Larry Clark laughs in the face of movies like this. I can admit that I dug the first Havoc featuring Anne Hathaway and Bijou Phillips mainly for the chance to see Anne's headlights in all their glory. But the film had other merits as well, showing what happens when bored, spoiled rich kids get a real dose of the gangsta lifestyle they so readily imitate. It at least had something to say. Havoc 2: Normal Adolescent Behavior on the other hand, is a trite shallow mess. What's worse, the hotness quotient has been seriously dialed back.
Amber Tamblyn takes the lead role this time. She's no Hathaway, let's put it that way. But she's certainly worth looking at. This Havoc mini-franchise seems to be establishing itself as a venue for goodie-two-shoes bubblegum clean actresses to dirty themselves up a bit. Tamblyn, formerly of Joan of Arcadia, tosses herself into the role of Wendy. Wendy and her friends make up a club. They only hang with each other, nobody else. They also openly sleep with each other. The three boy, three girl club have get togethers on the weekends where they watch TV, play games, and eventually pair off to have sex. But they don't do drugs or drink or cheat on each other. It's totally clean, and relatively safe since it's kept within the group. But when Wendy falls for the new boy in her neighborhood, she's forced to choose between the safety of her club and the harsh realities of an actual relationship.
It's a nice idea, and one ripe for exploration. There's a clear line in the sand drawn between the club's members and the "outsiders". The outsider parties look like frat house gang bang orgies, with random hook-ups, hard drugs and alcohol. Reminds me of my high school years. Only minus the hard drugs.
Speaking of drugs, I could've used some to help me get through this steaming bore. I hate movies like this that try so hard to be "real" that every body's performance comes off as overly mannered and gestured. Tamblyn and co-star Kelli Garner(one of my faves) try too hard to make the viewer believe they are lifelong best friends. It comes off as forced and phony. This movie hinges on the relationship between Wendy and Sean, being as it threatens her way of life, so it has to be something special. We never really see why it should matter to either of them. And what's worse, when a conflict resolution is finally needed, they throw easily toss out the idea that this club maybe wasn't so loyal for all these years afterall. Pretty convenient. This thing was just a mess, and for the life of me I don't know what it was trying to say. Is it saying that true, perfect love isn't possible? Or that it's not possible without discarding everybody else close to you? I don't know. Don't care.
But I do know that this film made me think of Larry Clark. Larry Clark is the guy who made some great films about teens similar to this: Kids, Bully, Another Day in Paradise. He also made arguably two of the worst movies of all time in Teenage Caveman and Ken Park, but I digress. If he had made this movie, I can guarantee it would've been better. It would've been more real, without all the pretend importance heaped upon it like this film has. Maybe if they make a Havoc 3 they'll let him direct it. Because not even the site of Amber Tamblyn and Kelli Garner in minimal clothing can save this piece of crap.
4/10
Next on the queue: 1972's The Getaway. Steve McQueen, baby!!
