LOL

US, 2012, 97 minutes, Colour.
Miley Cyrus, Demi Moore, Douglas Booth, Thomas Jane, Jay Hernandez, Ashley Greene.
Directed by Lisa Azuelos.

While LOL means laughing out loud, it is also the abbreviation for the name of the central character of this teenage film. She is Lola, known as LOL.
This film is based on a French film, lol, written and directed by the same director, Lisa Azuelos. The French version was much more upmarket with Sophie Marceau as the mother. It was nominated for several awards.

This American version is not the kind of film that is nominated for awards. It is a star vehicle for Miley Cyrus after her years as Hannah Montana. In breaking out of this television and film role, Miley Cyrus appeared in The Last Song with Greg Kinnear, a Nicholas Sparks’ story. She also appeared in the comedy, So Undercover.

The film seems to be targeted to a teenage girls’ audience. However, some of the behaviour seems rather permissive and would not appeal to many parents of strict faith or morals backgrounds. This is the area of sexual behaviour, the heroine asking her friend to cooperate in her losing her virginity. There is also some drug background and, of course, music and bands. And lots of girl talk and rivalries and ex-boyfriends. The general tone of the high school students is not one of study but rather of suburban American hedonism.

And Miley Cyrus is not a particularly good actress. While she might attract the target audience, wider audiences may not respond particularly well to her.
Demi Moore portrays her mother, concerned about her daughter, but involved in a relationship, secretly, with her former husband, played by Thomas Jane. However, she encounters a policeman, Jay Hernandez, later meeting him when he gives a talk at the school and they begin a relationship.
Lol’s best friend has an infatuation with the maths teacher, who does try to talk some sense into her.

The setting is small town America, suburban lifestyle, homes, school. The students also learn French and there is an episode in France, where Lol persuades her friend, Kyle, played by Douglas Booth, to have sex with her.

These are some of these reasons, the film was not as successful as expected at the box office.