The We And The I

Some movies you are either loved or hated as is the case with the film Drive from a couple years ago.  I don’t know anyone who thought it was good, you either loved it or hated it…just so you know, I loved it.  Gondry’s The We And The I is a film that you will either love or hate.  I have a feeling if you were one of the last stops on the bus you will love it.  If your mother picked you up at school, you will hate it.

The question is did I love it? But first a synopsis.

It’s the last day of school, and a quiet city bus is transformed into a quasi detention center as it is filled with a horde of inner city teenagers getting ready for summer vacation. A group of bullies occupy the back row, where two elementary school kids are threatened, and an elderly woman is ordered to give up her seat. Near the front of the bus, a self absorbed princess (Laidychen Carrasco) agonizes over her sweet 16 party invitation list, and soon what seems to be a troubled young lady (Teresa Lynn) appears with a new blond wig only to encounter the relentless mockery of her peers, as she pines for one of the mean kids (Michael Brodie).

OK, so there isn’t much of a plot, but that really isn’t the point of the film.  It is a film about kids being kids and I love it. It brought back memories I had almost forgotten. I could relate –  from the couple loving and fighting to the jokes to the unfortunate deaths.

This is high school. This is life.

The film is sometimes rambling, sometimes unfocused, but that too is part of the charm. In a way, this becomes Gondry’s most surprising feature in the sense that he isn’t with star-power team-ups or with his large grab-bag of surreal/magic-fiction camera and mis-en-scene tricks. Here he creates a believable movie with believable actors.  This film really hammers in the teenage experience not just in The Bronx but everywhere.

The only faults of the film lie in the direction.  Quite a bit of the characterizations in this film feel half baked because we do not get enough time with any of the characters until the third act of the film.  Some of the characters seem a bit cartoonish but its not a problem with the acting its mainly because of the script.

I really wish that this feature came on Blu-Ray because I would have loved to see it in HD and with some special features.  This is a film that  you will either love or hate so if you hate it that’s on you because I friggen love it.

Ratings are based on a 5-star scale

Overall: 4 Jesus’s breaking up fights out of 5

Review by Bro “B” – Ben

We received a copy of this blu-ray for our review. All opinions are our own

The We and the I is available on Amazon.com.