Teenage Cocktail

An under the radar film that I'm sure many have not heard about, but hey, it was on Netflix. The premise sounded a little strange but like it could make for a fun time nonetheless. Didn't recognize the filmmaker or any of the main cast, besides Pat Healy. I dug him in Cheap Thrills but loved The Innkeepers, one of my favorite films from a little horror maker named Ti West. After watching Teenage Cocktail, I liked the portrayal between the two leads in the film but feel like major parts of the film were under-cooked.

The film is about a lonely girl named Annie who one day meets and befriends a girl named Jules. Their relationship is complicated but for the most part they flirt with each other in capacity before they realize their relationship is real. Along the way the girls decide to make money off of being cam girls. The girls want to escape and run away together but problems in their life occur and they need cash. Feeling cash-strapped, the girls decide to offer themselves for money to a random stranger online. Interesting premise, but the ending is too wonky and really doesn't build on something that was good.

The interactions between the lead actresses is great. You can feel the innocent but naughty connection between the two lovers. This relationship is at times portrayed very visually by great scenes of intimacy with close, personal camera shots and party themed fun and bright lights. The build-up to the film is oddly amusing. Its hard to figure where the film is headed as it makes itself seem to be a coming of age film, then a romance, then a thriller. Its all fine but I feel like Healy's character left more to be desired. The character has a lot going on but we don't really get to see a glimpse of his life before or after the ordeal.

Thus, the end kind of just slaps you in the face. It seemed like the script had a good thing going but fumbled closing it out in a satisfying way. I feel like bits and pieces were cut out and that characters kind of turned 180 and you can't help but feel like the writing is off. It's still not a bad film, just far from perfect. I didn't really have any expectations and I can't say I'm overly annoyed by how things turned out. Its a bit of a mixed bag, but leaning more towards the positive side.

6.5/10

The red flags are there. It has to start with the death / accident to make it somewhat interesting. Than details are hidden, yet everyone seems to act in accordance with some past deeds. LGBT is there just as another trick to sell the bad story.

Annie Fenton (Nichole Bloom) is a new student at school. She gets into trouble with the other girls and is befriended by dancer Jules Rae (Fabianne Therese). They begin a relationship. Jules introduces Annie into the world of cam girl.

This is basically a Lifetime cautionary movie of the week troubled teens movie. The two leads are great although they're probably not teens. That's not a big deal. The tension is never that high. The drama is running at a lower gear which is not a good thing for this movie. There is one scene where I have real problems. I don't know who Tom is to Annie. He's either a step-dad or dad-dad. It makes a difference. I don't understand his action and he needs to be set up better. It's lazy story telling. There is a bit of that in this movie. Outside of the girls and Annie's mom, the other characters are nebulous and they aren't set up well. Then there is the crazy ending which doesn't fit the rest of the movie. A shootout in this type of movie seems to be a cop-out.

Spoiler alert! Well not really description says teens trying to get away from overbearing parents? Previews shows girls performing on a webcam at one of the girls home? Is it just me or those too things don't go together? Overbearing parents just not around when girls are shooting soft core porn? U never meet one of the girls parents. I was off on martin luther king day and thought what the hell. The two girls relationship and the mother daughter relationahips worked nothing else done and the ending is not plausible and felt rushed. That being said the movie exceeded my expectations i would rate the movie a little better than a lifetime movie.two female leads and whoever plays the mom can have careers after this movie other actors shouldn't quit their day jobs. I never expect much from these low budget independent movies this one is better than the others ones i have watched. If your not bored watched something else.

I've been on IMDb for years and never reviewed anything. There is no "I wish I was a real film critic" bs going on here. I just want to say that I loved it. It really reminded me of my teenage years and early 20's. I fell madly in love with this girl and we had a crazy relationship. We never did cam stuff because it wasn't a thing back then. We did have sugar daddies, and some of them were crazy as hell. This is a weird movie about drunk teenage girls that use men for money, so most people won't relate. But man, it reminded me of my life when I was young. I loved the movie. This isn't really a review at all. I'm just saying that I enjoyed it. My only issues were that the mom looked like 5 years older than Annie. She could have been her older sister, and the title makes no sense. If you "entertained" middle aged men for money as a teenager, this movie is for you! lol