Over the last several days, I've suffered
through some really awful independent film releases from Artisan
(Wannabes and Down
Time). Lest anyone begin to think that I just have it in
for indie films, I present The Kingston High.
Teenager / High School films are a staple
of Hollywood. At their best, they offer a chance to relive those
tumultuous years, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the
worse. The Kingston High certainly won't be remembered as one
of the greats, but it does have heart and charm, which gets
it by.
The film centers around three high school
buddies, Sketch, Histry and Random (Jeramie Gladman, Chason
Bridgman and Chauncey, respectively), on the night of the prom.
It is the end of their high school careers and they want it
to be special. The trio are the misfits of the school, the group
who seem to exist under the radar of all social groups. Everyone
sees them, but no one really pays attention to them.
They make the choice not to attend prom and
instead seek out parties all over town. Also, following traditions
long standing in teenage films, they make a bet to see which
one of them can wind up in bed with a girl before night's end.
At their first party, the trio of boys meets
a trio of girls. One of the girls, Trina (Nicole Pulliam), gets
into a spat with her boyfriend and she and her two friends decide
to leave with our three heroes. Sketch has a crush on Trina
and while Trina thinks Sketch is nice, she still has a thing
for her boyfriend.
The Kingston High is about as low budget as
it gets, appearing as though it was filmed using the family
camcorder. Also, some of the acting is just plain bad and there
are certainly some stinker lines of dialogue. This isn't a polished
film by any stretch of the imagination. But the film works because
the characters are interesting and most of the writing is honest.
Aside from the few flat lines, the primary
problem with the story is that the final third of the film seems
a bit rushed. There is a late revelation of one character liking
another that really should have been handled earlier in the
script to allow for more development.
A great film, this isn't. But for an independent,
low budget release, this is a worthy effort. It would be interesting
to see what some of those involved with the film could do with
more money and better equipment, because the talent is there.
