Hard Candy - movie reviews and information

'Hard Candy' fails, but its young star is rising
by Eleanor Ringel Gillespie

At the very first, "Hard Candy" plays hardball. It's hard to watch, hard to listen to, hard to think about. And then it falls apart. A determined-to-be-provocative look at online predators, the movie begins with 14-year-old Thonggrrrrrl, aka Hayley, trading insinuating chatroom banter with 32-year-old Lensman319, aka Jeff. Read the full review

TO SUM UP
A teenage girl meets Jeff, a 30-something fashion photographer, on the Internet. Soon she's mixing drinks at his place and stripping for an impromptu photo shoot — until Jeff's vision begins to blur and he passes out. When he awakens, he's tied to a chair. And he learns that the teen has something entirely different on her mind: extracting his confession.

FILM FACTS ...

Lions Gate

'Hard Candy'

Director: David Slade
Starring: Ellen Page, Patrick Wilson, Sandra Oh, Jennifer Holmes, Gilbert John
Run time: 103 minutes
Release date: April 14, 2006
Rating: R for disturbing violent and aberrant sexual content involving a teen, and for language.
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On the web
Official movie site
View the trailer
Trailers require Quicktime

READ THE REVIEW

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: D+
"Brian Nelson's script lacks depth and complexity. It's sadly self-important, shrilly manipulative and ultimately something of a cheat."