Review by Steve Rhodes
1 star out of 4
It is amazing what tripe get released theatrically these days. Zoe
Clarke-Williams's NEW BEST FRIEND, a film that should be relegated to a dark
and dusty corner of video stores, is somehow making its way instead to a
nationwide release to theaters. It's hard to imagine acting that could be
any flatter. Even a smart actor like Taye Diggs, playing the local sheriff,
comes across as an automaton dressed like a GAP store sales associate. The
sheriff is so forced to kowtow to the head of a rich North Carolina college
that you keep expecting him to have say, "Yes sir, master."
The story concerns the non-accidental drug overdose of student Alicia Glazer
(Mia Kirshner, EXOTICA). A poor girl who had recently begun to run with the
rich, limo-riding crowd led by Hadley Weston (Meredith Monroe, "Dawson's
Creek"), Alicia finds that she likes the high life of hard drugs and
promiscuous sex. The mild mystery surrounds which girl tried to kill Hadley
for sleeping with the wrong boy.
Although Diggs is obviously embarrassed by his part, the actresses slum
shamelessly. A serious film, it does provide some relief in the form of
unintentional humor since some actions are so outlandishly ridiculous.
"Sometimes bad things happen to good people," Hadley's boyfriend, Trevor
(Scott Bairstow), says of Alicia's overdose. The same could be said of you
if you decide to buy a ticket to NEW BEST FRIEND.
NEW BEST FRIEND runs 1:31. It is rated R for "strong sexuality, language
and drug use" and would be acceptable for older teenagers.
Copyright © 2002 Steve Rhodes
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out of 4
