As millions of boys grow up and into a whole new environment ravaged by testosterone tornados and not a bloody map in sight, the welcome distractions are all kinds of shapes they just don't teach you in kindergarden.
As those boys enter high school, they stop watching the sports movies and start looking for more...revealing cinema. While the teen comedy genre is a far cry from more exploitative fare, the crazy little situations and parties by the poolside provide for much more skin than TGIF on ABC (geez, I'm dating myself).
And with the recent boom in teen roles and teen-dominated (or supposed-to-be-teens-dominated) that started again arguably with "Scream," there are plenty of nubile youngsters to create and morph our favorite cliches into barely different movies that some sadistic people like myself have a soft spot for. And the John Hughes and John Cusack creations from the '80s were amped up, with more pop music, more bikini-clad girls and MORE CHOREOGRAPHED DANCE SEQUENCES. YEAH!
Which takes us to the cheer-leading, morgue-dancing Kirsten Dunst, an actress who has visited many of the surprisingly numerous aspects of the genre. Everything from the hilarious in-jokestering on "Dick" to the now bountiful Shakespeare adaption in our high schools ("Get Over It") has added something with the 19-year-old actress, whose innocent face and awkward-yet-beautiful grace always ready for mining. And for those boys looking for skin, she coyly complies on her terms, including turns in the men's magazines like Maxim making all kinds of 30-somethings feel very, very dirty inside while reliving woulda-shouldas from high school.
But there are thousands of models and actresses who sell those magazines daily, and somehow, Dunst seldom gets lost in the mix. Maybe it's her age, or that look that even the nerdy guy may have a chance. But truth probably lies in "The Virgin Suicides," a great rental and the best movie ever to have "virgin" in the title. Her mystery-laden sex appeal as the oldest sister, Lux Lisbon, reinvents Dunst as a siren who filters out the available boys like a quality-control inspector at a five-star restaurant. And the thoughtful adolescent rejoices, because the girl of his dreams holds more talent than the pleasing but limiting teen genres.
So when the Dunst fans pick up their Entertainment Weeklys this week like all good fans do, and see the pronouncement of the teen culture's death, don't fret. For one, there always will be a bit of teen culture to tide us over. And there will be even more roles for the prolific Dunst, even when she grows too old for the teen movies (at what? 30?) and old enough for grown men to stop feeling dirty about themselves and their actress crush.
2001 - The Cat's Meow
2001 - Crazy/Beautiful
2001 - Get Over It
2000 - Bring it On
2000 - The Crow: Salvation
1999 - Dick
1999 - Drop Dead Gorgeous
1999 - The Virgin Suicides
1997 - Wag the Dog
1995 - Jumanji
1994 - Interview with the Vampire
