Customer Reviews

Dare [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Not since Threesome (1994), which born-again Stephen Baldwin has since disowned, has there been such a daring coupling of two men and one woman on screen. The tagline of that earlier film, "One girl. Two guys. Three possibilities," might have been adopted for Dare as well. The elephant in the room is the excellent Dare (2005) short included on the Blu-ray disc. While the swimming pool "dare" scene that is most of the short also appears in the new film, it has been truncated for no obvious reason, and it is not one of the deleted scenes. The new film also suffers by comparison because the chemistry between Johnny and Ben seems stronger in the short.

The new film is really not a gay film anymore. Alexa, who is peripheral to the short, drives the new film from the opening frames. Johnny's backstory of a distant father and a youthful stepmother certainly explains his vulnerability, but his friends are not privy to the same personal details the audience sees, and that sets up the somewhat unsatisfactory, though perhaps realistic, ending. Threesome, based on the college experiences of the director, was shot with an alternative ending that appeared on the 2001 release (unlike some male-male scenes that were cut and never seen) which also had problems. How do you resolve any threesome satisfactorily? We never learn how Johnny vanquished his personal demons except to see the sign on the door he enters in the last frames.

Threesome has about the same rating as this film overall, but has more five-star votes than otherwise. I would recommend Threesome over Dare, but the Dare short is a keeper and film comes very close as well.

There is an accepted lie that is told by Hollywood teen films: That everyone falls into types. The Geeky guy, the Jock, the hanger on, the bookish girl, the slutty girl, etc. as reliable as the characters tropes in a WWII men on a mission film. You know what you are getting, and everyone fulfills their roles in the formula. And its a winning formula every time From "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", to "The Breakfast Club", even lesser fare like "Bring it On" make this work. And its a fun fantasy.

DARE exists in the Twilight Zone of those films. We start in the very familiar teen film world Soccer Star; Stage Crew nerd; Star Student, and act by act, character by character deconstruct it all until we are left with three very real and very vulnerable teens who are in over their heads. It doesn't matter if you were like the one of the characters (and chances are you were) someone you know was.

Emmy Rossum shrugs off her Hollywood training and digs deep for all that is good and ugly about her character Alexa. No one who sees her here will forget her transformation from blushing wall flower to would be seductress. Nor will they forget her face in the final scene when she realizes she isn't really either of those things.

Ashley Springer takes a difficult role and humanizes it - taking the "gay best friend" out of the glib pigeon hole that Sex and the City put him in, and makes him real. He will make you wonder about Ducky.

Zach Gilford as the Jock will surprise anyone who hasn't been watching Friday Night Lights. He turns in an eye opening performance and by the end you will be feeling every last moment with him. I saw this film at Sundance and the crowd there fell for him. Will make you wonder about Emilio Estevez's character in "The Breakfast Club", or maybe your self a little.

When DARE ends, the teen genre is on its head and all the better for it. Buy this film. If you were ever a teenager this movie will thrill you.

Its a first feature for Director Adam Salky and writer David Brind. Its a stunning debut. If you didn't get the chance to see the film in its all too brief theatrical run see it on DVD. Show that their is support for independent movies with independent thinking.

We all know the indie film world is falling apart - one way to reverse that is going to see films in theaters. Next best is seeing them on DVD. Films like this deserve and audience now matter where they find it. My recommendation is to watch with friends. You are going to want to discuss it once you have seen it. At the very least make sure you have the numbers of your high school friends with you. This movie is going make you want to talk to them.

In "Dare," Alexa (played by the winning Emmy Rossum) is an inexperienced, socially inept teenaged actress who decides to become a "bad girl" so she'll be more in touch with the characters she`s playing (her current role is that of the world-weary Blanche Dubois in a high school production of "A Streetcar Named Desire"). Not only does this open up a whole new realm of experiences for the young lady herself, but it leads to a chain reaction for the two most important people in her life: her geeky best friend, Ben (Ashley Springer), who becomes seemingly jealous when Alexi takes up with the school's brooding, arrogant jock, Johnny (Zach Gilford); and Johnny himself who reveals some surprising truths about himself before the story's over. "Dare" is all about the roles we take on at various points in our lives, and how different we can appear to the world once the masks we are wearing are stripped off - thereby making the theatrical context the story uses a metaphor for real life.

Writer David Brind has divided his story into three parts, each focused on a different main character (Alexi comes first, followed by Ben, then Johnny). Since this has been largely conceived and constructed as a parable, the narrative lacks credibility on occasion and the storytelling does become a bit heavy-handed at times, but some genuinely unexpected plot twists, a blunt and honest approach towards sex and sexuality, an intriguing look at the boundaries of friendship, and an overall complexity of character make the film difficult to dismiss out of hand. In fact, its strangeness is probably its most compelling feature. Brind and director Adam Salky are obviously going for something offbeat and unusual here, and it is all to the movie's advantage ("Dare" is actually a fleshed-out version of a short film Salky made a few years earlier).

Fans of "Friday Night Lights" will be intrigued at seeing Gilford in a role that appears at first blush to be diametrically opposed to the sweet and likable Matt Saracen he plays on the series, though, as the story progresses and more layers are peeled off the character, we discover that Matt and Johnny actually have quite a bit in common with one another - mainly their feeling that they are largely unloved and alone in the world (Matt just deals with it better).

In addition to the three striking leads, Alan Cumming and Sandra Bernhard lend their support to the project in small but significant roles.

Despite its imperfections, this tale of youthful self-discovery emerges as a thoughtful and insightful look at the often painful, confusing, fumbling - yet wholly necessary - efforts teenagers must go through to find their place in the world.

Dare is a wonderful film that forces you to realize that things are not always what they appear. Is Johnny gay? Is he straight? Is he bisexual? Well, we learn that it doesn't matter, in this case it's not important, it isn't about sex. Johnny is starved for true affection, wanting to matter, to be substantial in someone's heart, to be loved as a person, having come from a wealthy, but indifferent, family whom he rarely interacts with. Alexa and Ben, his new friends, are caught up in their own pursuits. Ben has a crush on Johnny to the point that it forces Ben out of the closet. Alexa is ambitious, but she's confused as to why she really finds Johnny attractive. She wants to be an actor and is drawn to those who have a natural gift for it. This film defies the labels we apply to ourselves and others in order for us to follow some safe stereotypical path, to create a sense of security for ourselves. We want to follow the road most travelled so that we can believe we are "normal". The problem arises in the trio's relationship when Johnny mistakes the interest that his friends show toward him for honest affection. And, as many young people do, Alexa and Ben are oblivious to what Johnny really needs, being consumed by their own goals. Sex really doesn't matter to Johnny and so it is left as a side issue and we never know what his true sexual inclination is. One of the most revealing and heartwarming moments in the film is when Ruth (Ana Gasteyer) is taken aback by Johnny's forwardness when he reacts to her genuine compassion with sincere affection and love. A great film that reveals the confusion of youthful pursuits stem from the innermost needs that we really have.

Dare is quite the movie. Dont listen to the labels. Its not a gay movie by any means. Its a movie about high school. About sexuality. About finding yourself and the damages you cause to others, even if you are unaware.

It follows two friends, a girl and her friend, who is gay. They meet Johnny, the schools bad boy. Alexa, the girl, is a do gooder. Perfect if you will. She gets challenged to push herself and go outside of her comfort zone. She lands in bed with Johnny and the two start to hangout. Ben, the gay friend, is jealous. One night he offers Johnny a ride home. The two drink a little and Ben reveals he has never even kissed anyone. Johnny kiss' him. Then Ben goes for it and ends up hooking up with Johnny. Now Alexa is jealous.

But thats all the set up, or what should be just the set up (ill get back to that in a moment). We then learn about Johnny who is lost, alone, and desperate for real feelings. He comes from a broken family and is obvious void of love. This is where the movie gets good. We learn he has panic attacks and a lot of other issues. We learn he wants a family. Johnny doesn't understand that Alexa & Ben were pretty much using him to find themselves. The three end up in bed at the end of the movie and things fall apart.

The plot isnt anything amazing, but the movie comes off very real about teenagers finding who they are. the actors all committed and didnt shy away from anything - sexual or emotional. Zach Gilford is the shining star in the movie. he has two powerful scenes - one with his therapist and one with his friend telling him not to call people a fag.

My issue with the movies is in Alexa and Ben. Too much time is devoted to them for them to be so underdeveloped. The movie really should have just established them and then launched into Johnny and focus on him. However telling one story, each in POV of three diff characters, was interesting.

The best part of the dvd is they added the short the movie was based off of starring Michael Cassidy.

With its high school setting and the evocative title "Dare," I was prepared for this film to be either a standard teenage romp or perhaps a cautionary tale about alienated youth causing mischief. In fact, it is a rather sensitively wrought tale of conflicted emotions and youth struggling for identity. Blurring lines between sex and friendship, "Dare" introduces a somewhat accidental threesome that is as intriguing as it is believable. This non-traditional bond is purely unintentional with each party seeking something from the relationship that will never be fully realized. Earnest, and even heartbreaking, the film grows more disturbing as it progresses--with the teens both liberating one another while causing emotional damage.

The film is split into three parts--one to represent each of the young protagonists. Emmy Rossum effectively plays an overachiever who doesn't quite click with the popular crowd. When paired for an assignment with rebel jock Zach Gilford, she takes this as a chance to challenge the good girl expectations placed on her by advancing a sexual liaison with him. Her best guy pal, Ashley Springer, is struggling with his own sexual identity--he's both jealous of the new couple and wanting some alone time with Gilford as well. And Gilford, for his part, is much more troubled and complex than he seems and simply yearns for the closeness and normalcy of having real friends. Soon something rather illicit is happening--but with all the conflicting expectations, it seems a recipe for disaster.

All of the performances are terrific. Springer and Rossum capture the push/pull dynamic of a close friendship. Ana Gasteyer has a pivotal and effective role as Springer's mother, and Rooney Mara, Sandra Bernhard, and Alan Cumming lend able support. But in many ways, the film belongs to Gilford--likable on Friday Night Lights, but displaying unexpected depth and poignancy here. It is a star performance layered with complexity. What I like most about "Dare," ultimately, is that it is messy, emotional and confused. It has much to say about contemporary relationships even in its unconventional and daring set-up. All in all, this drama of teen angst is refreshingly adult! KGHarris, 4/11.

i went into this movie without reading what it was about. I had just seen the american version of the girl with the dragon tattoo and wanted to watch a rooney mara movie so i went on netflix. i thought it was a coming of age movie. i guess in a sense it is but you should make sure the kids are in bed. this is no sixteen candles. it deals with the choices and carelessness of 2 particular "privaleged" kids and another rich kid who they dont understand. Its a raw look at realising that with every action there are consequences, some which cant be resolved.
alexis is a pampered sheltered rich girl who is so seemingly innocent and ben her dorky friend who at first i couldnt help but like because well, hes nice to her and sticks by her. then comes johnny. mr popular rich boy with an additude. johnny has been aparently forced into taking an acting class where ben does lighting and alexis is obsessed with acting perfection (to the point where she over acts). johnny couldnt care less about acting but when a famous thespean comes to class and dogs alexis' dreams of becoming an actor and prides johnny for his rawness and natural talent alexis is furious. the actor told her that she was (in so many words) a virgin child who had never experienced life and she oughta go out and either become a doctor or a lawyer or marry well and if she wanted to become an actor she better go out and experience life and after that if she wanted to be an actress may god have mercy on her.
alexis then decides shes gonna strap on some hot pants and grab life by the balls so to speak. Then she provokes ben which leads to him growing a pair and this movie is all about what happens.

i would put this movie in the "cruel intentions" category.

Not many movies address teen sexuality to this degree. This movie was a very good look at what it is like for teens coming of age. I thought the story was well written and the movie did not follow a normal pattern of teen drama development. I would recommend watching the movie, but it is only appropriate for mature audiences despite its teen subject matter.

I read the reviews here and I have to say that the first three that come up pretty much are great and do tell of the facts of the movie. This is a movie that shows the "truth" about other's and what they will do to get what they want. However some said it was depressing but in fact it is not. This story from start to finish is one in which keeps you with it and tells us how it doesn't matter who you are, when you need a "friend" to just hold you will she or he be there. It tells of many as myself who yes found myself with the the young man who is so wealthy you would think he would be happy and an azz if you will but has many secrets and the main one is where I, identify with him. Watch you will see it is far from the truth. This movie could be compared to threesome but for me this one far out weighs which one I would add to my collection. This is for all Men & Women Gay, Straight, whatever. It will open your eye's, heart, soul and mind. Then the end will come and you will say right on. It really leaves us hoping that there will be a follow up to this one, I really think it could even go further into these three or four persons. Rent it if you can it will be worth it. Then you can decide if you want to add it to your collection as I did. Peace & Blessings, hope it helps you.

Sometimes I think it may seem to others like I only watch more "mainstream" big budget Hollywood movies and less of the small controversial indies. But I really do watch a variety of films that interest me regardless of who made them, who's in them, how much they were made for, or whether they had box office success. It's the story that is most important to me. I love a well made $200 million summer blockbuster as much as the next person, but I also love a well-crafted little indie film shot for pennies on the dollar compared to what James Cameron & Michael Bay get for budgets.

DVD and the internet have been the best thing to happen to small films in my opinion. They've made these films accessible to people in the comfort and privacy of their home where they can enjoy these stories that they might not pay $10 to see in a theater, assuming they could even find a theater showing them. Dare (2009) is a small movie that fits into this category. When I first heard about this movie because of its appearance at Sundance in 2009, I was intrigued by the story and wanted to watch it. Who doesn't like a "coming-of-age" story. There are hundreds of them out there in books, movies, television, and music. We've all come of age and know the difficulties of that process. And we seem to love to reminisce about it as we get older...in both positive and negative ways.

Actor Zach Gilford, the "star" of Dare, was introduced to me in the TV show Friday Night Lights and I thought he was very good in that show, so seeing his name on this movie certainly helped. Dare came out in theaters at the end of last year and didn't see much box office moola. But it was recently released on DVD and Netflix Instant Viewing, where I watched it recently...which by the way, is part of the future of movies. Having on-demand access at your TV in your Living Room to anything and everything at anytime, like iTunes has done for music, is where movie distribution is going IMO. Goodbye to the DVD and Blu-Ray discs as soon as we get the bandwidth issues resolved on the internet.

Anyways, back to Dare. Dare is basically a story about 3 high school seniors finding themselves in their final year of high school and before they become "adults". Johnny, as played by Zach Gilford, is the "popular" jock-type rich kid that seems to always be in these tales, but he's really not that guy, as we discover through the journey of the film. Johnny is actually a depressed and lonely lost soul whose lack of parental involvement in his life has taken a toll on his psyche. He has lots of "friends", but he doesn't have a connection with any of them seemingly because they are all too shallow and fake. He's searching for real people to have a real connection with and whom he can share his desire to love and feel loved with. Love is what has been missing from his young life.

Alexa is the repressed girl who hasn't really expressed herself or allowed herself to experience anything outside of what she was told to do. She's yearning to experience life and to take risks and be bold, simply I think so that she can know how those things feel. She wants to feel like she's living her life. And finally, Ben is the awkward nerdy guy who doesn't have many friends, isn't popular, and is hiding from being gay. His best friend is Alexa, whom he's known since they were young kids.

All three of these characters are on that search for who they are and how to be themselves. As part of Alexa's journey, she decides to go after Johnny and become the girl Johnny normally goes for. Seeing that transformation in Alexa, Ben decides to do the same...with Johnny as well. So a love triangle and friendship triangle ensues for the three of them. The movie is divided into 3 acts, each act focused on telling the intertwined stories of these three people from the point of view of each of them.

What was interesting to me about this story was that I was able to relate to all three characters, each in a different way. There was a part of my story, and I'm assuming this is true for most people, in each of these teenagers. But Johnny and his 3rd-act story was the one that I connected most powerfully with, certainly by design I think from Director Adam Salky. Being lost and confused in so many ways in his life, Johnny is who represents young men today in my opinion. Women have been on an incredible journey to equality in our culture, but at the same time, the roles of men and the expectations of who they should be have changed dramatically in the past 40 years. And I think that young men are having a harder time right now finding their place in our new culture of strong and empowered women. Don't get me wrong, I'm 100% supportive of strong women's rights and equality within society, but not at the sacrifice of the same thing for men. I think the scales have tilted from men to women and that we are in search of balance now. And as a young man, Johnny represents this new confusing journey that we men are going through. And that is what I connected with in the story of Dare.