Charm School
2007 · Directed by Fernando Sariñana
Original language: Spanish
- comedy
The story
Defiant 18-year-old Adela León pushes her father and an unbending headmistress to the limit in this delicious comedy.
What it’s like
Bright, flat daylight over a Mexico City private school, with saturated uniforms, polished corridors and the glare of gym lockers, gives the film a crisp, slightly overexposed teen-comedy look. The camera stays mostly in close, snappy coverage of its girls, cutting quickly between rivalries and sly glances, and the score is bouncy pop and synth-tinged cues that keep the mood playful even when things turn sour. Its vibe is wicked, brittle and tart: a sharp satire of image-obsessed adolescence with a streak of genuine meanness running underneath. It suits a lively weekend night with friends or a sardonic watch when you want something quick and pointed. Intensity is moderate: there is social cruelty, humiliating makeovers and bodily humiliation played for laughs, with some sexual talk and mild innuendo, but no real violence and no gore. The pace is brisk and the register knowingly cynical, following a defiant teenager who is reshaped by the adults around her, and the satire lands most for viewers who enjoy dark, mean-spirited comedy about cliques, class and appearance.
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