ArtsEtc.
A ‘Real’ spring-break story
Looking for a print version?
Simply use your browser’s ‘Print’ command and a printer-friendly document will be generated automatically.
Also by Mac VerStandig:
Sharing tools:
E-mail this article:
More closely resembling a “Girls Gone Wild” video than a work of traditional cinema, “The Real Cancun” delivers a unique brand of glossy sex appeal, thanks to a fairly developed array of variously sordid characters.
Embedded somewhere in the twilight zone between fact and fiction, the film follows an attractive pack of spring-breakers as they take to Cancun for a week of fun in the sun. It is not fair to call the movie a documentary, because the characters were clearly handpicked with an eye on interesting potential storylines. Still, the events are far from scripted; the drinks aren’t virgin and the sex isn’t simulated.
The spring-breakers all bring something unique to the mix. There is Alan, who has never had a drink. There are David and Heidi, the best friends who have always been plutonic. There are Nicole and Roxanne, the twins. And there is Laura, the waitress trying to prove that you can be from Wisconsin and still be “naughty.” There are other characters too — the primary cast is 16 deep — but the aforementioned account for the most screen time.
Be warned that “The Real Cancun” really is its own unprecedented beast. Comparisons to “Jackass,” which hit screens in late 2002 claiming to be reality television’s first foray into cinema, are inevitable but unfounded.
Whereas “Jackass” voluntarily crossed all the boundaries of accepted normalcy to produce a hybrid “reality” of pure sickness, “The Real Cancun” depicts a reality that has long been within the bounds of accepted normalcy for college students given a one-week reprieve from class. The film is so successful because it depicts a culture of vice that is saturated with truth in the eyes of all those who have seen it and yet wears the garments of fiction in the eyes of all those who are strangers to it (which includes nearly everyone who isn’t a part of Generation X).
Part of what makes the film succeed is the sex appeal of the spring-breakers. They are all attractive, but each in his or her own way. This is thanks to the eclectic cast, which features people ranging from “macho” to “naíve” and “hard to get” to “easily won over.” And between a wet T-shirt contest in the opening minutes, body shots throughout the film and assorted treats of voyeuristic sex and nudity, the film never fails to tantalize its audience with erotic desire.
A little over 40 years ago, Newton Minow scolded television for having become a “vast wasteland.” The medium has only gotten worse over these four decades, with reality television being the nadir of the trend. “The Real Cancun” represents cinema’s first attempt at popular reality.
Should the film prove to be success it deserves to be, cinema will likely become saturated with imitation products that capitalize on the relatively cheap production cost and quick turn-around time demonstrated by this picture. It must be understood, though, that “The Real Cancun” is not simply an extension of MTV’s “The Real World” and shows of the like. The appeal is not in the so-called reality of the film but rather in the same fundamental element that has driven quality cinema for over a century: the story. Should Hollywood lose site of this fundamental distinction, it may, too, find itself roaming a vast wasteland.
Grade: A/B
Herald Blogs
The Beat Goes On
Brother Ali makes an ‘Exclusive’ stop
Muckrakers
Report: Barrett to make decision by the end of the week
Extra Points
Top Classified Ads (view all)
HOUSES FOR Fall 2010. All houses are on W Dayton or N Bassett. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 bedrooms. All have parking. madisoncampusrentals.com
Leave a comment