I didn’t expect “Spring Breakers” more than just a film of four college girls hanging around at parties only in bikinis, just like what is seen from the trailer. But, recently some fellow-bloggers positively received it, and it eventually makes me a bit more interested in seeing “Spring Breakers”. It is clear that this is not a special film, but still it’s a quite fresh and surprisingly thoughtful film to be enjoyed in this summer.

So here we have four college girls: Faith (Selena Gomez), Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), Brit (Ashley Benson), and Cotty (Rachel Korine), preparing for their spring break vacation in Florida. I am not really sure if (sorry) most college girls in USA were really as wild and crazy as these four girls (but I believe they were not), but out of the four girls, only Faith who comes with a clear background: she is a good-girl-gone-bad who used to spend her time at a religious association with other students. Knowing that they don’t have enough money to go on vacation, Candy, Brit, and Cotty plan a robbery to a local restaurant. Then, little do they know that the robbery they plan, altogether with feel good vacation they have, is gonna throw them into a wrong situation, including an encounter with a drug dealer called Alien (James Franco).

“Spring Breakers” is the American youth spirit of freedom. It raises a social critique of the current youngsters situation, which has been related to lots of sex, drugs, boozes, and—of course—materialism. The point of the story is actually so simple: students bored with their school routines and decide to do whatever it takes to go on a vacation without knowing that they are walking into a worse situation. Not a fresh story, no?

For me, “Spring Breakers” is a telescope to remotely observe and be introduced with the realistic life of college students there. I am not an American (and I haven’t even been in there), and for me “Spring Breakers” is more than able to represent the situation comprehensively (although it is doubtful if that is a fact or not). The opening beach party scene, for instance, tells the whole story. It was so crazy. At one point of the film, I was even thinking that if I were to live in USA, I would be the most unpopular guy in school, LOL. “Spring Breakers” eventually shifted itself to a better level from just being a film of girls in bikinis. There are values—maybe not new, but still enlightening ones—hidden beyond the blast and for that, I give the film my appreciation.

Again, this is not a new stuff in Hollywood. Other filmmakers might have done a similar thing many many times before (but I couldn’t mention any :D). And for that case, Harmony Korine, the director, knows that it takes a different package to bring this out-of-date story into a fresher cuisine. For that, I think that he did a successful job. “Spring Breakers” is colorful, live with vivid colors that both represent the dynamic spirits of the girls and add a glamorous taste to the film itself. To be honest, sometimes it feels a bit style-over-substance (and experimental), but it is okay. With a free editing style, “Spring Breakers” is also rich with a musical taste thanks to the soundtracks that contributed a lot in setting viewers’ mood on certain scenes (most notably, “Everytime” by Britney Spears).

The acting by the cast also becomes another upside of the film. Kudos to James Franco who totally changes into a gangster-kinda guy with all his slangs and f*ckyeah styles. The four girls are great, although sometimes I don’t really understand they were described too awkwardly—I mean, it’s just too bad to be true. The clearest character of the four is of course Faith (Selena Gomez), and I believe that the other three girls need a sharp supporting background.

Not a new story, but thanks to the inner content, musical taste, vivid colors, actings, and—of course—the spirit of the film itself that make “Spring Breakers” something you could enjoy this summer. I understand why there are some viewers who hate this so much while some others who find this is a good one. This is a cultural learning that we have from “Spring Breakers”, and it could be the aspect that make non-American viewers like this film. And, of course, this is way better than just four girls in bikinis and a guy with dreadlocks hanging out in parties.

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SPRING BREAKERS | COUNTRY USA YEAR 2012 RATING Rated R for strong sexual content, language, nudity, drug use and violence throughout RUNTIME 94 min GENRE Comedy, Drama CAST Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine, James Franco WRITER Harmony Korine DIRECTOR Harmony Korine MORE INFO