The critical consensus reads, 'The story is not new, but the film gets credit for trying to move away from the genre's cliches. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a score of 63% from 99 reviews. It eventually grossed a worldwide total of $19,937,988 on a $13 million budget. box office, taking in $4,715,060 USD during its opening weekend. Of the cuts, Stockwell said, 'We were trying to make a cautionary tale, and we couldn't show the behavior we were trying to caution people away from.” Reception Ĭrazy/Beautiful opened at #9 at the U.S. Though Crazy/Beautiful was planned as an R-rated film, in an effort to secure a commercial PG-13 rating, Disney ordered Stockwell to cut 35 obscenities, including a sex scene and scenes of Nicole drinking and using drugs.

ĭue to an FCC warning to film studios for showing 'unwholesome content kids', Touchstone Pictures mandated significant edits to John Stockwell’s final cut. The film was originally titled 'At Seventeen'. Although a nude scene was in the script, it was never filmed because Dunst was 17 years old when she was cast and her mother flatly refused to let her appear nude. She also helped Stockwell convince Disney executives not to tone down the film's language and adult themes. Dunst accepted the role because she was tired of playing 'sweet' girls. As the film ends, we see that Carlos has become a pilot with the United States Navy.Ĭrazy/Beautiful was directed by John Stockwell, who was interested in casting actress Kirsten Dunst as a self-destructive teenager after seeing her role in The Virgin Suicides. They return to her home, where she makes up with her father, who thanks Carlos for not listening to his advice to abandon Nicole. While they are away, Nicole realizes she is obstructing Carlos's dreams, and decides it is time to face her problems so she can be better for Carlos and have a future with him. Carlos rescues Nicole and they run away together. He drives her home, but they are stopped by the police.Īs a result of this incident, Nicole's father and stepmother decide that she needs to go to a boarding school far from home. He goes to the party and saves her from a boy trying to take advantage of her. One night, Carlos calls her and finds out she is getting drunk at a high school party. Carlos's friends and family also look down on the relationship, fearing Nicole is a bad influence on him.įeeling pressure from other peoples' expectations, Carlos breaks up with Nicole, sending her spiraling back into wild, drunken partying. Nicole's father offers to help Carlos with his Congressional sponsorship to the Naval Academy, but cautions against dating his daughter because he doesn’t want to see Carlos dragged down by Nicole. Carlos tries to steer Nicole away from her drug and alcohol abuse, and Nicole arrange a flying lesson for Carlos, who dreams of being a pilot but has never been in a plane. Despite the obstacles, their romance blossoms. She pulls a stunt that lands Carlos in detention and when she tells him to lighten up, he angrily points out that she doesn’t appreciate the privileges she has. The relationship runs into obstacles that arise from their different backgrounds, as when Carlos invites Nicole to a family party and she feels out-of-place as the only white person there. Despite their differences, Nicole and Carlos begin a relationship. Her troubles stem from her mother’s suicide when she was young, as well as the feeling of being unwanted by her father and his new wife.

She is the daughter of a US congressman and lives in the upscale Palisades, but she is rebellious, hard-partying, and has a strained relationship with her father. On a day out with friends at the Santa Monica Pier, he meets Nicole Oakley, a classmate who is doing trash pickup at the beach as part of a DUI sentence. A straight-A student, he has ambitions of attending the U.S. It is largely set at Palisades Charter High School and the surrounding area, including Downtown Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and East Los Angeles.Ĭarlos Nuñez is a 17-year-old Mexican-American teen who lives in East LA who rides a bus four hours every day to attend school in the Pacific Palisades for a better education. Crazy/Beautiful (stylized as crazy/beautiful) is a 2001 American teen romantic drama film starring Kirsten Dunst and Jay Hernandez.

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