I could relate to these girls. At least Annie. She's pissed that she had to move and basically disenchanted with life. That's teenager 101. I found it to be a very believable consequence of the actions of these girls. Being so young, they can't realize the consequences of their actions and certainly can't see that frank might be a creep like a grown up would see. It really doesn't dawn on them that he lied about his identity. So this film to me is very relevant to today's internet society, where one can make him or herself into whatever he wishes just with a few computer/phone keystrokes. Watch it. It's a good movie.
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mysprouts-740-81385623 August 2019
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awesomexxxgirl23 September 2020Watched this a while back sooo good and underrated honestly loved it
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rockman18217 July 2017An under the radar film that I'm sure many have not heard about, but hey, it was on Netflix. The premise sounded a little strange but like it could make for a fun time nonetheless. Didn't recognize the filmmaker or any of the main cast, besides Pat Healy. I dug him in Cheap Thrills but loved The Innkeepers, one of my favorite films from a little horror maker named Ti West. After watching Teenage Cocktail, I liked the portrayal between the two leads in the film but feel like major parts of the film were under-cooked.
The film is about a lonely girl named Annie who one day meets and befriends a girl named Jules. Their relationship is complicated but for the most part they flirt with each other in capacity before they realize their relationship is real. Along the way the girls decide to make money off of being cam girls. The girls want to escape and run away together but problems in their life occur and they need cash. Feeling cash-strapped, the girls decide to offer themselves for money to a random stranger online. Interesting premise, but the ending is too wonky and really doesn't build on something that was good.
The interactions between the lead actresses is great. You can feel the innocent but naughty connection between the two lovers. This relationship is at times portrayed very visually by great scenes of intimacy with close, personal camera shots and party themed fun and bright lights. The build-up to the film is oddly amusing. Its hard to figure where the film is headed as it makes itself seem to be a coming of age film, then a romance, then a thriller. Its all fine but I feel like Healy's character left more to be desired. The character has a lot going on but we don't really get to see a glimpse of his life before or after the ordeal.
Thus, the end kind of just slaps you in the face. It seemed like the script had a good thing going but fumbled closing it out in a satisfying way. I feel like bits and pieces were cut out and that characters kind of turned 180 and you can't help but feel like the writing is off. It's still not a bad film, just far from perfect. I didn't really have any expectations and I can't say I'm overly annoyed by how things turned out. Its a bit of a mixed bag, but leaning more towards the positive side.
6.5/10 -
ersbel25 February 2019The red flags are there. It has to start with the death / accident to make it somewhat interesting. Than details are hidden, yet everyone seems to act in accordance with some past deeds. LGBT is there just as another trick to sell the bad story.
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egyptiancotton16 January 2017Spoiler alert! Well not really description says teens trying to get away from overbearing parents? Previews shows girls performing on a webcam at one of the girls home? Is it just me or those too things don't go together? Overbearing parents just not around when girls are shooting soft core porn? U never meet one of the girls parents. I was off on martin luther king day and thought what the hell. The two girls relationship and the mother daughter relationahips worked nothing else done and the ending is not plausible and felt rushed. That being said the movie exceeded my expectations i would rate the movie a little better than a lifetime movie.two female leads and whoever plays the mom can have careers after this movie other actors shouldn't quit their day jobs. I never expect much from these low budget independent movies this one is better than the others ones i have watched. If your not bored watched something else.
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droark-0175711 November 2019This movie has some of the worst writing I've ever seen. This cautionary tale story structure is relatively common and can make for some great books and films. Other times, it can become comical when it's too unrealistic. In the case of Teenage Cocktail, it fails in a totally unique and bizarre way.
When the girls take the drastic action of prostituting themselves for the money to flee to New York, that could be used as the ultimate negative outcome (and it was in Requiem for a Dream). Although Annie is initially reluctant neither of the girls is majorly bothered by selling themselves to this stranger. They seem to shrug it off. The writers instead opt to create an impactful climax by having the girls inexplicably try to ruin the man's life by sending photos to his wife.
This creates a bizarre situation in which the writers were so far off the mark that the antagonist becomes more sympathetic than the protagonists. When the girls are fleeing across the country because people are finding out about their sex work, how can I possibly empathize with them for then inflicting the exact same thing on someone else? This unintentional moral flip left me feeling no investment in what were supposed to be the most intense moments of the film. -
Nichole Bloom and Fabianne Therese play two high school students who fall in love with each other and decide to run away to NYC to escape their extremely horrible lives (i.e. they live in nice houses in nice, safe neighborhoods; have parents who provide for them and care for them (for the most part); go to school where the only bad thing that is shown is a shoving match between Bloom and a bully; and they are given the freedom to go out and stay out late). Given these horrors that these two girls experience every day, it's no wonder they seek the comforts of a big city.
Not being completely stupid, Bloom and Therese realize they need money to make their big escape come true. And that's where webcam sex comes in. The money comes in slow but steady, but not fast enough for the teens. So they decide to prostitute themselves for one really horny guy who can afford it. And that's where things go really bad really fast. **SPOILER ALERT**The surprising thing is — and kudos to the screenwriters on this one specific thing — it's mostly the girls' fault that their situation quickly spirals out of control.
My most memorable, movie moment of "Teenage Cocktail" is the scene when the father of Bloom's character finds out that his daughter does webcam sex for money. He is shocked, of course; but when he has a chance to confront his daughter, he just shuts up and quietly goes out of his daughter's room. This dude needs to go out in the ocean and swim with the jellyfish, because he's as spineless as they are.
"Teenage Cocktail" has the basic elements that could have turned the movie into a very compelling commentary on some of the dangerous situations teens can get themselves in. But the script — which felt like it needed a few more drafts to get all the stupidity out — is the weak link of this project, bringing the movie down to the level of mediocrity.
Mannysmemorablemoviemoments -
rbrb10 November 2018Take a potentially clever story, cast some first rate performers, add in some decent music then there should be a good movie..........yes? Not with this one.
The picture is spoilt by the film makers; either the director or editor or both.
A couple of love birds find a way to make money on the net doing "porn" but ultimately things go wrong...
To make it worse: the ending is given away in the first few minutes of the film!
Whoever directed this movie seems to be still learning their trade as to many single shots and muddled sequences. I was also confused between the creepy villain in the picture and the actor playing the leads father.
What should of been a high flying 8 and a half is reduced to 4 and a half generously rounded up by me despite the awful presentation of the flick:
5/10. -
dsigndzmail14 April 2018I see this movie is getting a lot of mixed reviews, but I am happy I watched it.
As my title says, I regard this movie as an uncut diamond. Sure it has flaws, some of them obvious and odd, but at its core it is still a very unique and genuine gem. It manages to touch on a part of modern social life that is very taboo and gets little attention, even though it likely is much more widespread than most of us think.
It is not a high budget film, so I did not go in with a lot of expectations to the general acting, but the two main lead actresses really killed it. If I didn't know better I'd think they were together in real life too - which is a joy to watch. There are some quite intimate scenes, yet the girls never appear awkward around each other. The "antagonist" (if you can call him that) has little screen time and character build-up, but the actor does a good job portraying a middle aged man who appears to have all, yet is constantly battling his inner demons. Maybe turning a little too drastic towards the end (no spoilers), but it's not hard to imagine that crazy people exist out there.
In regards to the whole cam girls aspect, I truly admire how well the movie portrays the potential casual attraction it has. It is easy to put it into a box with strippers, porn stars, hookers, etc. But the real fact is that it is much more approachable and casual, especially for teenage girls who might just look at the surface, but don't see the actions/consequences that lie behind. I bet most of us did some strange stuff in our teenage years, stuff that we look back at and think "what the hell were I doing?". Making money off being a cam girl is just that, or at least it has the potential to be so. It's easy money and you do just the amount you want, no pressure. Seems quite harmless at a glance, and that is what this movie portrays very well. How harmless and casual easy money can seem in young girls' eyes.
As stated, this movie is great because of its display of genuine affection, and how it touches on a taboo subject that I have not yet seen on the big screen, and that alone deserves a watch.
I'd definitely recommend it. Can't say everyone will love it, though I did. If you watch it with high expectations to direction, attention to details, etc, then you will likely be disappointed. This is a low budget film, and I am reviewing it based on that fact. -
The story is pretty boring and slow for the most part following the life of two teen girls who become friends and decide to try to make some extra money to runaway on a website allowing themselves to be filmed in compromising behavior wearing masks for money. They end involved sexually together and make some really ridiculous decisions as their lives continue to implode when their secrets are found out. The story would have been interesting to see what happens to them after the final scene when their lives would have been totally exposed and in ruin. Except it just ended. If you like unrealistic independent stories about oversexed teens this might be for you.
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dr-deane77510 February 2017I've been on IMDb for years and never reviewed anything. There is no "I wish I was a real film critic" bs going on here. I just want to say that I loved it. It really reminded me of my teenage years and early 20's. I fell madly in love with this girl and we had a crazy relationship. We never did cam stuff because it wasn't a thing back then. We did have sugar daddies, and some of them were crazy as hell. This is a weird movie about drunk teenage girls that use men for money, so most people won't relate. But man, it reminded me of my life when I was young. I loved the movie. This isn't really a review at all. I'm just saying that I enjoyed it. My only issues were that the mom looked like 5 years older than Annie. She could have been her older sister, and the title makes no sense. If you "entertained" middle aged men for money as a teenager, this movie is for you! lol
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MovieCriticOnline16 February 2018I try to give some independent films a chance, but 99% of the time they are just bad. This is no exception. The acting is bad. The writing is bad and the direction is bad.
First, the actress playing the lead's mother is actually only 10 years older than the lead actress. What on earth were the director thinking? Actor playing the dad is 14 years older. Really? And the problem is, they look those ages and the director made zero attempt to age them in any way.
Can we stop having 30 year old actresses play 16-18 year old? it is a frequent occurrence in too many films.
Actors tend to overdo everything so it is up to the director to bring them down a few notches.
There was no real initial reason for Annie's fascination with Jules. Seeing her dance for 5 seconds? Going to New York, why? Because the local waitress used to go to their high school...
Stealing mints? What? Are there any films left based in reality? the money looked so fake and why do they have cash if it's online payments? Made ZERO sense.
The writing is unimaginative and wooden. Didn't keep my interest for more than 40 minutes. It was painful. Please don't let the director make any more films... -
Not in a totally good way unfortunately, but just stuff that does not fit with each other. Don't get me wrong there are a few things that work more than alright here. The relationship between the two girls, their desperation and their bond if you want to call it that. But there is also a lot that just feels plain wrong.
While I am glad it didn't paint the one guy just simple colored, something you kind of expect, the turn he takes towards the end is just incredibly sad and miss-informed. Something to put on a show sort of. To get people riled up, to shock the viewers. It kind of achieves the opposite in my view. There was something there ... but like the girls, the movie missed a couple of opportunities ... -
SnoopyStyle8 July 2018Annie Fenton (Nichole Bloom) is a new student at school. She gets into trouble with the other girls and is befriended by dancer Jules Rae (Fabianne Therese). They begin a relationship. Jules introduces Annie into the world of cam girl.
This is basically a Lifetime cautionary movie of the week troubled teens movie. The two leads are great although they're probably not teens. That's not a big deal. The tension is never that high. The drama is running at a lower gear which is not a good thing for this movie. There is one scene where I have real problems. I don't know who Tom is to Annie. He's either a step-dad or dad-dad. It makes a difference. I don't understand his action and he needs to be set up better. It's lazy story telling. There is a bit of that in this movie. Outside of the girls and Annie's mom, the other characters are nebulous and they aren't set up well. Then there is the crazy ending which doesn't fit the rest of the movie. A shootout in this type of movie seems to be a cop-out. -
okorelohor17 June 2021Inappropriate movie for kids and teens... Never seen a movie being weird...
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It's really good plot but the movie aren't give any specific detail maybe if they make it longer and more detail it would be much much better
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biswashok6 July 2021Worst at acting Bad script Bad influence to teenagers=boring movie.
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burgerman9314 May 2023Trying to make this a cautionary and moral tale instead of a heartfelt picture was a huge gamble. The movie was indistinguishable - there's too many other teen party flicks like this one.
As much as I enjoy Nichole Sakura's looks and talent, she's far too old to portray a high schooler. On that note, her character's parents were too young and incredulous.
At first I was thinking we would see a "buddy buddy" sort of comedy, where these two friends would get out of this small town and head to New York. That may have given the movie some imagination.
There was no real plot here and we had no good introduction to any of these characters.