Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

About Cherry Blu-ray Movie Review

Woe is the woman wearing the nurse outfit.

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf June 16, 2013

If “About Cherry” actually contained a story concerning the leading lady known as Cherry, it would be a far more enlightening picture. Possibly even great. Instead, the movie is a drippy, incomplete effort from first-time director Stephen Elliot, who has a functional idea to drill deep inside the scattered mind of an aspiring adult film actress battling the desperate reality of her life, yet he lacks the concentration required to shape these acidic experiences into a cohesive tale of panty-dropping enlightenment. The feature is all over the place, spending valuable screen time with vague, feeble characters and implausible personal exchanges, resulting in a muddled, frustratingly inconsequential journey of a surprisingly unsympathetic character and her hazy ride to the slippery top of the porno food chain.

Raised on the outskirts of Los Angeles in an abusive home, comely high schooler Angelina (Ashley Hinshaw, “Chronicle”) is aching to abandon her toxic life, yet feels obligated to protect her needy little sister. In a rare flash of bravery, Angelina and friend Andrew (Dev Patel, “Slumdog Millionaire”) make a break for the bohemian salvation of San Francisco, sharing a tiny apartment with hope to make a home for themselves in their new surroundings. Building on some topless photographs she took in L.A., Angelina rechristens herself “Cherry” and works herself into the dizzying world of fetish pornography, making a splash on the scene while bewitching director Margaret (Heather Graham), who’s suffering in a combative relationship with realtor Jillian (Diane Farr, “Rescue Me”). Earning money while trying to ignore the interests of her opportunistic, alcoholic mother (Lili Taylor), Angelina unwisely looks for love in the arms of cokehead lawyer Frances (James Franco), while a temptation to move up to more lucrative boy/girl scenes lingers in her darkening future.

For the first 45 minutes, “About Cherry” takes on an almost procedural tone when approaching Angelina’s initial curiosity with the imagined liberation of the adult film business. It’s an unexpectedly cold tone of accumulative experience that brings the character arc to life, permitting the audience to understand the drastic steps toward such an intensely life-changing decision and the daily activity of a seemingly unsavory vocation, observing the initial job interview and playful make-up room banter. There’s a promise that Elliot might keep to the business particulars of porn, eschewing unnecessary melodramatics and queasy titillation to actually dissect the steely mechanics of the industry, away from its familiar screen journey as a cesspool of creeps and personal violations. Instead of grime, there are tax forms to complete, rigid directorial instruction, and a drug-free life outside of the studio, inspecting a bizarre functionality to the gig that keeps the vivid carnival of flesh in business.

Elliot abandons the initial promise of observational clarity when he stumbles into stiff, formulaic characterizations, expanding the focus past Angelina to the broken lives of her family and friends, with Andrew a particular question mark, unleashed in San Francisco without a defined sexual identity, assumed gay by his roommate when he’s actually more of a timid soul waiting for the right moment. A subplot spotlighting the dysfunctional relationship between Margaret and Jillian is simply a disaster, plodding along without much thought put into their pointed domestic conflicts and unsteady sexual compatibility, with a late-inning kitchen tryst so clumsily executed and overblown, it’s actually a little embarrassing to watch.

“About Cherry” is consistently undefined and increasingly tedious, reaching a peak of absurdity with Francis, played by Franco in a weirdly distracted manner that suggests he wanted to be anywhere but on the set. Without time to create an understanding of attraction between the pair (Angelina openly spitting into James’s glass of whiskey is their meet cute), the union turns into an unappetizing Lifetime Movie in a hurry, with jealous James losing himself to drug abuse, while Angelina, previously scripted as observant and intelligent, can’t ditch an obviously destructive, easily avoidable situation to save herself.

About Cherry Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is somewhat restrained by the HD cinematography, which carries expected limitations in terms of softness, detail, and depth of blacks. Colors are by and large quite healthy and vivid, with a powerful punch of red popping off deep lipstick and sensual costuming, while adult film gear supplies a rainbow of hues to enjoy. Domestic scenes maintain a cooler palette, but remain strong. Skintones are in good shape, communicating a natural pinkness with faces, while more amorous scenes preserve full-blooded appeal. Fine detail is satisfactory for this type of low-impact movie, great with the textures of skin and the particulars of costuming, while interiors offer expressive decoration to survey. Shadow detail is largely stable, with some thickening during low-lit encounters. Noise is adequately managed, but some pixelation is detected.

About Cherry Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix doesn't contain much in the way of enormity. It's a modest film with a modest mix, carrying itself with confidence much of the way. There's very little surround activity to provide a circular hold, with the rear primarily reserved for faint outdoor atmospherics and the occasional group commotion. Club scenes bring out the full force of the mix, detailing the heavy thump of soundtrack selections, which provide a considerable low-end presence to rumble along with the music. Instrumentation on scoring and dance hits is quite good, isolating intended emotional cues, never overpowering the other elements. Dialogue exchanges are secure and full, avoiding the pain of distorted notes with extremes of temper. For an indie picture, the track offers what it can, remaining mostly reserved but communicative with the basics.

About Cherry Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted Scenes (1:39, HD) are frustratingly short snippets of atmosphere from the feature. The first is a scene extension that observes Angelina's giggly interaction with her fellow performers while being worked over on a make-up chair. The gang goofs around and asks the newcomer about her "future in porn." The second is barroom jesting with supporting characters, which doesn't seem to have any place in the film. Considering how much "About Cherry" lacks in characterization and dramatic substance, the dearth of more profound excised moments is surprising, perhaps revealing how little there was to begin with after all.

• A Theatrical Trailer (2:14, HD), which emphasizes sex and romance to sell the picture, is included.

About Cherry Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Salacious details are missing from "About Cherry," which takes a softcore approach to hardcore matters, relying on ample nudity from Hinshaw to soften issues of discomfort by placing attention on camera seduction, making the viewer a spectator to the erosion of innocence. If only the script had such lofty ambitions to remain with Angelina and her rise in the porno ranks, actually taking the temperature of her life as she escalates her commitment to the gig. Instead, there's only a shadow of experience to study, with the cop-out ending straining to reach a cyclical position of responsibility without earning the arc. There's nothing interesting to "About Cherry" beyond Angelina, rendering Elliot's dramatic interests insignificant, especially when it competes for screen time with something as visually and dramatically charged as the birth of a porn queen.