Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: Girls in a mental institution live out fantasy adventures in their pursuit of real world escape.
Review: Now that this film has had time to simmer--and all the pretentious interpretations are out of critics' systems--we can take an objective look at the story. I remember not wanting to see this, being dragged to it, and hating every moment. Upon a second viewing, however, I've come to realize it's not that bad. It definitely has a polarizing effect whereby you either loved it or hated it, but a closer inspection left me with a meh feeling slightly enhanced by the beauty of the actresses. Considering the many interpretations I've read, you really have to be looking for what you want to see; there's not that much depth going on here unless you're telling yourself there is. It's just sexy girls living out an imagined adventure rather than showing the boring reality of their struggle. You can read as deeply into that as you wish, but this movie hardly possessed themes or interesting ideas that needed introspection. I'm sure some will use the typical "you don't get it" excuse, but, really, the flow of this movie is one mindless set-piece to the next with little in the way of story in between. As others have joked, the true sucker punch is when you realize this movie is not even close to what was advertised and you wasted your time and money.
The ladies in all their glory.
My interpretation of the film is quite simple--you can come at it from two angles: the film being in Sweet Pea's head or Babydoll's. Regardless of which character you go with, they're unreliable narrators. Their version of events are questionable to say the least. Even the alleged scenes of "reality" could still be in one of their minds. Beyond this fact, nothing else really matters as you will be grasping at straws to fill in the gaps. Most ideas are overt or intended to pull the "guess what it means" bullshit. The only subtle moment that wasn't completely pretentious was the little boy popping up with a connection to Sweet Pea. Who he was to her is about the only thing worth dwelling on. The individual fight sequences simply demonstrate their further attempts to escape the mental facility, but we don't learn much about the characters during, or in between, these scenes. And that's all I really have to say about the story's alleged layers of depth. Feel free to disagree.
The ladies as they truly are.
Where the film succeeds is, without a doubt, with the girls themselves. I don't know what alternate reality of 1960s Vermont has this ratio of Asian girls, but I like it! My favorite is Amber, played by the lovely Jamie Chung, followed closely by Blondie, played by Vanessa Hudgens. Of course I have to address Emily Browning playing my little Babydoll (must say little). While I really don't find Ms. Browning all that attractive, she is exceptionally hot as Babydoll. Abbie Cornish, as Sweet Pea, and Jena Malone, as Rocket, look better in other movies; too much eyeliner this time around or something. They try to keep you covered with pinup styles, schoolgirls, a little nurse action, lingerie, etc. One might even say it was pure pandering. In fact, this pandering extends into the action scenes with zombies, dragons, mechs, swords, guns, etc. It's as if they wanted to include everything and the kitchen sink! At a glance, this feels fun, but it's too fake--like someone who kind of understands what geek culture is about but doesn't fully grasp how to convey it in a meaningful way. This is both the coolest aspect to the film and one of its worst offenses. In an attempt to appeal to every kind of geek audience, they failed to depict any single aspect properly. They go as far as to try and guilt you like you're a weirdo for being into this shit. Don't shame or alienate your fanbase if you also expect to make money from them.
Uuhhmmm!
Why this film fails so epically is because of that whole sucker punch aspect. Congratulations, you've successfully led your audience astray in the worst of ways. Want a medal? This isn't a good thing if it makes people hate your movie. I don't know what people were expecting initially, but I at least expected a competently told film. They only had enough material for like 20 minutes so they padded out the movie with those action scenes. They're cool, but they're mere distractions that had the adverse reaction with audiences; instead of being dazzled, people were bored and rightfully so. The characters are bland and we don't even know why Amber or Blondie are institutionalized. As such, the whole mental institution abuse is tired as fuck. Plus, we never felt the stakes of the movie. The characters were getting beat up in the fantasy world, but that didn't translate into reality. But if they get hurt in reality that translates into the fantasy? Feels like they're making it up as they go. Lastly, the visuals were decent, but this is CGI hell.
Little...Baby...Doll
Overall, this could have been a million times better. I'm sure that the various controversies and interpretations were unintended side effects that the crew decided to latch onto as if intentional. The film spends too much time trying to impress with visuals while neglecting the characters and story. There is a distinct impression of pandering to the target audience while simultaneously insulting them. The experience is mostly average with the positives equaling the negatives, however, the raw sexiness of the girls pushes it slightly above average. It's not as bad as many make it out to be, but it's nowhere near a brilliant masterpiece as others would have you believe.
Notable Moment: Any and all times Dr. Gorski says "Babydoll." The ambiguous accent mixed with the milfyness that is Carla Gugino equals pure win.
Final Rating: 5.5/10
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