Havoc (2005)

Director:

Barbara Kopple

Writers (WGA):

Stephen Gaghan (story) and
Jessica Kaplan (story) ...

Release Date:

16 October 2005 (Armenia)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Some lines aren't meant to be crossed...

Plot:

Two affluent suburban girls who clash with the Latino gang culture of East LA.

Plot Keywords:

Gang | Latino | Drug Dealer | Teenager | Drugs

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Anne Hathaway	...	Allison Lang
Bijou Phillips	...	Emily
Shiri Appleby	...	Amanda
Michael Biehn	...	Stuart Lang
Joseph Gordon-Levitt	...	Sam
Matt O'Leary	...	Eric
Freddy Rodríguez	...	Hector
Laura San Giacomo	...	Joanna Lang
Mike Vogel	...	Toby
Raymond Cruz	...	Chino
Alexis Dziena	...	Sasha
Channing Tatum	...	Nick
Jose L. Vasquez	...	Manuel (as Johnny Vasquez)
Luis Robledo	...	Ace
Sam Hennings	...	Mr. Rubin

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content, nudity, pervasive language, violence, drug and alcohol use - all involving teens.

Runtime:

85 min | 93 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:R21 | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-15 | USA:Unrated (unrated DVD version) | Malaysia:(Banned) | Germany:16 | Singapore:M18 (edited version) | USA:R (certificate #41248) | Australia:MA | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:13 | Italy:VM18 | Peru:18 | UK:18 | Italy:VM14 (re-rating) (2008) | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Altadena, California, USA

Company:

Media 8 Entertainment

Trivia:

Was originally supposed to star Mandy Moore as Allison and Jena Malone as Emily.

Goofs:

Continuity: While Toby raps, the sleeves of his sweater are up to his elbows. In the next shot, the sleeves are down to his wrist. And the shot after that, the sleeves are back up to his elbows.

Quotes:

Hector's Girl: [Comes out of the bedroom wearing a bedsheet] Hector.
Hector: [turns to girlfriend] Un motito
Allison: [looks at girlfriend then gives Hector a withering look]
Hector: What you thought? You thought, like, I was in love you or something, huh? Is that what it is? I don't know where you belong, but it ain't here, girl.
Allison: Fine.
[turns and walks out]

Movie Connections:

References "Primetime Live: (2002-12-04)" (2002)

Soundtrack:

Grown Folks

Havoc, yeah, right!

I admit the only reason I watched this movie was to see Anne Hathaway's contribution to the arts and to see if Richard Roeper's praise was on the mark. This was not art. What was she thinking? What was Roeper thinking? I thought maybe she chose this movie because she saw some challenge. The only challenge I believe she had was showing her breasts. Her character was shallow, and it was supposed to be. How difficult is it to play a shallow character? It couldn't have been too difficult because every one of the gang-banger-wannabes was shallow. True to life for them but so what? The parents were just as shallow. The more I watched, the more I prayed for someone to start acting. Just when I saw possibilities, I was disappointed once again.

The best characters were Hector and his gang. They were the most intriguing because once Allison made contact, it became possible that someone was going to experience a change in life and Hector was truly one who could make that change. On the other hand, Allison could also make the change. Welll, it disappointed again. It isn't that a change hadn't occurred, a change did occur, but not one that would help this movie.

The movie is weak and often gives one a reason to walk away. Someone wanted to tell a story that would show life on the wild side and probably encourage abstention to anyone tempted to indulge in a very tough and rough life. But the people who wanted to tell that story gave up, ironically, just like the shallow characters. The lesson was apparently lost with any hope to make this a quality film.

One last thing, if anyone can find a character to relate to, good luck to you. Good luck to Anne, too. Maybe now that Anne has bared her breasts, she will be able to bare her soul in a role more deserving.

2/10 is the best I can do. I guess anyone having anything to do with Havoc is destined to give so little.