Fridae

Pretty Persuasion is a movie that begins with a lot of promise, and even though by the end it does not fulfill all that promise, this is still a movie that is notable simply for lead Evan Rachel Wood's performance and a lesbian sub-plot. This high school satire is similar to Mean Girls, only much, much meaner.

Kimberly (Evan Rachel Wood) is a girl not to be trifled with � after losing the lead role in a school-play version of A Diary of Anne Frank, Kimberly decides to wreak vengeance on the drama teacher Mr Anderson (Ron Livingston). Aided by her friends, Brittany and Randa, she files a sexual harassment suit against Anderson, and the school becomes mired in controversy. Local reporter Emily Klein (Jane Krakowski) becomes involved with Kimberly whilst covering the story, and unwittingly fans the flames of the scandal.

There are quite a number of movies covering the meanness of girls going through high school (think Heathers, Election and Mean Girls), and Pretty Persuasion does not really add anything new to the genre. Several aspects of the movie hit the mark � the sexual tension that exists between a hot-blooded male teacher and his female students, the media's ability to sensationalize and distort stories that they cover, and the public's fascination with scandals, for example.

However, there are areas where Pretty Persuasion misses the mark, and becomes a little more mean-spirited than what is required. A prime example would be the issue of race, which is touched on without any trace of subtlety or sensitivity. Kimberly is a character which can easily turn into a caricature, and it is only Evan Rachel Wood's measured performance that prevents the character from going down that road. Pretty Persuasion may not always be a pretty sight, but it is still compelling in its own way.