffers no pain or distress as the disease ravages her body. And,
most incredibly of all, two teenagers show evidence of having memorized poetry.
Thus does Here on Earth, a
tearjerker for teens, strain our suspension of disbelief.
Credibility issues aside, the movie is
not well written. Director Mark
Piznarski (who cut his teeth on such TV shows as Relativity and NYPD Blue)
and screenwriter Michael Seitzman,
both apparently having recently graduated from Melodrama 101, apply all the clichés
they can uncover. You know things have entered the realm of the overly-familiar
when you can predict whole segments of dialogue - that is, when those lines
aren't howlingly laughable. The story centers on an uninspired love affair,
then tries to develop dramatic power by employing traditional techniques of
audience manipulation. In a way, I envy people who fall for this sort of thing,
because at least they'll get something out of the movie, which is more than I
can say for myself.
The early portions of Here on Earth are as drenched in testosterone as the
later parts are in estrogen. Kelley Morse (Chris
Klein) is a stuck-up senior at Rallston Academy, an exclusive boys' prep
school set just outside of Hicksville, New York. One evening, Kelley and his
buddies take a joyride into town, where they get into it with one of the
locals, Jasper Arnold (Josh Hartnett),
and his friends. An out-of-control car race ensues, ending with a crash and a
local diner going up in flames. Kelley and Jasper are arrested and the judge
sentences them to probation as long as they work for free with the employed
crew to rebuild the diner, which is owned by the family of Jasper's girlfriend,
Samantha (Leelee Sobieski). But when
Sam spies Kelley without his shirt on, all thoughts of Jasper slip from her
mind. Soon, the two of them are running through the woods together, staring
vacantly at beautiful nature-scapes, and reciting Robert Frost (my favorite
poet, incidentally) to each other. But tragedy looms ahead, as Samantha becomes
stricken with one of those mysterious cancers that only victimize attractive
women in movies.
Since the characters are not written
with any degree of depth or feeling, it's up to the actors to bring them to
life. In that regard, Leelee Sobieski, a capable young actress who will almost
certainly be cast as Helen Hunt's daughter in some upcoming film, is
successful. Sobieski, who has appeared in A
Soldier's Daughter Never Cries, Deep Impact, and Eyes Wide Shut on the big screen and as the title
character in the made-for-TV production, Joan
of Arc, is a genuine talent, and she does impressive things with this
underwritten part. Unfortunately, her co-stars aren't up to the challenge. Josh
Hartnett (H20) is flat and Chris Klein (American Pie) fails to
convince us that his character is undergoing the uncaring snob-to-perfect guy
transformation. His robotic performance is fine early in the film, but it
doesn't get the job done later. The supporting cast includes Annette O'Toole, Michael Rooker (not playing a psycho for a change), and
Canadian actor Bruce Greenwood.
Greenwood gets to play a scene where he weeps uncontrollably over his
daughter's fate. It's one of the movie's few moving moments, but this is
probably because Greenwood has had practice. This is the third film in which he
has portrayed a bereft parent (the other two being Atom Egoyan's masterpieces, Exotica and The
Sweet Hereafter).
Ultimately, Here
on Earth doesn't serve a
purpose beyond giving melodramatically susceptible girls in the audience a
chance to cry. Perhaps the filmmakers believe that, since it's aimed at a relatively
young crowd (witness the soft PG-13
rating), they don't have to worry overmuch about things like a well-crafted
story. And it doesn't matter if the males can act; they just have to look good
with their shirts off. (Sobieski, by the way, keeps hers on, proving beyond a
shadow of a doubt that this movie is not at all male-oriented. Although it is
perhaps worth mentioning that Kelley nicknames her breasts New York and New Jersey.)
It seems probable that when the final box office tallies come in, Here on Earth will be in a low orbit.
Labels: drama, romance, teenager, tragedy
