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Avoid 'Towelhead'

By Cole Smithey
Maui Time | September 11, 2008
Towelhead

As its openly racist title implies Towelhead is an exploitation movie that wears its shock value on its guilty sleeve. It is the most disgusting, ethically reprehensible, and irresponsible film to come out of the 21st century's first decade. Screenwriter/first-time feature director Alan Ball (screenwriter on American Beauty) paints himself a darker color than even pedophile-styled filmmaker Larry Clark (Bully) in making a film, based on Alicia Erian's novel, that unrelentingly returns to its primary narrative subject of a 13-year-old girl's genitalia and its every function. Jasira (Summer Bishil) is sent by her mother Gail (Maria Bello) to live with her effeminate and pretentious Lebanese father in a Houston suburb after Gail discovers that her live-in boyfriend shaved Jasira's pubic hair after she was teased about it at school. Upon arrival at her abusive father's house Jasira gets her first period and soon develops a habit of public masturbation by rhythmically squeezing her legs together. Turned on by her neighbor Mr. Vuoso's (Aaron Eckhart) nudie magazines that she masturbates to when she baby-sits his 10-year-old son, Jasira describes to the married man how doing so gives her "orgasms." Mr. Vuoso takes advantage of the situation to manually steal the girl's virginity before she begins an active sexual relationship with a black boy at school after he verbally violates her by calling her a "sand nig***" and a "camel jockey." This is a movie that has the potential to scar viewers both young and old, and should be avoided at all cost. As Roger Ebert said of the film Dirty Love, this movie "wasn't written and directed; it was committed."

(Warner Independent Pictures) Rated R. 116 mins. (F) (Zero Stars)

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Tags: Towelhead, Alan Ball

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