Hard Candy

March 10, 2007

Rated: R Runtime: 103 min Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Hard Candy has the reputation of being an edgy movie due to it’s subject matter, but I didn’t really see that. It’s a good tense thriller that happens to revolve around pedophilia, but it’s not like we see any sexual situations with a minor. The “edgy” part is nothing but marketing, but this is an excellent movie in any case.

Hard Candy Hayley is a 14-yr old girl who’s flirting with a 30-something guy on the Internet. He’s a photographer who happens to specialize in shooting young models, and she’s just learning about how to tease a guy… some back and forth chats, and next thing you know they’re meeting for coffee. After some conversation she convinces him (he didn’t need much) to take her back to his place so she can listen to a recording he has. He brings her some water to drink, she playfully wants something more interesting and proceeds to make some screwdrivers.. they drink.. she starts to pose for some pictures, and he passes out.

Now the story gets interesting. Seems that Hayley isn’t such a sweet little girl after all, she’s a psycho bitch that wants to teach a pedophile a lesson, a serious lesson. What’s her motive? She’s got reasons, but you’d be better off learning this from the movie instead of a review. I’m also not going to talk about what she has in mind for our child loving friend… *shudder*.

What makes this such a good movie is the acting, when Hayley explains herself to Jeff (the horn dog) it comes off like a young female Hannibal just telling it like it is. Likewise, Jeff’s reactions to what he’s being told and what’s happening to him.. *shudder*… we feel his anguish, no doubt about that. Everyone else? Well, there really isn’t anyone else, just a few bit players now and then. Not a complaint, the two stars are just that.. stars.

So with all the praise why didn’t I give it 5 stars? I’m not quite sure actually, but maybe it’s because it’s the type of movie you’ll want all of your friends to see but you won’tparticularly want to sit down and watch it with them. Think of it like The Sixth Sense, it was great the first time and you said YES when someone asked if you liked it, but you didn’t want to jump in the car and head back to the theater to sit while they learned what it’s about.

Be my friend and watch this movie, but you’re gonna watch it alone.

Posted by John | Filed Under 4 Stars, DVD, Drama, Ellen Page, Gilbert John, Jennifer Holmes, Patrick Wilson, R, Sandra Oh, Thriller