Alpha Dog (2006)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Nick Cassavetes

Writer (WGA):

Nick Cassavetes (written by)

Release Date:

12 January 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Inspired by true events.

Plot:

A drama based on the life of Jesse James Hollywood, a drug dealer who became one of the youngest men ever to be on the FBI's most wanted list.

Plot Keywords:

Drug Dealer | Drugs | Gang | Party | California

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Bruce Willis	...	Sonny Truelove
Matthew Barry	...	Interviewer (as Matt Barry)
Emile Hirsch	...	Johnny Truelove
Fernando Vargas	...	Tiko 'TKO' Martinez
Vincent Kartheiser	...	Pick Giaimo
Justin Timberlake	...	Frankie Ballenbacher
Shawn Hatosy	...	Elvis Schmidt
Alex Solowitz	...	Bobby '911'
Alec Vigil	...	P.J. Truelove
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Cosmo Gadabeeti
Frank Cassavetes	...	Adrian Jones
Nicole Dubos	...	Neighborhood Girl on Couch
Regina Rice	...	Dance Bitch Girl
Laura Nativo	...	Party Girl
Ben Foster	...	Jake Mazursky

Also Known As:

Jesse James Hollywood (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive drug use and language, strong violence, sexuality and nudity.

Runtime:

USA:122 min | USA:117 min (Sundance Film Festival) | Germany:118 min | Argentina:122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | USA:R (certificate #42022) | Ireland:18 | Italy:T | Germany:16 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Singapore:R21 (cut) | France:-12 | Finland:K-15 | Netherlands:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:18 | Malaysia:(Banned) | South Korea:18 | Peru:18 | New Zealand:R16 | Brazil:16 | Norway:15 (DVD rating) | Chile:18 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Acton, California, USA

Company:

Sidney Kimmel Entertainment

Trivia:

2006 Sundance closing film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jake Mazursky gets into the fight at the party while looking for Truelove, he is hit with a glass bottle and his head begins to bleed. At the end of the fight there is no blood or sign that he was hit by the bottle.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sonny Truelove: You wanna know what this is all about? You can say it's about drugs or guns or disaffected youth, or whatever you like. But this whole thing is about parenting. It's about taking care of your children. You take care of yours, I take care of mine.

Movie Connections:

References "Punk'd" (2003)

Soundtrack:

Cookie Monster

An excellent movie about misguided youth

When I saw the rating of this movie on IMDb.com, I couldn't believe my eyes. This movie definitely deserves a much better rating (around 7 would be the appropriate rating). This is a story about spoiled, misguided teenagers who do nothing but smoke pot, drink and party. Understandably, all of the teenager characters act in accordance with this care-free life style. So, you should expect this sort of behavior from them (a lot of cursing, violence, sex, drug usage, etc.). I think the director did a terrific job of portraying the setting for this type of life style.

There are two rival parties of youngsters and one guy, Jake Mazursky, owes some money to another guy, Johnny Truelove. Jake is a typical unruly teenager but his younger brother Zack is a nice kid who seems to have a brighter future than his older brother. But when Jake refuses to pay off his debt to Johnny Truelove, they kidnap his younger brother Zack as a hostage. Surprisingly, Zack develops a nice rapport with his kidnappers; being a nice kid, he easily connects even with the unruly kind. He doesn't even seem to be willing to escape from his kidnappers.

This is an excellent film showing the extend of damage that can be caused by the misguided youngsters. They live in a world where even the most stupid acts can be accepted as being "cool" or "desirable". Too much pot smoking and drugs, not enough oxygen in the brain cells. Are these kids really that stupid or are they stupefied by all the drugs they take? I think this is a movie all parents should watch and they should watch it really carefully before things are too late.