Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Cherry Crush: A movie about teenagers who don't behave like normal teenagers. 

One thing I hate is when movies that are supposed to be about teenagers make their characters appear and act so much older.  It makes their roles completely unrealistic.  Such is definitely the case with Cherry Crush. 

The main character, Jordan, is played by Jonathan Tucker, who was 25 at the time the movie was released.  But Jordan is supposed to be in high school.  His friend, Desiree, was played by Julie Gonzalo, 26 at the time.  As a result of these miscasts, I had trouble relating to these "kids".  Only Jordan's new girlfriend, Shay, was played by an age-appropriate Nikki Reed.

That minor beef aside, I could handle older-looking "teens" if they acted like teens, but in this case they most certainly do not.  At least no teens that I know.

Jordan has it all.  He's smart, hard-working, and growing up in a loving, supportive, wealthy family.  Sure, perhaps his father is a bit pre-occupied with his career and self-image, rather than just being a Dad.  But, still, Jordan really has nothing to complain about.  So why does he constantly reach for something beyond the pale?  Like a need to post erotic photos on the web?  Such behavior gets him kicked out of a prestigious private school, but he's handed a second chance - to just be a normal kid, in public school.

Instead, though, he finds himself drawn to a girl who spells nothing but trouble from the first minute he meets her.  Which corresponds to the first lie she tells him.  And the lies just keep piling on.  Still, Jordan follows her around like a puppy, even as she drags him into her ultimate agenda.  One which Jordan won't see coming, until it's too late, and he's in way too far to ever get back out.

A big part of the problem with this movie was my constant questioning, exactly where are the parents?  The teachers?  The positive role models?  Anybody who can see what's going on and maybe step in before disaster strikes.  Because for all their love and support, Jordan's parents sure leave him alone an awful lot of the time.  And what's a teenager going to do, when he's unsupervised, and in love with a troubled girl?  Get into trouble.

Another problem was with the near-constant narration.  Jordan gives us a play-by-play of everything going on, and tries to get real deep about it.  But I, for one, understood the movie just fine, without having to hear Jordan's explanations.  And his attempts to be "deep" just sounded like lame excuse-making to me.  He knows right from wrong.  He's making his own choices with his eyes wide open.  Don't give me lame excuses.

The only character I actually believed in this movie was Shay.  She's written in such a way that you can at least understand what drives her.  That's important in a movie like this.  Not to excuse her behavior, but at least she has believable motives.  Nikki Reed is beautiful, and plays this role to perfection, far surpassing the performances of her holder costars.

Overall, this movie is not terrible.  It presents an interesting story with a couple of twists tossed in.  But with unrealistic characters, and annoying narration throughout, you can easily skip it. 



Happy to be Lean-n-Mean!

Recommended: No

Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age