The
flippancy towards violence of all manners within Girls Against Boys is more
than a little sickening. It isn’t quite clear if director is writer/director
Austin Chick is addressing the violence in this matter as a form of commentary,
or simply because the filmmaker is as desensitized to violence as the
characters within the film seem to be. Either way, it makes for some socially
awkward moments that may make for uncomfortable viewing in any audience member
reading any level of seriousness from the plot.
In
something of a manipulative evening, Shae (Danielle Panabaker) goes out with
her mysterious co-worker, Lu (Nicole LaLiberte) for a night of fun. By the end
of the night, Shae has been violated by a man she met at a bar, giving Lu the
perfect opportunity to share her particular madness. The pair hunt down the man
responsible for Shae’s attack, but Lu ruthlessly assassinates any male they
come into contact along the way, innocent or otherwise. This tears down the
relevance, making this less of a revenge film and more of a spiteful psychopath
killer type of a film.
After
the revenge has been had we are meant to believe that they got away with all of
the killings without a hitch or suspicion from the police. Even more
unbelievable is the fact that Shae seems hardly affected, immediately
rebounding with a nice guy from her class. Lu is not so willing to move on
after the mass murder, wanting to continue a rampage against all men, for no
reason we are ever given other than for the mere pleasure of it. As cool as
this film may be, it is sloppy filmmaking that doesn’t bother to look past the
artifice of the image to the reasoning behind each character’s actions.
The
Blu-ray includes a commentary track with filmmaker Chick and actress Panabaker.
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