"Cadet Kelly" (2002)

When I started watching this movie, I was hoping that it would be at least tolerably enjoyable.  I like the teen genre, but so much of it seems to miss the mark for me.  Maybe I'm over-estimating the abilities of the target audience.  Maybe they tend to under-estimate their target audience.  Maybe it's a little of both.  Much to my delight, not only did I thoroughly enjoy the movie (a 4 out of 5 rating), but this got one of my rare 5's.  It did pull early story elements into later parts of the story, but sometimes it wasn't quite in the way expected--both in regards to plot and in regards to how the story was told.  I found myself expecting the story to fall into a particular pattern, to let itself be ruled by typical story patterns.  Yet, it found to abide by those patterns in a style that didn't make it completely predictable.  So, it both didn't let down my expectations and it called my bluff when I found the story didn't go down like I expected.  Utterly and truly, it did both.  I think part of the misleading might have been the cover that they chose to put on the movie play list chart.  I think that is part of what mislead me.  This was a good movie, and an enjoyable one.

I think movie makers know how to make movies for critics, for academics, for adults of all preferences, and even for children--movies in all cases that could be real quality classics.  I don't know that a quality classic as been created for teens--for teens, with teens--and also be set in a "real world" setting.  The only movie, or more accurately movies, that I can think that would qualify for this, would be the Harry Potter series, and that is set in a fantasy world.  So, is that the only way a believable, classic-quality teen movie can be done?  Can you seriously think of any other?  A teen-centered story for a teen audience that has the ability to be labeled "that is quality, that is not treating the teen audience like dunces".  A movie that as a teen you go "wow, great movie" and you can re-watch as an adult and not only have the same reaction, but realize that it has depth, and can make you think or ponder over something, even if it's something unnamed.  The feeling that there ought to be something more to say about it than what you thought before, but might take some time to put it down, because the thoughts are still forming.

And, yeah, only one slight after affect.  It will be interesting to see how long the short-clipped teen "scream" back and forth exchange stays in my ears.  That sound, um, sticks.  :/     :)