By Cynthia W. Gentry, © 2000 by Cynthia W. Gentry, published on Dailygossip.com, October 2000.
Now, God knows that I’ve been known to shake a fairly well-toned leg at San Francisco dance parties into the wee hours of the morning, way past the time when I should be getting my beauty sleep. But the way I look at it, there’s nothing like being surrounded by sweaty nude male torsos to keep one young and fabulous, even those none of those torsos are interested in moi, if you get my drift.
So I’d love to go to a rave, but I’m afraid that I’d be mistaken as a chaperone. And after seeing writer-director Ron Krauss’ new film, “Rave,” I’m convinced that one of these events would simply cross CynthiaG’s Level of Inconvenience, which drops in exact proportion to my chronological age.
But that’s not to say you shouldn’t see this film, should it gets the distribution it deserves. Kids, remember when I predicted in this very column that Hilary Swank would win the Best Actress Oscar for “Boys Don’t Cry”? Well, I’ve got another prediction for you: Aimee Graham. If she can pick the right projects and stay off the ingénue path, the sister of It-girl Heather Graham won’t have to worry about being eclipsed by Big Sister’s shadow. This gal can act. Mark my words.
Aimee isn’t the only one who shows promise. Writer-director Ron Krauss has put a high-energy, appealing young ensemble cast for “Rave,” which I saw recently at the Austin Film Festival. Intercutting mock-interviews with action, “Rave” traces the stories of several L.A. kids (oh, how it hurts to call them “kids”) over the course of a day and a night that culminate in what must be the world’s most disastrous rave.
“Rave” crackles with energy and a truly fabulous soundtrack. (The opening credits were the most inventive I’ve seen in a while.) Other standouts in the cast include Nicholle Tom (who’s had parts in “The Nanny” and “Beverly Hills, 90210”) as my favorite character, Sadie. Douglas Spain from “Star Maps” does a charismatic turn as Daffy, a young Latino torn between his family, his girlfriend and his desire to experience life. Scott Torrence—whose sole screen credit was on an episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”—is amazing as Amanda, a flamboyantly gay teenager.
“Rave” is probably as good as a low-budget film could be. Ironically, the scenes with the older adult actors are the most stilted in pacing and acting; when the younger actors are with each other, they light up the screen. The rave scenes capture the excitement of these events, and, later on a less-positive note, the panic of a riot. (Riots hit my Level of Inconvience rather quickly, which is why I no longer attend Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sales.)
Ravers might have some problems with this film. In fact, at the screening I attended, one young man expressed his distress during the Q&A with Krauss that raves were depicted in such a negative light. I haven’t seen “Groove,” which I understand was a generally positive view of the San Francisco rave seen, but “Rave,” must be its exact opposite, tackling issues of racial tension, dysfunctional families, drug use, and unwanted pregnancy, lending the film at times a “Movie of the Week” quality.
I would have preferred fewer story lines, perhaps, and certainly less predictable ones. When a favorite character expresses early a fear of getting shot, you know that’s exactly what’s going to happen. (This must be a corollary to the Hollywood law that any movie cop who’s two weeks away from retirement is going to be the bad guy’s next victim.) And although the depiction of drug use was certainly harrowing, does every character who takes drugs have to end up either beat up or in the ER? At least smoking was kept to a minimum. In another film I saw at the festival, characters smoked so many cigarettes that I thought the filmmakers had received funding from Philip Morris. (I’ll save my anti-smoking-in-the-movies-anywhere-else-on-earth diatribe for a “You Bitch” column.)
I quibble somewhat. Krauss interviewed numerous teenagers and ravers for this movie, and their concerns, fears and hopes ring through the actors’ performances. What Krauss and his co-writers Kristine A. Tata and Mario Savala capture so movingly is the love that these kids have for each other and the families they create when their own families let them down. In the end, that’s what moved me about “Rave”—even more than the music.