I get super bored when I'm looking for movies and a thumbnail of some young guy used for the movie Teenage Cocktail was, pathetically, enough to make me click. I didn't use an "accepted" service initially but after I found this on Netflix I've watched it probably once every six months since I found it.
The twist is a little loose and predictable but it's still the beginning of a harrowing denouement that's so hard to stomach after the very safe (by comparison) moments of the film. This is an amazing teenage romance story that doesn't play on the leads both being girls in the way you'd think.
Annie is the new girl at school, but the movie artfully distills this fact into a quick montage of scenes involving an altercation in the hallway and a chat with the rather hilarious guidance counsellor, who has a few golden moments in his interactions later in the movie. The cold open has already established our heroines are going to be in an accident. We introduce their nemesis early on too, and he's woven back into the story in the second act. Jules and Annie's relationship grows organically, but I feel one of the taglines for the movie gives something crucial away about Jules. She's definitely framed as someone who can be manipulative and we're worried for poor, wholesome Annie, even with her youngish parents (it's apparent Annie's mom had her very young and she's struggling being the cool mom who's not entirely cool with everything Annie does, including possibly having a girlfriend). Annie's dad is kindly but altogether too soft, the parenting dynamic is definitely not good for Annie with their "Won't tell your mom" and "haven't told your dad" lines. They have a younger son who's more well behaved, and annoying to Annie, but I love his performance and the dynamic between him and his dad. He delivers a pretty hilarious nun joke I won't spoil here.
Jules meanwhile has absent parents; a mother who took off when she was twelve and a dad we never meet. She's practically living alone, her doors are unlocked and she's out doing whatever she pleases. She's a dancer longing to escape their boring suburban town, and her plan to bail is brought up not long after she and Annie meet. Jules is already making coin as a tame camgirl who doesn't do much but lie around her underwear and a kitty mask, and convincing Annie to play along takes very little. But when things go awry and they need to make a quick getaway before the school hands down punishments for their alleged involvement in underage porn, they call upon Frank, the predator pool cleaner who's already got a history of cheating on his wife, to do them a few favours. Frank's son might look up to him but his beleaguered wife isn't too fond of their kid aspiring to take up pool cleaning with Frank. He's unhinged by Jules and Annie's deceptions and does little to nothing to save his relationship with his wife, but we don't see the catastrophe looming.
The ethereal, soft aesthetic of the shots matched with the gentle, synth-heavy but kind of kitchy 50s flavour soundtrack make this such a dreamlike journey right up until the nightmare ending. I think this has found more love via Netflix than it may have done after SXSW. All the characters seem real and flawed enough. You don't entirely buy Jules being abandoned but she's meant to have far less boundaries than Annie, and she just wants to be loved. She's not a tough girl. But you could question her motives right up until the very end.
It isn't making a statement on young parents (I'm assuming they're in their late 30s, as am I, could've had a teenage kid by now if I'd been knocked up at 18), it just works with the narrative her parents are young and don't want to be the assholes their parents were, but don't want their kids to wind up hurt. It's a very believable story, to a point. I think the ending had to be graphic to make the exploits of the two girls seem like they were too easy to get away with; or too good to be true. Frank's a product of his own shitty choices, and sadly, so are the girls. So the ambiguous ending makes sense. Nobody wins.
This wasn't a story you could tell with a boy/girl romance, but it doesn't demonise the same sex relationship aspect. It's touching and genuine and simple, and tragic.
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