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Spring Breakers

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For other uses, see Spring break (disambiguation).
Spring Breakers
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHarmony Korine
Written byHarmony Korine
Produced byCharles-Marie Anthonioz
Jordan Gertner
Chris Hanley
David Zander
StarringJames Franco
Vanessa Hudgens
Selena Gomez
Ashley Benson
Rachel Korine
Gucci Mane
CinematographyBenoît Debie
Edited byDouglas Crise
Adam Robinson
Music byCliff Martinez
Skrillex
Gucci Mane
Ellie Goulding
Production
companies
Distributed byA24
Release dates
  • September 4, 2012 (2012-09-04) (Venice)
  • March 22, 2013 (2013-03-22) (United States)[1]
Running time
93 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States[2]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7 million[4]
Box office$32,153,353[4]

Spring Breakers is a 2012 American comedy and drama film written and directed by Harmony Korine. Starring James Franco, Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson and Rachel Korine, the film follows four college-aged girls on their spring break and subsequent descent into use of drugs, crimes, and violence.[5][6][7][8][9]

The film was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 69th Venice International Film Festival.[10] It received positive reviews from film critics, some calling it a cult classic,[11][12][13][14] and was a box office success grossing over $30 million at the worldwide box office from an estimated $7 million production budget.

Plot

The film opens during a spring break beach party and then flashes back to a local college attended by friends Faith (Selena Gomez), Brittany (Ashley Benson), Candy (Vanessa Hudgens) and Cotty (Rachel Korine). Brittany, Candy and Cotty spend their spare time smoking and partying, and Faith attends a local religious youth group, although she seems distant and uninterested. While discussing her plans for spring break, members of her church warn her about her friends and describe Brittany and Candy as particularly dangerous. As their classmates head to spring break, they are stuck behind due to a lack of money. Desperate to make the trip, Brittany and Candy, after getting high on cocaine, don ski masks and use hammers and realistic-looking squirt guns to commit armed robbery at a local restaurant. Cotty acts as the getaway driver in a stolen car (obtained from one of the girls' professors), which the girls later burn.

Now able to make the trip to spring break in St. Petersburg, Florida, the girls attend wild beach parties and engage in reckless behavior. Faith, in a call to her grandmother, describes the trip as beautiful, claiming it is the most spiritual place she has ever been while cuts show partying and women urinating by the sidewalk. Shortly after, the three divulge the details of their crime to Faith, and she is clearly taken aback by the extreme nature of their actions. However, she chooses to overlook their crimes, as she feels that while it was wrong, it was done for a good reason. After a particularly wild party, all four are arrested, along with several party members. They spend the night in a holding cell, where Faith muses on the bad direction which the trip has suddenly taken. Facing another two nights in jail, they are suddenly bailed out by Alien (James Franco), a local rapper and gangster who was signaled to get the girls by two twins who work for him and knew the girls. He questions them about themselves, and reveals to them details about his childhood, his wealth and his occupation as an illegal drug and firearm distributor.

He takes them to a local gang club, where Faith becomes increasingly uncomfortable with his lifestyle. Despite his attempts to convince her to stay, she decides to leave and begs the others to come with her but they refuse, and she makes the trip home alone. The girls return to Alien's mansion, where he shows them the wealth from his illegal activities, describing his life as the "American Dream". During this demonstration he embraces Brit and Candy as his "soulmates". Taking them to a strip club owned by his local rival, Alien encounters a former friend and current rival gangster called Big Arch (Gucci Mane), who warns Alien to stop selling drugs in his territory and stick to robbing "Spring Breakers".

Alien ignores him and continues his activities, arming the girls with pink ski masks and shotguns, and together they perform several armed robberies on the "Spring Breakers". While in Alien's car they are approached by Big Arch and another member of his gang. After threatening them, he executes a drive-by shooting, and Cotty is shot in the arm. Despite Alien's promises of retaliation, Cotty is traumatized by the incident and chooses to return home. Brit and Candy remain behind, and begin a sexual relationship with Alien. The three of them decide to take revenge on Big Arch. In a flashforward, the two girls call home, promising to work harder and become better people and their ski masks are shown being thrown in the ocean.

Back in real time, the three travel in a motorboat to Big Arch's mansion. Not long after stepping onto the pier, Alien is shot by one of Big Arch's guards and dies. Brit and Candy proceed on, killing Arch's gang members before confronting Big Arch and shooting him dead. During the assault and its aftermath, the camera pans over the dead bodies of Big Arch's gang while a voice over, originally played earlier in the film, from Faith describes the trip as beautiful, as she muses that they have found who they truly are. Brit and Candy are then shown driving home in Big Arch's Lamborghini. A final flashback shows the pair kissing Alien's dead body and credits roll.

Cast

Production

According to Harmony Korine, he wrote the film partially to make up for his own spring breaks, as he had been fully devoted to skateboarding, and therefore missed out on what he saw as opportunities for hedonistic pursuits.[15] The original lineup of lead actresses was announced as Emma Roberts, Selena Gomez, and Vanessa Hudgens.[16] Roberts however dropped out in early 2012, reportedly after hearing she would need to gain body fat for her role.[17] Director Korine had purposely collected a group of well-known young actresses with a similar reputation to Roberts in Hollywood.[18] Ashley Benson was ultimately cast.[19] The film was shot in March and April 2012 in and around St. Petersburg, Florida.[15] Skrillex produced the score for the film.[20]

Release

A part of the main cast at the film's premiere in Paris in February 2013 (left to right: Rachel Korine, Ashley Benson, Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens)

A three-minute preview of Spring Breakers was released at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in May 2012.[21] The entire film premiered at the 69th Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2012.[22] The film was released in New York and Los Angeles on March 15, 2013.[23] The film was released nationwide on March 22, 2013.[24] The film had a limited release in the UK on April 5, 2013.[25] The movie was also released in France on March 6, 2013.

Home media

Spring Breakers was released digitally on June 25, 2013,[26][27] and on DVD and Blu-ray on July 9, 2013.[28]

Controversy

Riff Raff

On February 15, 2012, Korine contacted rapper Riff Raff about appearing in an upcoming film of his which would turn out to be Spring Breakers.[29] Once the trailer was released there was speculation that the character Alien was based around Riff Raff.[30] According to Franco, his character is based on the underground rap artist Dangeruss, who has cameos in the film. "Of course Harmony and I looked at some of Riff Raff's videos as inspiration, but he was one of a number of people we looked at. I would say the biggest influence on the role was this local Florida rapper named Dangeruss. He's fairly unknown, but he was down there in the place, living the life, and he became the biggest model for me, and he's in the movie."[31] After much back and forth between both camps about the issue, during July 2013 Riff Raff announced he was suing the creators of Spring Breakers for 10 million dollars for sampling his life without his permission or a proper producer credit.[32]

Sexist or feminist

The film has generated debate and controversy among critics and bloggers, with some arguing that it should be considered a feminist or female-empowerment film, while others regarding the film as a male film director's indulgence in furthering the objectification and exploitation of attractive young women in popular media. In regard to the former, the women are not depicted as the film's victims, but arguably as antiheroes, acting according to their own power and agency. According to Rolling Stone, the film presents "a kind of girl-power camaraderie that could almost be called feminist", a result of the director's intent to "do the most radical work, but put it out in the most commercial way (...) to infiltrate the mainstream".[33]

In regard to the latter perspective, The Guardian suggests that the film "reinforces rape culture" and "turns young women into sex objects",[34] while other reviewers state that it "pushes booze-and-bikini hedonism to the extreme",[35] as the "camera glides up, down and around these women's bodies like a giant tongue."[36]

Reception

Critical response

The film received generally positive reactions from critics.Template:Rotten Tomatoes score

Xan Brooks of The Guardian said the film is Korine's "most fully realised, purely satisfying feature film since Gummo."[37] Emma Seligman of The Huffington Post described the film as "Scarface meets Britney Spears."[38] Oliver Lyttlelton of IndieWire gave the film a B, stating that the film would be a future cult favorite for "midnight moviegoers".[11]

Guy Lodge of Variety gave it a negative review saying, "this attractively fizzy pic may be a shock to the system for fans of teen queens Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens, but remains pretty toothless titillation by its writer-helmer's standards."[39] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter noted that James Franco gives one of his more bizarre performances in his unpredictable career, saying "he's a cross between Bo Derek in 10 and Richard Kiel in Moonraker."[40] Andrew Schenker of Slant Magazine gave the film 3 out of 4 stars.[41] Jamie Dunn of The Skinny gave it 4 out of 5 stars, saying: "If Michael Mann was to take a lot of hallucinogenics and shoot a Girls Gone Wild video, it might look something like this."[42]

Box office

Spring Breakers grossed $14,124,284, in North America, and $17,600,000 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $31,724,284.[4]

In North America, the film opened to #6 in its first weekend with $4,858,944, behind The Croods, Admission, The Call, Oz the Great and Powerful, and Olympus Has Fallen.[43]

Accolades

List of awards and nominations
Date of ceremony Group Category Recipients Outcome
December 7, 2013 BOFCA Awards Top Ten Best Films of the Year Spring Breakers Won
May 3, 2013 14th Golden Trailer Awards Trashiest Trailer
March 1, 2014 29th Independent Spirit Awards Best Cinematography Benoît Debie Pending
August 29-September 8, 2012 69th Venice International Film Festival Future Film Festival Digital Award – Special Mention Harmony Korine Won
Golden Lion Nominated
December 9, 2013 12th WAFCA Awards Best Supporting Actor James Franco Pending

Soundtrack

The film score to Spring Breakers was composed by Cliff Martinez and Skrillex. Marking the first scoring assignment for Skrillex,[44] the electronic music producer/singer-songwriter was contacted after director Harmony Korine sent music supervisor Randall Poster links to Skrillex's music on YouTube. "I'm accustomed to being the oldest person at a gig," said Poster, "but when I went to see Skrillex at Roseland this year, it was dramatic. There were a lot of kids that looked like they were 15 years old. But I loved it. I truly loved it."[45]

Untitled

Spring Breakers (Music From the Motion Picture) is a soundtrack album for the film of the same name, released on March 19, 2013 by Big Beat Records and Warner Music.[46][48]

No.TitlePerformer(s)Length
1."Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites"Skrillex2:56
2."Rise and Shine Little Bitch"Cliff Martinez & Skrillex0:35
3."Pretend It's a Video Game"Cliff Martinez2:47
4."With You, Friends (Long Drive)"Skrillex3:18
5."Hangin' with Da Dopeboys"Dangeruss & James Franco2:53
6."Bikinis & Big Booties Y'all"Cliff Martinez & Skrillex3:06
7."Never Gonna Get This Pussy"Cliff Martinez2:40
8."Goin' In" (Skrillex Goin' Down Mix)Birdy Nam Nam3:19
9."Fuck This Industry"Waka Flocka Flame3:27
10."Smell This Money" (Original Mix)Skrillex2:38
11."Park Smoke"Skrillex4:01
12."Young Niggas"Gucci Mane & Waka Flocka Flame3:44
13."Your Friends Ain't Gonna Leave with You"Cliff Martinez3:14
14."Ride Home"Skrillex2:55
15."Big Bank" (featuring French Montana)Meek Mill, Pill, Torch & Rick Ross3:38
16."Son of Scary Monsters"Cliff Martinez & Skrillex3:40
17."Big 'Ol Scardy Pants"Cliff Martinez3:08
18."Scary Monsters on Strings"Skrillex3:11
19."Lights"Ellie Goulding3:31
Total length:41:06
Wal-Mart exclusive bonus track
No.TitlePerformer(s)Length
20."$$$ex"Vanessa Hudgens and Y.LA2:23

References

  1. ^ Cruz, Niki (February 14, 2013). "'Spring Breakers' Gets An Early Release Date". The Inquisitr. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  2. ^ Long, Heather (March 28, 2013). "Spring Breakers isn't just a terrible movie, it reinforces rape culture". The Guardian. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  3. ^ "SPRING BREAKERS (18)". British Board of Film Classification. February 14, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c Spring Breakers at Box Office Mojo
  5. ^ "Rachel Korine (Yes, Harmony's Wife) Joins 'Spring Breakers'". The Playlist. Indiewire. November 4, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  6. ^ Buchanan, Jason. "Spring Breakers". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  7. ^ Rothkopf, Joshua. "Spring Breakers". Time Out. Retrieved April 23, 2013. Spring Breakers is either an inspired satire of the youth movie or the most irresponsible comedy mainstream Hollywood will never make.
  8. ^ Roeper, Richard (March 20, 2013). "Spring Breakers Movie". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  9. ^ Gleiberman Owen (March 22, 2013). "Spring Breakers". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  10. ^ "Venezia 69". labiennale. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
  11. ^ a b Lyttlelton, Oliver (September 4, 2012). "Venice Review: Harmony Korine's 'Spring Breakers' Is A Semi-Conventional Genre Flick & Future Cult Favorite". IndieWire. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ "Spring Breakers: The newest cult classic". WEEKEND. IDS News. March 27, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
  13. ^ "Is Record Breaking 'Spring Breakers' A Cult Movie In The Making?". Contactmusic.com. March 18, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
  14. ^ Sean O'Connell. "Spring Breakers Review". CinemaBlend.com. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
  15. ^ a b Durbin, Jonathan (May 7, 2012). "Girls Gone Wild". Interview. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
  16. ^ "Emma Roberts, Selena Gomez & Vanessa Hudgens Star In Spring Break Flick". Hollywire. November 3, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  17. ^ White, Chelsea (9 January 2013). "Taking the Bieber! James Franco and rumoured flame Ashley Benson mock Justin and girlfriend Selena Gomez in parody video". Daily Mail. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  18. ^ Orange, B. Alan (January 12, 2012). "Emma Roberts Pulls Out of Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers". Movieweb. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  19. ^ Finke, Nikki (January 30, 2012). "'Pretty Little Liars' Ashley Benson Cast In 'Spring Breakers'". Deadline.com. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  20. ^ "Skrillex Will Score The Movie "Spring Breakers"". Disney Dreaming.
  21. ^ "Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens make an arresting sight as they're busted in bikinis Spring Breakers". Daily Mail UK. May 30, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2012.
  22. ^ Rosen, Christopher (September 5, 2012). "'Spring Breakers': James Franco Sings Britney Spears In New Film According To Early Reviews". The Huffington Post. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ "'Spring Breakers' Gets An Early Release Date". The Inquisitr. February 14, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  24. ^ "Spring Breakers(2013) MovieWeb".
  25. ^ Rees, Alex (January 18, 2013). "Disney stars gone wild: see James Franco in the first trailer for Spring Breakers". GQ. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  26. ^ Benson, Ashley (June 25, 2013). "Soooo Spring Breakers is out on DVD now!!!!". Twitter. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  27. ^ "#springbreakers is YOURS tomorrow". Twitter. June 25, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  28. ^ "Spring Breakers (DVD + UltraViolet Digital Copy) (2013)". Amazon.com. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  29. ^ Buyanovsky, Dan (July 19, 2013). "RiFF RaFF Speaks On 'Spring Breakers' Lawsuit, What He'd Do With $10 Million". XXL. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  30. ^ Long, Stephanie (March 28, 2012). "James Franco to Play Riff Raff in Upcoming Harmony Korine Film". Vibe. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ Sebra, Matthew (May 1, 2012). "Last Night...Talking Cornrows with James Franco". GQ. Retrieved August 1, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  32. ^ C. Vernon Coleman (July 16, 2013). "Riff Raff Is Suing 'Spring Breakers' Creators For $10 Million". XXL. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  33. ^ Eells, Josh (March 15, 2013). "Inside 'Spring Breakers,' the Most Debauched Movie of the Year". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  34. ^ Long, Heather (March 28, 2013). "Spring Breakers isn't just a terrible movie, it reinforces rape culture". The Guardian. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  35. ^ Meyer, Carla (March 22, 2013). "Movie review: James Franco only non-vacuous part of Spring Breakers'". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  36. ^ Edelstein, David (March 15, 2013). "Three New Films Examine What It Means When Girls Act Out". National Public Radio (NPR). Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  37. ^ Brooks, Xan (September 5, 2012). "Spring Breakers – review". The Guardian. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  38. ^ Seligman, Emma (September 18, 2012). "REVIEW: 'Spring Breakers'". The Huffington Post. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  39. ^ Lodge, Guy (September 5, 2012). "Variety Reviews – Spring Breakers – Venice Film Festival Review". Variety. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  40. ^ Rooney, David (September 5, 2012). "Spring Breakers: Venice Review". The Hollywood Reporter. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  41. ^ Schenker, Andrew (March 12, 2013). "Spring Breakers - Film Review". Slant Magazine. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  42. ^ Dunn, Jamie (April 1, 2013). "Spring Breakers - Film Review". The Skinny. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  43. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for March 22–24, 2013". Box Office Mojo. IMDB. March 25, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  44. ^ "Skrillex and Cliff Martinez to Score 'Spring Breakers'". Film Music Reporter. July 6, 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  45. ^ Dombal, Ryan (June 27, 2012). "Interviews: Wes Anderson". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  46. ^ a b "Spring Breakers (Music From the Motion Picture) – Various Artists". iTunes. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
  47. ^ "$$$EX (Vanessa Hudgens vs. YLA) – Single:". iTunes. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
  48. ^ "Spring Breakers soundtrack". Amazon. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
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