WE ARE THE BEST! Lukas Moodysson gets back on track with an energizing paean to adolescence

After his prolonged visit to the dark and dismal side -- Lilya 4-ever, A Hole in My Heart, the odd but at least short Container and finally the bottom-of-the-barrel Mammoth -- Lukas Moodysson bounces back with the kind of movie in which he first made waves (Show Me Love, Together). His new one is titled WE ARE THE BEST! and for once that exclamation point is not de trop. This tale -- of two young girls (from the looks of it, they're middle-school age) who form a "girl band" with literally no experience to back them up, and the third girl they bring in who actually plays an instrument -- is so full of vitality and life bursting from its seams that, from the first few frames, you're smiling and hooked.

I am not sure what it was that sent Mr. Moodysson (at left) to the brink of despair (with, I must add, little natural talent to bring this despair to anything but tired, pile-it-on-with-a-shovel storytelling), but it is awfully good to have him back where it would appear he belongs. That would entail giving us a lighthearted but quite real look at Scandinavian kids in Stockholm circa the 1980s. They're distinctive, maybe a little too "different" and somewhat troubled by their family situation or how they're treated at school, yet they're able to handle this via friendship and Scandinavian culture ("Democracy," as somebody in the movie smartly notes).

As played by Mira Barkhammar (Bobo, above center), Mira Grosin (Klara, at right) and Liv LeMoyne (Hedvig, at left), they're as genuine as they are delightful -- and as enjoyable to spend time with as any kid characters I've seen on film since those in The Way Way Back.

As directed and co-adapted by Moodysson, from his wife Coco's comic book, the movie simply sails along full-speed from scene to funny scene -- none of which go for any over-the-top laughs. But the film'll still keep a smile on your face all the way through.

Scene after scene works beautifully -- bonding over a cut on the hand, the "religious" discussion, the haircut, the food fight, the punk boy band the girls meet and go all gooey over -- and in this case, as usual, it's a male who screws things up a bit.

Especially fine are the scenes detailing how the girls first imagine becoming a band and then begin to think up a song and lyrics. All this is smart and amusing and quite believable, too. This may be lightweight stuff, wrapped in a nice time capsule, but there's hardly a more enjoyable hundred minutes of movie viewing currently available.

We Are the Best! -- from Magnolia Pictures -- opens this Friday, May 30, in New York City at the film centers Angelika and Elinor Bunin Munroe, in West Los Angeles at the NuArt, and across Canada in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. In the weeks to come it'll play all across the USA. To see currently scheduled playdates, click here.

Must-see DVD: Abe Sylvia's DIRTY GIRL proves just as good the 2nd time around

If you missed its (very) limited theatrical release (most people did), don't miss seeing DIRTY GIRL on DVD. My original review is here, so I'll make this reminder short. Abe Sylvia's wonderfully energetic, spacious, full-of-laughs-and-charm "buddy road trip" featuring the "dirty girl" of the title and her fat, gay friend is simply the most fun you're going to find on film for a long while. The two leads are splendid: Juno Temple (below, left) in what would have been a star-making performance if enough of us has seen the film, and Jeremy Dozier (below, right), who is so very good (funny, original and real), once he sheds some poundage, he might be quite the ladies' (or men's) man. (Even if he remains the plum little puss he is here, this guy's a keeper.)

Writer/director Sylvia does wonders with his kids -- who need some parental love and approval (and in one case, simply a father), and who bond, fight, help, hurt, and through it all, grow. And his cast of circling adults-- including Mary Steenburgen (below, right), Dwight Yoakam, Milla Jovovich (below, left) and William H. Macy -- are top of the line. The ending, shamelessly feel-good (and I wouldn't have it any other way), should have you walking on air. The movie's music, too, is aces -- particularly if you're a Melissa Manchester fan.

Right now, the only place I can find Dirty Girl is via Netflix. Blockbuster didn't bother to stock it, and even at my little local video store, they hadn't heard of it. Shameful. This movie is so worth seeking out. So seek -- until ye find.

Oh, Mama! Abe Sylvia's DIRTY GIRL delivers shameless, fabulous fun

OK: honest injun, DIRTY GIRL is not the greatest movie of the year. But it's certainly up there with those that have provided me the most fun. Joining the ranks of the recent "R"-rated comedies -- first, for the boys (Hangover etc.), then for the girls (Bridesmaids, etc.) -- this movie, from first-time/full-length writer/director Abe Sylvia (who makes a more-than-auspicious debut) has broadened the field to now include the first R-rated girls-and-gays comedy. In the process, Sylvia has managed to hit so many of the right buttons in a manner just off-kilter enough that they almost seem new. They're not, but you may well be laughing hard enough (and smiling when the guffaws calm down) that you won't notice. Or, even if you do, you may not mind.

One of the really special things about this movie is how Mr Sylvia, shown at right, manages to shock us and make a laugh, while also seeing to it that we like his characters, every damn one of them, including the homophobic father (played quite well by Dwight Yokam, below right) and the Mormon maybe-to-be step-father, essayed with his usual craftsmanship, by William H. Macy (shown at bottom).

The guys -- bless 'em -- do seem to get it in the stomach (more often the balls) in this movie, while the women tend to come out smelling like, if not a rose, maybe a lilac or carnation, as does our delightful gay hero, played with simply terrific, shruggy savoir-faire by newcomer Jeremy Dozier, below, whose first full-length film this also is.

Mr. Dozier (at left) is a doozy -- so funny and chubby and real and endearing as Clarke (note the "e") that I dare you not to be captivated by his combination of neediness and determination. Joining him in the other leading role is an actress, Juno Temple (below, who plays dirty girl Danielle), whom I've been watching with great interest for a couple of years now. From St. Trinian's to Glorious 39, Cracks to Kaboom, she's been just good and versatile enough to stand out. Here she comes into her own, and it's a star-making performance. Temple's chemistry with Dozier is right and real, as the two bond haltingly at first, then out of necessity and finally out of genuine friendship. These two are so good together that their relationship makes the movie.

Not that there aren't other excellent performances, as well -- among them those of Mary Steenbergen (below, right) as Clarke's mom and Mila Jovovich (below, left, playing, what?! a mother role now, as Danielle's progenitor). Also offering very smart work is Nicholas D'Agosto as a hitch-hiking stripper named Joel.

Part family film, part outsider movie, part road trip, Dirty Girl is held together as much by the filmmaker's savvy ability to negotiate various mood changes, as by its consistently excellent performances. Set in the late 1980s, it also boasts styles, songs and famous names of the period -- like Joan Jett, who lends her moniker to the very funny and useful bag of flour that our two kids must carry around all day as a practice "baby."

Thanks to some very funny and charming animation, this little 5-pound bag (above, middle) changes its expression with each passing mood and event and adds a lot of fun to this already delightful and dirty/sunny film. The climax, by the way, is every bit as shameless and fabulous as you could possibly want.

Dirty Girl, from The Weinstein Company, opens theatrically in limited release this Friday, October 7, in New York City, Los Angeles, Berkeley, San Francisco, San Jose and Tampa.  To see all the theatres, simply click here and then scroll down to TICKETS AND SHOWTIMES, type in your zip code and click on one of the three on-line ticket purveyors.