Overall, this was a fairly good movie. My DVR cut off a little bit of the opening credits and so I did not know going into it that it was based on a true story and therefore watched it completely under the belief that it was Lifetime fiction.
The story itself was good; however, I felt that the movie could have been much better developed. ***SPOILER ALERT*** We see her in the beginning as this studious quote 'good girl' and my thinking was that she was going to get involved with the wrong crown in college and that was how she gets into porn. But upon realizing financial troubles she jokes to her roommate that she could become a porn star and watching it you think that it was just that; a joke. But when you see her checking out Internet searches on how to become a porn star it really hits you off guard as there was no buildup to that. She breaks up with her boyfriend before leaving for school and you aren't even sure if she has had sex or not. In her first scene shot she admits that she likes rough sex and you are wondering "who is this character?" I also did not understand the apparent cuts on her legs. All she says was that she went through a 'Girl Interrupted' stage in high school. Things are just kind of thrown at you in bits and pieces and you have to kind of coalesce it all together into a story line. Had I realized beforehand that this was inspired by a true story then I would have given it an even lower score.
All said I did like this movie, I just didn't love it. Remember, I was watching it through the prism of it being a fictional Lifetime movie. This is not to cut it down nor prop it up; Lifetime as a network has broadcast some great movies over the years but has also had its share of duds. I wasn't exactly sure which way this one was going to go while taking it in. You more or less 'get the gist' while watching this; the foundation of the story itself is very weak at times.
I think it should have started with a better background as to how she was raised. We should have known earlier on that in spite of being brought up Catholic she was socially liberal and viewed pornography at a young age. I also would have liked to have known more about her so-called 'Girl Interrupted' stage in high school. Did she cut herself and if so, why? Was this a stepping stone towards her later interest in B&D and S&M that she admits during her CNN interview? We also should have known that she was not a virgin upon entering college. She mentions that her parents believed she was a virgin and before she scopes out websites on how to enter the industry you would have thought this as well. When she goes to shoot her first scene she is manhandled roughly and admits that she likes rough sex. Huh? You never would have thought this watching this movie. There was no buildup to any sort of sexual interest let alone her consideration towards doing porn. She does speak frankly with her friend early on about sex but there is no clear indication that she has ever had it. You seem to go from Point-A to Point-F in this movie at times. Details as such do come out I just felt that a lot of the setups were all wrong.
Perhaps these awkward surprises were intentional and trying to keep you off stride. But that is being very generous. Again, though, it is worth watching. I don't think I'll be adding it to my DVD collection but it was a good story that just needed better stitching. MUCH better stitching.
The story itself was good; however, I felt that the movie could have been much better developed. ***SPOILER ALERT*** We see her in the beginning as this studious quote 'good girl' and my thinking was that she was going to get involved with the wrong crown in college and that was how she gets into porn. But upon realizing financial troubles she jokes to her roommate that she could become a porn star and watching it you think that it was just that; a joke. But when you see her checking out Internet searches on how to become a porn star it really hits you off guard as there was no buildup to that. She breaks up with her boyfriend before leaving for school and you aren't even sure if she has had sex or not. In her first scene shot she admits that she likes rough sex and you are wondering "who is this character?" I also did not understand the apparent cuts on her legs. All she says was that she went through a 'Girl Interrupted' stage in high school. Things are just kind of thrown at you in bits and pieces and you have to kind of coalesce it all together into a story line. Had I realized beforehand that this was inspired by a true story then I would have given it an even lower score.
All said I did like this movie, I just didn't love it. Remember, I was watching it through the prism of it being a fictional Lifetime movie. This is not to cut it down nor prop it up; Lifetime as a network has broadcast some great movies over the years but has also had its share of duds. I wasn't exactly sure which way this one was going to go while taking it in. You more or less 'get the gist' while watching this; the foundation of the story itself is very weak at times.
I think it should have started with a better background as to how she was raised. We should have known earlier on that in spite of being brought up Catholic she was socially liberal and viewed pornography at a young age. I also would have liked to have known more about her so-called 'Girl Interrupted' stage in high school. Did she cut herself and if so, why? Was this a stepping stone towards her later interest in B&D and S&M that she admits during her CNN interview? We also should have known that she was not a virgin upon entering college. She mentions that her parents believed she was a virgin and before she scopes out websites on how to enter the industry you would have thought this as well. When she goes to shoot her first scene she is manhandled roughly and admits that she likes rough sex. Huh? You never would have thought this watching this movie. There was no buildup to any sort of sexual interest let alone her consideration towards doing porn. She does speak frankly with her friend early on about sex but there is no clear indication that she has ever had it. You seem to go from Point-A to Point-F in this movie at times. Details as such do come out I just felt that a lot of the setups were all wrong.
Perhaps these awkward surprises were intentional and trying to keep you off stride. But that is being very generous. Again, though, it is worth watching. I don't think I'll be adding it to my DVD collection but it was a good story that just needed better stitching. MUCH better stitching.