Here On Earth is not a total failure. I mean, thank God they didn't decide to cast Jason Biggs somewhere in this movie. I'm hoping against all odds to never see him on screen again. But on the other hand, Chris Klein and Leelee Sobieski didn't exactly draw out the emotions the way that a quality romance should.
Despite the many shortcomings of Here On Earth, it did have many redeeming values. The rivalry between the rich kids at the private school and the poor kids in town, although slightly exaggerated, was fairly well presented. It is never satisfactorily explained why Klein (whose character is curiously named Kelley) felt that it was so necessary to eat dinner in the poor town just after having been given a brand new car (during the Mercedes-Benz commercial that is the beginning of the film), but the ensuing scene in the restaurant, although followed by an idiotic car chase, was actually pretty well done (`What did he say?' `I think he said come kick my ass.').
The love triangle that takes place between Kelley, Samantha (Sobieski), and Jasper (Josh Hartnett, whose great performance single-handedly provides about 90% of the reason to watch this film) is one of the better parts of the movie, and it is definitely the element of the movie that somewhat sets it apart from the multitude of cheesy teen romance films that are constantly being cranked out these days. Although this particular predicament is fairly entertaining, Jasper's change of heart just comes too suddenly and too completely, especially given the constant tension between himself (as well as most of his immediate family) and Kelley, who are forced to live together as they work to rebuild the diner that they collectively destroyed in that dumbass car chase earlier in the film.
The end of the film was pretty obvious from the beginning, but in case you haven't seen this movie (and haven't seen the movie's cover, which should qualify as a spoiler in itself), I guess I should warn you that there's a spoiler ahead. Before this movie even starts, you know that Kelley and Samantha will fall in love just as surely as you know that there will be a Running Through The Woods Scene somewhere in the movie and that at some point, someone will utter the hopelessly clichéd line `Some people live their whole lives and never fall in love.' It is clear that there is nothing new here in the form of romance, and even the fact that Samantha dies does not make it original, because this has been seen plenty of times before, such as in the spectacular Best Picture of 1994.
Despite the fact that the entire film is one big cliché, there were several quality performances in the film, particularly from Josh Hartnett, Leelee Sobieski, and Michael Rooker, in a well-cast role as Jasper's overbearing father. And yes, even Chris Klein delivered a satisfactory performance as the out-of-place rich kid, despite having been cast against the type of character that he has come to be known as from previous films. There is no new ground covered by Here On Earth, but there is something to be said for the fact that despite its total unoriginality, it is still able to keep your attention.
Despite the many shortcomings of Here On Earth, it did have many redeeming values. The rivalry between the rich kids at the private school and the poor kids in town, although slightly exaggerated, was fairly well presented. It is never satisfactorily explained why Klein (whose character is curiously named Kelley) felt that it was so necessary to eat dinner in the poor town just after having been given a brand new car (during the Mercedes-Benz commercial that is the beginning of the film), but the ensuing scene in the restaurant, although followed by an idiotic car chase, was actually pretty well done (`What did he say?' `I think he said come kick my ass.').
The love triangle that takes place between Kelley, Samantha (Sobieski), and Jasper (Josh Hartnett, whose great performance single-handedly provides about 90% of the reason to watch this film) is one of the better parts of the movie, and it is definitely the element of the movie that somewhat sets it apart from the multitude of cheesy teen romance films that are constantly being cranked out these days. Although this particular predicament is fairly entertaining, Jasper's change of heart just comes too suddenly and too completely, especially given the constant tension between himself (as well as most of his immediate family) and Kelley, who are forced to live together as they work to rebuild the diner that they collectively destroyed in that dumbass car chase earlier in the film.
The end of the film was pretty obvious from the beginning, but in case you haven't seen this movie (and haven't seen the movie's cover, which should qualify as a spoiler in itself), I guess I should warn you that there's a spoiler ahead. Before this movie even starts, you know that Kelley and Samantha will fall in love just as surely as you know that there will be a Running Through The Woods Scene somewhere in the movie and that at some point, someone will utter the hopelessly clichéd line `Some people live their whole lives and never fall in love.' It is clear that there is nothing new here in the form of romance, and even the fact that Samantha dies does not make it original, because this has been seen plenty of times before, such as in the spectacular Best Picture of 1994.
Despite the fact that the entire film is one big cliché, there were several quality performances in the film, particularly from Josh Hartnett, Leelee Sobieski, and Michael Rooker, in a well-cast role as Jasper's overbearing father. And yes, even Chris Klein delivered a satisfactory performance as the out-of-place rich kid, despite having been cast against the type of character that he has come to be known as from previous films. There is no new ground covered by Here On Earth, but there is something to be said for the fact that despite its total unoriginality, it is still able to keep your attention.