the fresh films reviews

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Mad City (1995)

Director:
Antonia Bird

COUNTRY
USA

Genre
Drama/Romance

NORWEGIAN TITLE
Mad Love

RUNNING TIME
96 minutes

Producer:
David Manson
Screenwriter:
Paula Milne


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
Matt Leland Chris O’Donnell
Casey Roberts Drew Barrymore ½
Eric Matthew Lillard -
Duncan Richard Chaim -
Coach Robert Nadir -
Margaret Roberts Joan Allen -
Adam Leland T. J. Lowther ½
Clifford Leland Kevin Dunn -
Salesman Liev Schreiber -

 

Review

The basis is quite good, but this film isn't able to live up to its own aspirations. It's a Gen X story of young love against all odds – against the norms and conventions that are forced upon two free, individualistic teenagers (Chris O'Donnell and Drew Barrymore). We're meant to root for them because they're hip and rebel against the authorities, accompanied by lots of cool music, but the film forgets to explain to us what makes their rebellion justified and relevant, except that they are young and beautiful. The director Antonia Bird fares fairly well as long as the focus is on the love story itself, but the parts of the film that are supposed to give it an edge don't hold up. Mad Love is not exactly a new The Graduate.

Copyright © 18.06.1996 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang
(English version: © 12.04.2021 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang)