Title: Wild Cherry
Directed by: Dana Lustig
Starring: Rumer Willis, Tania Raymonde, Kristin Cavallari, Tia Carrere and Rob Schneider.
Running time: 85 minutes, Rated R, Also available on standard format DVD
Three girls in their senior year of high school discover they’re the targets of the football team’s time honored tradition of deflowering delegated virgins in order to help them win at the end of the football season. When they discover the “Buccaneer’s Bang Book” where their names are listed, they vow to enact revenge on these boys and destroy the book.
This film was completed in 2009 and released in 2011, which is a clear indicator there is something wrong with the film that the distributors chose to wait 2 years before quietly releasing to the public. The young actors are supposed to be in high school and half of which appear to be nearing their 30’s.
There are some scenes in the film that looked like they were trying too hard to be like American Pie, one involving a carrot and one gross-out scene with an ice cube tray. The ending had a 15 second closing bit with Rumer Willis that seemed as if it were thrown in last minute because there was basically no ending. Rumer Willis does have a promising future ahead as long as she stays away from movies like this. She shows a lot of her mom in her acting, and I mean that as a compliment. Tia Carrere’s character was ridiculous and probably cast for her name only; I realize it was to sort of awaken Willis’s character, but again totally unnecessary and honestly embarrassing to watch. Rob Schneider’s “Dad” character was not essential to the storytelling, which is a shame, but then again he’s not trying to be Eugene Levy as the comic relief like the Pie films.
The Blu-ray had no special features and with this type of film you don’t really care about picture quality, so standard DVD is always an option if you intend on purchasing it anyway.
The ultimate message in the film is good about safe sex and not succumbing to peer pressure, but there are many other established films of this genre that have quality writing and performances.
Total rating: D
Reviewed by JM Willis