About Cherry is funnily enough a movie about Cherry. A young woman (Ashley Hinsaw) who gets involved with porn, and moves to San Francisco where she makes quite a success of her assets, while at the same time getting involved with a cocaine addicted lawyer (James Franco).
So, a movie about a girl who ends up in porn industry will feature plenty of nudity and sex? Right? Sort of…Those who still haven’t discovered what the net is really all about, may be sorely disappointed as About Cherry isn’t overloaded with money shots, boobs, bums and anything else naked. In fact, it’s quite tame and while the director, Stephen Elliot, intended it that way, it just seems a bit too tame for a movie of this ilk. Especially considering how empowering the whole notion of it is to Cherry, who picks and chooses who she “performs” with. And while About Cherry features some nudity, it’s just not believable enough for the story and adds nothing. At times it feels quite half hearted and only there for the sake of it. With one or maybe two exceptions, eroticism isn’t high on the list here as more intimate scenes are played out coldly and with very little passion.
Performance wise, Ashley Hinsaw is quite good. While obviously easy on the eye, she has a great innocence about her while still oozing confidence. Her chemistry with James Franco is quite impressive, and speaking of Franco, he plays this kind of role in his sleep. The whole stoned vibe comes all to easy to the 127 Hours star, at this stage, and it’s just typical Franco. Always watchable and always convincing. The supporting cast including Heather Graham and Dev Patel are also equally watchable. Granted, Dev Patel in particular doesn’t have a huge amount of screen time, it’s only in the end does he actually come into his own and deliver a great performance.
Visually, About Cherry is something else. And it’s quite unique. The camera is almost like another character in the movie. The movement here, especially in the first 10-20 minutes sucks you in completely. With little dialogue between characters, the audience is relying on the camera to tell the story, and boy..does it do a damn good job.
In conclusion this movie never really gets into hi gear and seems a bit unfinished and rushed (the ending in particular). If this had a harder edge to it, and a bit more character development, we could have had something great. It’s just a bit too tame. Overall, About Cherry isn’t a bad movie, it’s got good performances, decent cinematography and has a solid enough pace to it.
