Tart (2001)

Wonderful character development!

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

The acting in this movie is really good.

Betcha my bottom dollar (not that I have any) that Dominique Swain watched MY SO- CALLED LIFE. She channels Angela Chase in her movie GIRL (which I've only seen snippets of) and again, here in TART. She gives us teenage angst, a sense of desolation and despair, to perfection in this outing. And then there is Mischa, lovely as always, as the mean girl, and Bijou Phillips as the wild one.Problem is, what went into the mix, choice ingredients; but the cake turns out kinda bland. Many of the scenes are far-off, the entire movie is oddly distant. It could have been great, but whoever was at the helm, avoided that achievement skillfully.Is the movie true to real life, though? I have to concede, yeah. But real life is mostly about as interesting as closed circuit security monitoring on an uneventful day. The movie lacks zing. And please, if your idea of something controversial was the toilet + ice bucket scene, please keep it to yourself.The director also avoided a nude scene while delivering what the script described. The Bijou Phillips character was supposed to be dancing with her top off, instead it was filmed rather puritanically with just her jacket off. Yeah, that boy would rush out the way he did to go see a girl removing only her jacket. I'm pretty sure the script called for more, but bare flesh was circumvented (for whatever reason, lots of possibilities spring to mind).All in all, we the viewers, lost out on what could easily have been a much- better experience. This small-budget movie need not have cost much more in order for it to be great. Only a little bit more and it might have been something truly worthwhile. As it is, a weak botched attempt that only shows wasted potential.On their own, both Dominique and Mischa deserve much better scores. The vague lethargic storyline bogs them down completely. And the title of the movie would be off-putting to the intended audience, while the poster/box design hints at a sexy schoolgirl. Who is that on the poster/box anyway? Totally misleading.

"Tart" is a good illustration of old the Yogi Berra saying: "If you don't know where you are going, you will probably end up someplace else". Writer/Director Christina Waye (in her first feature) has managed to make a $3 Million movie that ends up someplace else. "Tart" is either a coming of age story devoid of characters that a rational person can connect with, a black comedy without any humor, or a sexploitation movie without anything that is particularly sexy.Unlike the standard Swain film, "Tart" actually employed a competent and experienced production designer. Good enough to provide two extremely nice shots: the scene of Swain and Barton taking a bubble bath together and the scene of Swain in the park-featuring a nice montage of the "Alice in Wonderland" sculpture. The symbolism incorporated into these elements supports the possibility that Waye (despite the absence of a linear logic or unity of tone) actually has some visionary talent and aspirations for making a quality film. It is even possible that Waye was trying for a fusion of the somewhat expressionistic "Metropolitan" and the camp classic "Cruel Intentions" which also deal with the Manhattan upper class. There are many camera shots framed by windows and doors yet few tight shots of faces and eyes. The former technique hinting at symbolism and the latter at intentional distancing from the characters and their motivations. "Tart" seemed on the verge of veering into camp territory at least twice and would have been well advised to keep going in that direction. First there was the scene where they try to dump the seemingly deceased Swain into the garbage chute. Then there is the whole bit about her father being Jewish (played to the same extreme as Joel Grey dancing with the Jewish guerrilla in "Cabaret"). In her other films Swain's acting technique is to overwhelm each scene in which she appears (insert scenery chewing here) but in "Tart" she actually shows an ability to restrain herself. This is the best performance of her career. It also provides some clues about her physical deterioration from willowy super cute in "Girl" to hulking lumpy-faced in "Pumpkin". This transformation was about half-complete by the time she made "Tart"; so go the ravages of time. Mischa Barton ("Sixth Sense's" I feel better girl) and Lacey Chabet are excellent in supporting roles. The rest of the cast is simply horrible, although some of the blame for this should go to Waye's script and direction.

this movie was very blue,and not so entertaining. in my opinion the sound was not clear on some parts. most of all it was just kind of hard to watch and i just didn't like it. The title,sex,drugs,and study hall soundsjuicy but the movie does not live up to thecatchy box. instead its a pitiful excuse of a low budget movie. i found it neither touching or funny. if you want to see something long and blue go and rent this movie.for the people to be rich, the sets looked boring and mundane for no reason. the best part is when the character was happy for a short moment.

SPOILERS!I gave this film 2 out of 10 for 2 scenes that I will never forget.....by the way, my husband rented this surprising non-blow 'em up almost chick looking flick...but I guessed why when I saw the cover....girls in school uniforms....duh....lol....ah well, men if ya can't beat 'em join 'em.....;-)Bijou Philips, one of my favorites on the indie screen...too cute......not only gets into bestiality (her toy dog is the best lesbian in town according to her bubbly outrageous character)..that would be the first worthwhile scene..Then she enters a restroom in a lovely gown & goes into a stall....after a bit she gets up, goes out to the party she & the pathetically sad 'Cat' character are at,& hands a shiny silver ice bucket to the host of the party...the host looks in her precious silver ice bucket and says, "oh my god it's poo."I love Bijou Phillips myself for her creativity and unusual movie choices, this would definitely be one of them....and um, I would rent it for the poo scene if I were you.....I am not a big poo jokes fan, but it definitely puts the 'party people' in their place (they didn't look like they were having a good time anyway.....lol)...You will never forget these two scenes...hmm, but is that what we want in our databanks?....Maybe you shouldn't follow my advice at all....lolDominique Swain is kind of squirrelly & sad in her confusing nonsensical role in 'Tart'. I don't know, I can't decide if I like her because she is so into indie films?? Indie films are awesome & all but couldn't she pick a few good ones? I am going to check out a few more of her movies and reserve judgment.... but this one was, (pardon the reference to beasts) a dog.....