I only watched about half of the movie here and there, but they live in Malibu, right? So why is it always raining? And it's always night time too, even when she's at school it's raining and dark outside... please explain..?
According to the movie trivia, the parents headstone at the end of the movie says they died in March so we can assume that the movie is taking place in March/April. I live in CA and all parts of CA have their rainy season (even Malibu). Typically it's the winter and/or spring depending on where in CA you are. When it rains in Malibu, it typically rains hard and for long periods of time. Every year Malibu (and other parts of CA) get so much rain it causes mudslides and destruction of property. The rain isn't far fetched for the movie.
There was only one scene that I remember it looking dark out when she was at school (when she was accused of plagerism). I assumed it was dark because of the storm, but also to create more drama to the scene.
Unfortunately it's not always warm and sunny here (just most of the time) : )