Featured DVD Review: Breaking the Girls

November 18, 2013

Breaking the Girls - Buy from Amazon

Breaking the Girls came out in limited release in July, but was not a hit with moviegoers or critics. In fact, it has so far earned zero positive reviews. Will I disagree with the other critics? Or is there a reason none of the critics on Rotten Tomatoes recommended the movie?

The Movie

The film begins with Sara Ryan running to her college class. She's just a little late, but her professor, Professor Nolan, isn't upset. In fact, he calls on her to discuss a case where he was the presiding judge. Also in her class are Eric Nolan, the teacher's son, and Brooke Potter, Eric's girlfriend. Sara and Eric have a flirtatious relationship, which annoys Brooke.

Sara has a job as a bartender and one day Alex Layton comes in. When a drunken student at the bar clumsily hits on Alex, Sara sets in and rescues her. Shortly after, Eric and Brooke and another friend enter the bar. Brooke is happy to see Alex, because she's a fan of Alex's step-mother, Nina, who is an artist. Alex isn't a fan of her step-mother in any way. After Brooke pays for their drinks, she gets Sara fired (she caught Sara putting the $20 in the tip jar instead of the cash register) and leaves. After Sara's shift, Alex wants to hang out with Sara some more, but Sara just wants to go home. It's been a bad day. However, Alex is too drunk to drive, so Sara offers to drive her home.

While at Alex's place, they start talking and Alex convinces Sara they should head to Nina's art opening. We find out why Alex hates Nina so much, and it's not just because she's only five years older and married to her dad. Alex was into Nina before Nina and her father met. In fact, she was the one who introduced them. When Brooke and Eric arrive, Alex decides to humiliate Brooke by making it seems like Sara and Eric are an item. She then gets so drunk that Sara and Eric have to carry her home.

At this point, the plot sort of takes a back seat to what I think is suppose to be eroticism.

The next morning, Sara is called in by Professor Nolan. Someone accused her of theft, which means her fellowship is revoked and she loses her scholarship, and therefore her housing. That fellow student was Brooke, whose aunt is on the fellowship committee.

Sara and Alex get together again, but this time they talk about many things, and again there is something that I think is supposed to be erotic, and eventually they talk about who they would kill if they could get away with it. Alex says she would kill Nina, while Sara says she would kill Brooke. But they are just talking, right?

At this point, the movie is Strangers on a Train, but with a lesbian twist. I would call it an erotic thriller, which is a genre that has produced a huge number of films, because it isn't that difficult to make one. It's sort of like low-budget horror movies in that regard. Unfortunately, this film wasn't particularly erotic, nor was it much of a thriller. The filmmakers went to creative lengths to avoid showing any nudity, but it reached the level of unintentional parody. Also, the number of "surprise" twists in the movie is a real detriment. To continue the low-budget horror analogy, surprise twists are like jump scares. You really need one in a movie like this to be effective. However, if you have more than two, it becomes cheap. By the third surprise twist, viewers will stop paying attention to the movie, because they know anything plot related they learned can be changed on a whim. I did like some of the performances in the movie, including Madeline Zima, but the actors didn't have a lot to work with.

The Extras

There are interviews with several of the actors and the director and one of the producers. The total running time is 30 minutes, which isn't bad for a limited release like this.

The Verdict

Breaking the Girls tries to be an erotic thriller that isn't really erotic, nor is it very thrilling. There are better extras than expected on the DVD, but fans of the genre have better options out there.


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Filed under: Video Review, Breaking the Girls, Shawn Ashmore, Agnes Bruckner, Madeline Zima, Sam Anderson, Kate Levering, Shanna Collins