Desert Blue (1999)

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

An "OK" movie. It's watchable, especially young people seem to like it. But see "Tex", with Matt Dillon, instead. That was a movie that actually captured bored youth at their best and worst. The ending of "Desert Blue"gives me the impression that they didn't know how to end the film! Too bad... And Christina Ricci's character was overplayed. Sorry, not believeable to me, but teens like her "antics", and why not. But when you get older, you'll know what bad acting (or scripting) really is when you see it.Also, am I crazy, or are the first 2 "anonymous" reviews from march 1999 too good to be true? In other words, "nice try, whoever-you-are-that-is-connected-with-the-making-of-this-film-and-want-to-p romote-it!"...

I tuned into this film missing the opening 10-20 minutes but quickly picked up the plot and instantly became intrigued with the story-line. The movie has a somewhat new and unique feeling to it, exploring a new element I feel of movie-making where we aren't rushed between extravagant scenes of mayhem but based in one location where we get to explore the characters as we should.As I settled down and began watching the film my first impressions were negative in the fact everything was set in bleak locations and not quite the hugely expensive Hollywood blockbusters we are all used to. My interest in wanting to discover what was actually going on and the introduction of a wide range of interesting characters and their personalities made me quickly change my mind about the film and I soon enough didn't want the movie to end.The performances of Kate Hudson (Skye) were very powerful in her come down from TV lifestyle and glamour to her discovery of a whole new way of life and living in the form of her newly found teen friends. Christina Ricci's (Ely Jackson) unstable but humorous appearance was much welcomed and gave the film a cutting edge in drawing attention away from parts of the film that were beginning to drag on a little.I thought the film was very impressive due to the actors hard work and appreciation for the film which will undoubtedly lift their careers.

I enjoyed this movie thoroughly. This movie, led by an ensemble cast of young and rising actors (Brendan Sexton, Kate Hudson, Casey Affleck, Christina Ricci), starts slowly but gathers momentum nicely. Skye (Hudson), an up-and-coming actress with her own cable comedy, gets trapped in a small California town well off the highway when a chemical spill shuts down the only road in and out of town. Stuck far from her world -- in a town without cable or cell phones -- Skye is befriended by Blue (Sexton) and meets the local "gang" -- five kids without much to do. Over two days punctuated by explosions -- the results of Ely's (Ricci) love for illicit bomb making -- the group bonds together in unexpected ways.

"Desert Blue" With "Hurricane Streets". director Morgan J. Freeman burst onto the film scene with a sharp portrayal of bored inner city kids. Motivated by stealing, disarmed by love, the film was highly entertaining if a bit flawed. "Desert Blue" is Freeman's second film and represents his attempt to reach the opposite end of the spectrum. This time, instead of a population of millions, we now get a population of 97. The film is set in fictional Baxter, California, the home of the world's largest ice cream cone and the factory of burgeoning cola company Empire Cola. When a truck carrying Empire's secret ingredient has a massive accident and subsequent spill, the town in quarantined and put on alert for possible toxic contaminants. The town locals, who never thought about leaving their boring town before, now become antsy and think about life outside of Baxter. Kate Hudson ("200 Cigarettes") and John Heard play two travelers who were passing through Baxter during the spill. They become part of the quarantine and befriend the locals. Brendan Sexton III ("Hurricane Streets"), Casey Affleck ("Good Will Hunting"), Christina Ricci (Everything independent), and Ethan Suplee ("Mallrats") play the local kids. The ride around all day in ATVs and spend their nights drinking by the long aquaduct. Each kid harbors a long standing resentment to Baxter, and each kid expresses that uniquely. Ricci by anarchy, Affleck by ATV racing, Suplee has a long dream of becoming a deputy, and Sexton tries to keep the family business alive, thought it died a long time ago. "Desert Blue" is somewhat a comedy, somewhat a drama, and somewhat a commercial for poor actors. While it's nice to see old faces like Sara Gilbert ("Roseanne") and Michael Ironside ("Total Recall") in small supporting roles, the rest of the cast is laughably bad. I do understand that they might be trying to conveying boredom, but they do it just a touch too realistically. That leaves the film with a very awkward static atmosphere. The best moments of the film come when Freeman lets his actors and the plot get a bit silly. The film comes alive in scenes of Orange baseball, potato guns, and an ad-lib by Casey Affleck that made me laugh the rest of the picture. "Desert Blue" could have worked better if Freeman would have lit a fire under the plot. Too many scenes include drunken ramblings, proof that a film isn't trying. While I came out of the film with a good feeling about it, I wished the movie could've taken more advantage of it's possibilities. ------- 6