Dirty Girl (2011)

People are voting emotionally.

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

What an absolute gem this film is... with a title like that I was prepared for another teenage-bad-decisions movie but in fact, this was soo much more. The film shows how bad decisions made by parents affects children. Parenting is really no-joke and the fact that you need to support your offspring through thick and thin is what it is all about.Juno Temple is excellent as the lead character and equally impressive is Jeremy Dozier as "Clarke". The interaction as Joan, the sack of flour (given as a class assignment to the lead characters) is simply heart stirring. I liked it soo much that I contributed the missing dialogue to the "Quotes" section on IMDB. This movie is far better than the current "Lady Bird" film which Hollywood is going ga-ga over! It's unfortunate that such a brilliant movie did not get the credit it deserved. Please do not miss this gem of a flick!

Imagine if Alison Lohman had played the Dede Truitt part in "The Opposite of Sex" (1998) and subtly inserted a bit of Luna Lovegood into the character, and you will have a pretty good idea of the look and feel of "Dirty Girl" (2010). Full of wisdom disguised as black comedy.The dialogue is not on quite the level of "The Opposite of Sex", especially the voice-over narration; but what is? Christina Ricci had so much to work with in that film that Roger Ebert commented specifically about the narration provided by her character: "I hate people who talk during movies, but if she were sitting behind me in the theater, saying all of this stuff, I'd want her to keep right on talking".Juno Temple (playing "Dirty Girl's" title character Danielle Edmondston) does not have as much to work with and her narration is much more conventional. And since her narration does not contradict the events taking place on the screen, any depth brought to her character must come from Temple's and Writer/Director Abe Sylvia's acting for the camera abilities. They are up to the task and Temple non-verbally sells viewers a character who is a lot more that she first appears to be. Sylvia's storytelling style juxtapositions crude and cute, which dooms the film commercially as there is a limited audience for a film structured around such contrasting elements.The main suspension of disbelief element is Danielle having a classic Mustang convertible at her personal disposal. This was a moronic choice by Sylvia as there is not time to insert a credible explanation; the car is not just a needless distraction but is also a poor fit for the character whose development would have been better served by something funky like a beat up Volkswagen.Bottom line this is Temple's movie, although she is ably assisted by Jeremy Dozier and Mary Steenburgen (as Danielle's buddy Clarke and his mother). The other characters are the deliberate stereotypes necessary for economically keeping the focus on Clarke and Danielle.Temple is really starting to take off, she is getting a lot of work and is stepping into the roles that Lohman would be doing if she were ten years younger. And Temple should have additional opportunities as she has more range than Lohman; with a nice off-kilter airhead quality when required. You could see that she was something special back in 2008 when her supporting role in "Wild Child" literally stole the movie. And she has finally overcome the first name confusion with a certain Ellen Page character.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

In essence 'Dirty Girl' is no more than a mediocre American family comedy, as are turned out by the dozens. Things go badly wrong and end up well, with all participants becoming a little wiser in the process. And, of course, its story increasingly covered up by a pretty strong sentimental touch.However, 'Dirty Girl' distinguishes itself by female lead Juno Temple. She is young, blond and attractive, yes, but there's more to that: Temple gets through by her strong and outspoken film-personality. She manages to leave a strong print of it on this film, even stronger than she did in her earlier 'Kaboom'. So it's quite safe to say that 'Dirty Girl' is a Juno Temple-film. Temple's performance is even more impressive, for in this film she doesn't need to go naked to make her point.

Unsure why this film is scoring so low on IMDb, from my view point this flick made me smile, smile, smile. Its schmultzy & twee, yes...normally this style of flick I would not watch but this flick is super ace, a great film which I can only recommend.Dozier is simply captivatating! The casting is sumptuous as is the entire film.The story lacks a little but for-going this minor, and it is a monior complaint (wouldnt normally be in a film) this is a sub-RADAR, Hairspray, Shop of Horros, etc. Watch & enjoy my IMDb friends, watch and enjoy it for what it is mean to be!