An exclusive Beverly Hills private school serves as a microcosm of our screwed-up society in “Pretty Persuasion,” an off-putting dank comedy bloated with smug, simplistic observations about racism, international strife, celeb worship, the media and sex. In this, his motion picture directorial debut, music video hotshot Marcos Siega wastes the considerable talents of rising starlet Evan Rachel Wood (“Thirteen”) on meandering material about outwardly pretty popular girls with ugly souls who exist in a spiritual dead zone. Siega’s film is technically uninspiring and populated with characters that are mostly devoid of the qualities that make us human (and movies watchable). He seems to be making up his mission statement as he goes along, leaving us to wonder whether he intended to rip off “Heathers” or “Wag the Dog.” That doesn’t work, so Siega falls back on shock for shock’s sake, firing away, and missing, at a number of sacred cows.
Wood’s Kimberly Joyce is a 15-year-old vamp who accuses a leering teacher (Ron Livington) of sexual assault guided by the improbable notion that the resultant attention will launch her acting career. A media circus ensues led by Jane Krakowski’s hard-charging lesbian television reporter, along with a trial that — like every other set piece in this film — plays woefully over the top. Kimberly apparently hasn’t met the guy or gal she won’t go down on to get what she’s after, and here she’s offered up as little more than a Machiavellian sex fiend. Siega leaves very little to the imagination, and we’re subjected to several “climactic” scenes in which Kimberly — her mission accomplished — slides into frame and practically winks at the camera while wiping a sleeve across her lips. This is disturbing enough given the target audience (the film’s trailer is running repeatedly on MTV), but it’s downright shameful once you consider the star was hardly old enough to drive when the film was shot.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 12, 2005. Read the original PDF.