| | | The Devil Wears A Grey Skirt And Her Name Is Kimberly Joyce.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.35:1, Dolby Digital (5.1), English, French, Subtitled
Kimberly Joyce (Evan Rachel Wood) is an insanely intelligent, wildly funny, shockingly cruel and sexy-beyond-her-years Beverly Hills teenager who will stop at nothing to become famous, including accusing her drama teacher (Ron Livingston) of sexual harassment. Believing the world is an orchestra and she is the conductor, Kimberly masterfully manipulates all those around her. She convinces her two best friends to join her in a campaign against their befuddled teacher. Kimberly entangles the entire Beverly Hills community in her carefully woven web of seduction and deceit in this clever comedy.
"A comedy brimming with zesty shock value." Owen Gleiberman, EW
"Extremely funny! Flings mud in all directions with fearless audacity." Stephen Holden, The New York Times
Editor's Note
Music-video director Marcos Siega infuses this entertainingly dark social satire with stylish camerawork and clever editing. While visually rooted in the bubble gum teen comedy aesthetic, PRETTY PERSUASION boldly insists on taking brutal stabs at topics as sensitive as the war in Iraq, religion, and race. With a deceptively sweet appearance and a genius IQ, 15-year-old aspiring actress Kimberly Joyce (Evan Rachel Wood) has the world in the palm of her perfectly manicured hand. When she takes new Arab student Randa (Adi Schnall) under her shallow wings, it is with the ulterior motives she has learned from her crazy, porn-watching, coke-snorting racist father (James Woods), his blank trophy wife (Jaime King), and perverted teachers like Mr. Anderson (Ron Livingston). Desperately wanting the publicity, Kimberly convinces her sidekicks Randa and Brittany (Elisabeth Harnois) to make false allegations of sexual abuse against Mr. Anderson. While Anderson is may not be a good teacher or role model, he is not guilty of actual sexual assault. When Anderson buys his wife (Selma Blair) a skirt identical to the uniform worn by his students, his inappropriate feelings are revealed. The film suggests that society can expect no less than Kimberly's self-described precociousness from a generation that values good looks, fame, and money over honesty, goodness, and moral integrity. Wood shines as Kimberly, a villain who is truly the victim of the world around her. While Kimberly is hellbent on getting what she wants, it is hard to see how someone who has so internalized society's warped ideology can even have a sense of self.
| Features | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, French |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Sony Pictures |
| Release Date: 7/24/2007 |
| Running Time: 104 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2005 | | Catalog ID: 12878 | | UPC: 00043396128781 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Available Subtitles: English, French | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Sundance Film Festival (2005) | | | Marcos Siega, Nominee, Grand Jury Prize - Dramatic |
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| | Professional Reviews | Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "There's fun to be had in Siega's acid, satirical play on high-school movies..." 07/01/2006 p.46Sight and Sound
"[E]ntertaining. This is largely thanks to a tour de force performance from Evan Rachel Wood..." 07/01/2006 p.64 James Berardinelli's ReelViews 5 of 10
Pretty Persuasion opens with more promise than it closes with. It doesn't take long for the cattily satirical tone to become monotonous as the characters refuse all attempts at development and the plot treads water into the shallows. The film tries, with sporadic effectiveness, to mine the area where Heathers, Election, and Mean Girls achieved success. But this lampoon of the "haves" and "have nots" of high school never takes off, and, at times, is more mean spirited than comedic. Making it all the more disappointing is the way in which Evan Rachel Wood's bitch-on-wheels performance is wasted. - James Berardinelli
Chicago Sun-Times 5 of 10
So the movie is daring, and well-acted. Yet it isn't very satisfying, because the serious content keeps breaking through the soggy plot intended to contain it. The material in Pretty Persuasion needed to be handled as heavy drama, or played completely for comedy, and by trying to have it both ways, the movie has it neither way. The audience gets emotional whiplash, its laughter interrupted by scenes where lives are destroyed. - Roger Ebert
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