Title: Dirty Girl
Review: Though it may not seem obviously so, coming-of-age films are difficult to pull off, because the balance one must maintain in order to offer just the right amount of sentimentality -- without crossing over into schmaltz -- is a tricky feat to master. In Dirty Girl, first-time writer/director Abe Sylvia makes things even harder for himself by setting the film in the nostalgic 1980s and promising a subversive edginess in his titular protagonist, a promiscuous high schooler named Danielle who embarks on a cross-country road trip with an unlikely partner in crime: a closeted bisexual classmate named Clarke. Unfortunately, Sylvia fails to bring it all together and make it work; I found Dirty Girl tame and uneven, never quite bringing the Dirty and then trying to tie it all up in a sentimental bow that's wholly unearned. Despite an experienced cast that includes William H. Macy and Mary Steenburgen, Dirty Girl isn't worth watching.
Is this product review negative?