Dirty Girl

Set in Norman, Okla., circa 1987, "Dirty Girl" centers on the unlikely friendship between slutty and disruptive high school student Danielle (Juno Temple) and her emotionally battered, closeted homosexual classmate Clarke (Jeremy Dozier). The two lonely misfits share common ground, not least their wretchedly dysfunctional families. Danielle lives in near poverty with her flaky single mom (Milla Jovovich), who is determined to better her circumstances by marrying a widowed Mormon (William H. Macy). He is a clownish authoritarian, and Danielle despises him and his children. Meanwhile, Clarke is struggling with his sexuality while grappling with his abusive, Neanderthal father (Dwight Yoakam), who is downright deranged at the prospect of a gay son. Clarke's unhappy mother (Mary Steenburgen) sides with her wounded boy but is terrified of her husband's rage. Danielle, desperate to meet her biological father (Tim McGraw), who doesn't even know of her existence, sets out on a cross-country road trip to track him down in California, where he resides. Clarke runs away with her, and their two moms join forces to pursue their wayward children.

"Dirty Girl" could have been a fascinating character study. But writer-director Abe Sylvia, making his feature film debut, took the easy way out by allowing narrative clichés, wild caricatures, and a completely implausible feel-good resolution to define the film. Part of the problem is the movie's muddled tone—for the most part merging satiric commentary with sentimentality—all of it underscored by Melissa Manchester's corny songs of the era. Regrettably, the one dramatic, moving, and truly believable scene—between Danielle and her biological father—succeeds in pointing to the film's fundamental shortcomings.

Still, that scene is impressive and demonstrates Temple's acting chops. Her pain is palpable at meeting her middle-class, married father—a kindly man but a stranger. The interchange becomes heartbreaking when she encounters her half-sister and realizes that unlike the little girl, she will never have the lovely home and loving father. McGraw is touching as a man caught in an impossibly hurtful and irresolvable situation. Dozier is an interesting actor as well, giving an understated and nuanced performance as a sad young man fighting demons within and without.

The other performances do not rise above the heavy-handed film. Macy, usually wonderful, is almost grotesque here as a fatuous religious fanatic. Yoakam becomes a poster boy for the redneck homophobe in desperate need of sensitivity and anger-management training. Jovovich is far too flighty and naive, and Steenburgen is a one-dimensional browbeaten wife.

"Dirty Girl" is frustrating because the seeds of a good movie are evident but have failed to take root.

Genre: Drama
Written and directed by Abe Sylvia
Starring Juno Temple, Jeremy Dozier, Milla Jovovich, William H. Macy, Mary Steenburgen, Dwight Yoakam, Tim McGraw