Monday, January 31, 2022

DVD/Movie Review: Havoc

 


Havoc is a 2005 film starring Anne Hathaway, Bijou Phillips, Shiri Appleby, Michael Biehn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Matt O'Leary, Freddy Rodriguez, Laura San Giacomo, Channing Tatum, and Raymond Cruz. It was the movie that really broke Anne Hathaway out of the Disney movie mold she had been in as a teen and moved her into more adult roles. In it, she plays a rich Los Angeles high-school girl named Allison who hangs out with a bunch of other rich kids who pretend to be a part of the hip-hop gangsta culture. When she ends up at a party in East LA to hang out with actual gang members, she discovers that the life she thought she was living and reality are two very different things. Part of the plot involves one of Allison's classmates making a documentary about her group of friends, who are essentially playacting at what they believe gangsta life is like. While I do not think that element was all that integral to the movie's overall plot, it did not distract from it.

The original DVD release has no extras or bonus features. It just includes the film that can be played with or without English captions.  The film is good, but it is somewhat predictable and a bit formulaic. The best part of the film is that it showed Hathaway had real acting chops: she alternated between a wannabe gangsta chick persona, a "normal" rich suburban teenager, and a very vulnerable kid when she was called out for the act she put on, with ease. The movie is definitely not family-friendly, as it has a lot of swearing and some nudity (it was the first time Hathaway appeared topless on-screen, diverging greatly from her Princess Diaries role). Ultimately, while it is not Hathaway's best movie, it is definitely worth checking out, especially if you are a fan of hers and her career evolution.  

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