I was at looking at Scout Taylor Compton's movies and I saw the movie "Smile Pretty" and I thought that I should go and rent it. I rented it and I will say that Scout did a really good job in it. The movie was a little to straightforward in a way where they didn't give any innuendos and it kind of made it just an OUT THERE movie. It is a very inappropriate movie for anyone under 18, a lot of sexual content and language, a little bit of violence and a child in adult situations. It was most likely one of Scout Taylor Compton's best work so far.It could have been a little better though...but over all it was good. I give it 5 out of 10 stars!
9 Reviews
good but way too earnest, and dare I say unsensational, to be very interesting
dbborroughs14 August 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Young girl comes from Romania and gets mixed up with a pornographer and some other questionable people. Eventually turns her life around and helps the cops bust the creeps. Good and far from exploitive story, based on true events of the abuse one girl gets at the hand of the men in her life and how she eventually takes steps to make it stop and to get stronger.I really don't know what else to say beyond that. The film is so incredibly earnest that it ends up being utterly bland. Yes you feel for the girl and yes this is a good expose of what happens abut a the same time you really don't care. Its not for the lack of exploitive elements its just that its more like an After School Special of the sort they used to run on TV, but more mature and done for our time. Its a not a bad film but at the same time you'll wonder why you're watching it.
And then suddenly it was six months later and it was over.
sfride672 September 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I recently rented this on DVD because the store labeled it as a 'hot new release.' Well, I had never heard of it but I was willing to give it a go. And it was alright and seemed believable and I was following along and wondering what was going to happen when, suddenly, it just kinda ended 'six months later.' Maybe I missed something but it just seemed to fall off a cliff there at the end. And I really didn't understand her tossing a snide remark at the investigator at the end--something about how investigators, too, were attracted to images of under-age girls. A simple 'thanks' or something like that would have been more appropriate, it seems to me.
Pretty brave if nothing else
lazarillo23 October 2012
This is kind of an interesting modern-day film about child sexual abuse that manages to make a couple rather "politically incorrect" points that most films would have avoided in this play-it-safe cinematic age. The first is the basic truism that many sexual predators themselves were sexually abused as children. The character "Matt" here falls into this category--he is a disturbing, but not entirely unsympathetic character. The second is that abuse victims, especially teenage abuse victims, are not always sympathetic and innocent, and may at times even be complicit in their own abuse. The character "Nasty" certainly falls into this category. She has been abused and exploited by her adopted father, but in her relationship with "Matt" it is SHE who is the sexual aggressor (just like "Lolita" in the famous Nabokov novel). Not that this movies excuses child sexual abuse in any way, but it adds a few shades of gray that serve to make it a little more realistic than your usual film on this type of subject.
Perhaps, the most interesting point though is also the one that is the most mishandled--the idea that the most ardent moral crusaders out there, the ones who want to hang, castrate, and burn all the dirty pedophiles, might perhaps be over-compensating for their OWN repressed attraction to adolescents. They're not unlike the repressed people who can't deal with their own homosexuality and react by being virulently homophobic (I'm NOT trying to equate pedophilia and and homosexuality, but there is a kind of a "pedophile-phobia" in America these days where some people lack any kind of rationality on the subject and are just overly hate-filled and paranoid). A similar point was made--much better--in the Kevin Bacon film "The Woodsman".
Of course, one doesn't exactly have to be a pedophile to be attracted to 19-year-old Scout-Taylor Compton here, and that's kind of a problem with this movie. Compton does do a very good acting job, but she doesn't look much like a fourteen-year-old, which is especially apparent in one awkward scene where she accuses an older male character of being attracted to her himself--well, obviously! This would have been more believable with a younger-looking actress (albeit it probably would have been a lot harder to watch too), but while it is not entirely successful as movie, it does manage to provide a lot of food for thought on its disturbing subject matter. It'a pretty brave film if nothing else.
Perhaps, the most interesting point though is also the one that is the most mishandled--the idea that the most ardent moral crusaders out there, the ones who want to hang, castrate, and burn all the dirty pedophiles, might perhaps be over-compensating for their OWN repressed attraction to adolescents. They're not unlike the repressed people who can't deal with their own homosexuality and react by being virulently homophobic (I'm NOT trying to equate pedophilia and and homosexuality, but there is a kind of a "pedophile-phobia" in America these days where some people lack any kind of rationality on the subject and are just overly hate-filled and paranoid). A similar point was made--much better--in the Kevin Bacon film "The Woodsman".
Of course, one doesn't exactly have to be a pedophile to be attracted to 19-year-old Scout-Taylor Compton here, and that's kind of a problem with this movie. Compton does do a very good acting job, but she doesn't look much like a fourteen-year-old, which is especially apparent in one awkward scene where she accuses an older male character of being attracted to her himself--well, obviously! This would have been more believable with a younger-looking actress (albeit it probably would have been a lot harder to watch too), but while it is not entirely successful as movie, it does manage to provide a lot of food for thought on its disturbing subject matter. It'a pretty brave film if nothing else.
I hour and 2 minutes in is all I could endure - it was that bad!
justchillz2 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
I felt like I was watching a really soft porn movie (without sex) because the acting was that unbelievable. When the girl was talking about how she became good at giving oral and sex because of Peter (her adoptive father), I laughed because she didn't sound serious at all.
When the hebephile (a person who is primarily attracted to adolescents, or children who have at least started puberty and have signs of adult sexual maturation) talks about being attracted to teenagers, he also didn't sound serious. Both leads made it obvious that they were not comfortable with their scripts, so listening to them talk made the movie incredibly boring. It's like listening to porn actresses and actors trying to act dirty and perverted. The movie didn't show any of the abuse, apart from Peter taking photos, so you had to picture what happened to the main character by listening to what she said. Since there was no emotion in her voice when she was discussing her life, what could of been a good movie, became incredibly boring and unbelievable. It was like she was reading the script as she was talking about being sexually abused.
She had no facial expression when she discussed being abused. Even her small talk didn't sound believable. When she talked to Peter, she sounded so fake. The actors were not good picks for this type of movie. They didn't have the ability to show the kind of emotions needed for this type of movie to work. Actors have to be able to sympathize and have the ability to put themselves in the victim's shoes, experience their emotions as if they were them. You need good, believable actors for such incredibly difficult performances. They guy didn't sound like a hebephile, even though he said he was. He had no emotion when he was talking about being attracted to teenage girls.
Instead of showing the girl in the bathroom giving some high school teenager oral, they could have done a similar scene with Peter. Listening to her talk about the abuse, with zero emotion, was like having my friend read the script to me. It also sounded like she was mocking the script, trying not to laugh, about how absurd it sounded. IT was not absurd, she just wasn't able to put herself in the victim's shoes. It didn't sound believable and made me laugh because even when the actors spoke about being messed up, they made it sound as though they were making it up.
If you want to avoid showing any scenes that suggest sexual abuse, you need actors that can play the part when they discuss what happened to them. They need to be able to talk about it with emotion, not like spoiled teenagers pretending to be perverts and abuse victims.
Even when the girl was physically abused by Peter, it didn't look real. She was picked up and locked in a closet. Whoever directed this film needs to watch a couple lifetime movies to see what physical/sexual abuse of a child looks like. Such a difficult story line could have produced so much emotion in viewers, but it did not. I felt nothing, but extreme boredom. The girl leaves Peter and runs away with the hebophile. The hebophile tells her to go sleep with other men, so she has a one night stand. Once a 14-year old lesbian friend of the girl came to their house, and the pervert began asking her how she knew she was a lesbian, that was it, I was done. I could not continue watching this disaster of a film!
When the hebephile (a person who is primarily attracted to adolescents, or children who have at least started puberty and have signs of adult sexual maturation) talks about being attracted to teenagers, he also didn't sound serious. Both leads made it obvious that they were not comfortable with their scripts, so listening to them talk made the movie incredibly boring. It's like listening to porn actresses and actors trying to act dirty and perverted. The movie didn't show any of the abuse, apart from Peter taking photos, so you had to picture what happened to the main character by listening to what she said. Since there was no emotion in her voice when she was discussing her life, what could of been a good movie, became incredibly boring and unbelievable. It was like she was reading the script as she was talking about being sexually abused.
She had no facial expression when she discussed being abused. Even her small talk didn't sound believable. When she talked to Peter, she sounded so fake. The actors were not good picks for this type of movie. They didn't have the ability to show the kind of emotions needed for this type of movie to work. Actors have to be able to sympathize and have the ability to put themselves in the victim's shoes, experience their emotions as if they were them. You need good, believable actors for such incredibly difficult performances. They guy didn't sound like a hebephile, even though he said he was. He had no emotion when he was talking about being attracted to teenage girls.
Instead of showing the girl in the bathroom giving some high school teenager oral, they could have done a similar scene with Peter. Listening to her talk about the abuse, with zero emotion, was like having my friend read the script to me. It also sounded like she was mocking the script, trying not to laugh, about how absurd it sounded. IT was not absurd, she just wasn't able to put herself in the victim's shoes. It didn't sound believable and made me laugh because even when the actors spoke about being messed up, they made it sound as though they were making it up.
If you want to avoid showing any scenes that suggest sexual abuse, you need actors that can play the part when they discuss what happened to them. They need to be able to talk about it with emotion, not like spoiled teenagers pretending to be perverts and abuse victims.
Even when the girl was physically abused by Peter, it didn't look real. She was picked up and locked in a closet. Whoever directed this film needs to watch a couple lifetime movies to see what physical/sexual abuse of a child looks like. Such a difficult story line could have produced so much emotion in viewers, but it did not. I felt nothing, but extreme boredom. The girl leaves Peter and runs away with the hebophile. The hebophile tells her to go sleep with other men, so she has a one night stand. Once a 14-year old lesbian friend of the girl came to their house, and the pervert began asking her how she knew she was a lesbian, that was it, I was done. I could not continue watching this disaster of a film!
This movie.. is ridiculous.
hellotarsha10 February 2010
Warning: Spoilers
***May contain spoilers*** Honestly, it's one of the worst movies I've ever seen. The only person that did OK acting was Scout, and her acting really wasn't that great. The dad and Matt's acting were just terrible. I rented this movie with my friend and the entire movie we kept going "wtf is going on?" because there was no rhyme or reason to anything that happened. And every time a scene would end, it was just fade to black. It was irritating! It seemed like they had... maybe $1000 dollars to make the entire movie. I just hated it. Like... she was adopted from Romania? That's sooooo stupid and it doesn't even make sense. And I just hated Matt's entire part. He was whiny and ugh. Just... Don't watch it.
this movie just makes me mad
italiandego814 February 2010
Warning: Spoilers
this movie just makes me mad. that scout Taylor-Compton a young girl like her. would put her place in this sort of movie. like i figured she was one of those good girls. but like i just hate on how she would want to do this movie. i would of liked it if it was a girl who i know was a bad girl. i wished she would of never of done this movie cause now my respect to her has dropped a little for her. cause when i saw her in both Halloween movies. she was the good girl unlike her friends who had sex she was the one to not have sex. but then when i saw this movie and what she was doing with these dudes was so observed. like i would of had more respect for her if she would of never did this movie. but she is still one of my favorite actress.
An amazing movie for what it is, Scout outshines even the biggest stars today
TeamStrode21 September 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Smile Pretty. Now, apparently Scout's character is supposed to be a victim and to an extent she is. But she is very ala Evie Zamora from thirteen-nix the drugs, amp up the sex, you get the idea. She is cold, calculating, manipulative, and when combined, the idea of feeling remorse for her drains away. I'm not saying this was bad, no, the entire cast was amazing, Scout especially, talk about 360s. Ah Harry Bromley-Davenport, I want to welcome you to the club-the Sickos Club! Welcome! Embrace it! The most amazing thing about this was how all these damage and down-right *beep* up people found each other. Nasty and Matt, that I can understand, but throwing in Sam and at the end? It was the only part that felt forced and somewhat unplanned, yet turned itself around quick. Matt and Nasty-I can't even imagine what prompted any sane parent to give their blessing to this movie. About sixty-nine minutes into this movie, it isn't what you see, it's what you hear that will turn your stomach. Basically, Nasty escapes with Matt who is by def. a pedophile and they are living together as brother/sister. She claims to be in love with him but I don't buy it. "He is a stud"-ha ha ha I wonder how many takes before Scout could say it with a straight face? Stud? Right-and Michael Myers is sane. I fell off the couch laughing when this scene came to-not going to lie, alcohol did not help. Nasty-boy is she. From the way she talks which can sound like the way a trucker would sound to the way she acts, she is damaged goods that will never be right. Scout plays it perfectly, never missing a step, a beat, a frown, a tear, whatever the scene called for, she nailed it. If there is a hell, then Matt and Peter are surely destined to burn there for all eternity. People like Matt should be arressted and castrated and then released back into society, people like Peter, we should just line up along a wall and gun down. Pete Cheklev or something is Matt who is quite weak though circumstances in his life made him this way. He can not make it with adult females they have to be young girls-how he managed to escape jail after sleeping with a 14-year old is mind-boggling (this was before Nasty). Alexander Knezevich is Peter he runs on a very short fuse and every scene he is in provoked an anger I hadn't felt in a long time. He is sort of like a jealous pimp and he is down-right evil. Much like H2, I am still trying to figure out exactly what I felt overall. I will say that Scout left me speechless, the second best performance from her. She has the ability to run circles around full-grown adults in the acting biz. As long as she doesn't fall into any pitfalls of young people in the industry and does more thought-provoking films like this, she will go far. Oh and Harry welcome to the Sickos club.
Don't Quite Get It
ichocolat6 December 2009
Warning: Spoilers
The film starts with a phrase saying 'Suggested By True Event'. Original, I'd give you that. But what follows is not quite what I'd expected.
The film left me wondering, making me having more questions than it did give me answers. It left me feeling hollow because the storyline does not fully explore and give me insights on what's happening to the main actress, her dad, and her boyfriend.
The issue with her dad, whilst disturbing, was not elaborated. We were told that her dad took provocative pictures of her, but how it did affect her, how the relationship was like between her and her dad, and of how the whole abusive relationship pans out were not told.
And enters a guy, who like young girls, who somehow managed to be in a relationship with her. He became her knight in shining armor, her savior. But how and what exactly he did were not clear.
And the ending is, to me, a real cheap ideas of ending a choppy story. Make a twist and create a cliffhanger ( a failed one at that ) and left the spectators in awed. Supposedly. But the thing is that, it didn't work.
A decent score of 4, mainly because of the convincing act by Scout, even though she's been given this kind of film to be a part of.
The film left me wondering, making me having more questions than it did give me answers. It left me feeling hollow because the storyline does not fully explore and give me insights on what's happening to the main actress, her dad, and her boyfriend.
The issue with her dad, whilst disturbing, was not elaborated. We were told that her dad took provocative pictures of her, but how it did affect her, how the relationship was like between her and her dad, and of how the whole abusive relationship pans out were not told.
And enters a guy, who like young girls, who somehow managed to be in a relationship with her. He became her knight in shining armor, her savior. But how and what exactly he did were not clear.
And the ending is, to me, a real cheap ideas of ending a choppy story. Make a twist and create a cliffhanger ( a failed one at that ) and left the spectators in awed. Supposedly. But the thing is that, it didn't work.
A decent score of 4, mainly because of the convincing act by Scout, even though she's been given this kind of film to be a part of.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
