MovieChat Forums > Spring Breakers (2013) Discussion > What exactly are we not getting?

What exactly are we not getting?

posted 8 years ago by Baternater
4 replies | jump to latest

So everyone that really liked this movie says those that don't "just don't get it." What about this movie is going over our heads?

I'll say that I had negative preconceptions about this movie going in, I thought it just looked kind of dumb but I think Ashley Benson is beautiful and it looked interesting.

I have to say I found myself laughing quite a bit, I definitely understand you'll think this movie is awful if you take it literally but I'm not sure we were supposed to laugh either. I'm assuming it's supposed to be some kind of social commentary of the younger generation. Personally I think it falls flat by just trying too hard to deliver this message and going way over the top.

The premise itself is believable, 4 young college girls go to Florida on Spring Break looking for a wild time and end up getting in way over their heads. I think if you kept the same plot without all the other extraneous 'look how *beep* up these people are' aspects, it could have been a better movie. I found the "artsy" elements overused and annoying.

Basically I'll say it was a nice try, but it just doesn't work.

Your cheap talk don't even cause me pain
so let your bullets fly like rain

[–] TeraisaWrites 8 years ago

Someone wondered what happens next, seeing as the girls couldn't drive that car for long.

Please share what you think based on the movie providing hints of a sequel.

They either dump the car and go on with college life now that they got that out of their system (getting out of the water and no longer swimming with sharks)

OR

They go back to college-again without the car-and the police arrest them for the restaurant robbery because the girl left a fingerprint on the register (they're about change; a stack of change)

OR

Faith feels the need to purge and they all go down (prison, the most spiritual place they've ever been)

AND when they got to the bridge, they crossed it (all of them either in a bus or a car)

[–] m-slovak79 8 years ago

So everyone that really liked this movie says those that don't "just don't get it." What about this movie is going over our heads?

i don't really see movies as about "getting them" in general as movies are ultimately about how much you enjoy watching them at the end of the day.

but you can tell Spring Breakers is one of those more polarizing movies simply because it's got a 5.3/10 average rating which is quite low (personally i think it's definitely underrated) but i have seen people say it's one of the better movies of 2013 and for me personally it's one of the best of 2013 (i know IMDb says 2012 but it's basically a 2013 movie).

in fact, Spring Breakers is only one of seven movies that have a 5.9/10 or lower average score on IMDb that i personally gave a 7 (or higher).

I definitely understand you'll think this movie is awful if you take it literally

Yeah, i don't really look at the movie from some sort of 'realistic' standpoint as those who do that, or even close to it, are guaranteed to dislike it.

i just like the general visual style of it (movies are largely a visual medium to) and watching it play out and Franco's character etc.

I found the "artsy" elements overused and annoying.

personally i think that's one key area why i like the movie is the overall visual style of it etc.

it has it's moments but i will say it takes about 35 min into the movie before it hits it's stride. basically when they meet up with James Fracno's character the movie is solid from there on forward.

Basically I'll say it was a nice try, but it just doesn't work.

I feel differently than you do here as the movie is within my Top 207 movies out of the 2,000+ total movies i have seen. i have seen it three times now with the most recent one being yesterday (Nov 5th 2016) and it held steady.

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My Top 100-ish Movies of All-Time! = http://goo.gl/EYFYdz
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[–] kmags84 8 years ago

You either understand the characters or you dont. It doesn't mean it's a good or bad film but I've noticed plenty of people claim they don't see the girls as realistic and that James Franco just looks like a goon, etc etc... It's just BS

Now, Liberties were taken to drive the narrative but as always with Korine, he found another fringe group of people on the edge of Society. He is absolutely the only filmmaker who consistently can find and accurately portray these people. It started with 'Kids' and it progressed since then. It doesn't speak to a majority but a strong minority of people and that's why this film was a success.

Add in the fact that it's stylistically better than 99% of the garbage nowadays and you get a good film. Not for everyone but if you DON'T GET the characters, you'll never understand the film.

[–] sarahallette 8 years ago

if you're someone who appreciates avant garde art you'll see all the various components, face value beauty and obviousness and layers & concepts that it has to offer. if you're someone who 'doesn't get' avant garde or abstract art or thinks it's stupid or meaningless then none of it's going to register for you.

it's basically like a B-movie shot by a really highbrow, avant garde creator. Because it's through his eyes there's an inherent poetry and a gorgeousness to the shallowness, if that makes any sense: a richness, a pure beauty to the colors and guileless interactions. So it's both a critique and total exploitation of societal shallowness as well as a kind of odyssey of pure feelings and experiences without judgment.