http://www.e.bell.ca/filmfest/2005/films_description.asp?pageID=sched&id=276
Based on Vivienne Laxdal's witty play, John Hazlett's These Girls updates sex farce for the twenty-first century. Randy young heirs have been replaced by bored, sexually avaricious teenaged girls determined to spend their post-graduation summer on something more interesting than saving for college. And it's clear from the outset that they're a lot sharper than their male quarry. (Think Britney Spears meets Restoration Comedy.)
Set in small-town New Brunswick, the film focuses on Keira (Caroline Dhavernas) and her two lifelong pals: ultra-conventional, pink-obsessed Glory (Amanda Walsh) and Seventh Day Adventist Lisa (Holly Lewis). With the exception of Lisa (who's destined for a religious college), their futures are pretty much up in the air. Keira in particular has no idea what she wants to do but is especially irritated by her father constantly pestering her about school.
Her ennui isn't helped by the fact that boys her age are proud to be going nowhere fast. An alternative presents itself in hunky local tough-guy Keith Clark (David Boreanaz, from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel"). When they learn that Keith runs a grow-op (Canada's fastest growing and most innovative industry), Keira and Lisa sneak into his backyard to steal some pot, only to find babysitter Glory and Keith (who's slightly older and quite married) together in bed. Envious, both Keira and Lisa are soon determined to sleep with Keith, and all three blackmail him into sex. The highly comic conflict hinges on the increasingly exhausted Keith's attempts to defend his honour from their rapacious teenaged desires.
The film lamthingys our conflicted, sexist assumptions about innocence, desire and responsibility. Out for themselves, these girls know they can get away with a lot - but they're also terrified of getting caught, especially by their parents. Still, they aren't overly concerned with ethics: despite the whole blackmail thing, they don't exactly mind getting paid for babysitting. Hazlett portrays a world operating on appearances, but where few actually place faith in how things look. It's a far cry from the clichéd version of a quaint small town - and somehow it feels strangely familiar.
- Steve Gravestock
Premieres Sept 10 in Toronto.
