Hating Alison Ashley

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details about Hating Alison Ashley's classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of Hating Alison Ashley completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 20 March 05.

Overall comments and recommendations

Based on Robin Klein's hilarious book of the same name, Hating Alison Ashley, the movie, falls somewhat short, while still being mildly amusing. The storyline is patchy as are some of the acting performances, although Saskia Burmeister does a good job as the main character, Erica.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the associated consumer advice lines.

YMA review

This review of the movie Hating Alison Ashley contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie's message

A synopsis of the story

This film is the narrated story of Erica Yurkin (Saskia Burmeister), an unhappy, high school, hypochondriac who is struggling to develop her dream of becoming a famous actress, which she believes will open the door to a perfect world where poverty and crime do not exist, where everything is beautiful and always as it should be. This dream is the exact opposite of her current home life, where her absentee father wants nothing to do with the family, her mother has fallen for a toothless truck driver, her brother roams the neighbourhood in his underpants making crop circles in their front yard, and her younger sister has spent the last seven years thinking that she is a horse.

It is Erica's dream of creating a better life for herself that helps her get through her days at Barringa High, a rough school filled with fighting and graffiti and out of control students, including Barry (Alexander Cappelli). The teachers at the school have repeatedly been institutionalised or run off to join the Hari Krishnas. Erica couldn't be happier when Miss Belmont (Jean Kittson) arrives to whip the students into shape, as she is finally getting the attention she feels she deserves. Then Alison Ashley (Delta Goodrem) arrives. Alison is beautiful, wealthy, smart and appears to have the perfect life. Slowly Erica turns from wanting to be a friend to being bitterly jealous of everything that Alison has. The girls have a rough relationship until Erica begins to learn that she has more than she thought she did and that the “perfect life” is not always as perfect as it may appear.

Use of violence

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

The film contains a fair amount of violence:

• The first scenes at Barringa High show students fighting, destroying property, flipping people off their bikes, etc.
• There is lots of shoving and pushing throughout the film and one teacher is repeatedly trampled.
• Barry, a high school pyromaniac, sets fire to some graffiti. When the wall erupts in flames Erica's face is badly singed.
• Students and teachers are tied to poles, and one is blindfolded.
• Miss Belmont repeatedly hits students who give her any kind of trouble.
• Erica slaps Barry hard across the face.
• Barry comes into the girls' changing area and they rush him. He tells a teacher that they were very violent and could have taken his eye out with a tampon.

Material that may scare children

Under eight

Children under eight are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations, the death of a parent or child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

Apart from the above-mentioned scene, there is one other scene that may potentially frighten younger children. Erica's younger sister is nibbling grass along the street as she crawls home pretending to be a horse. Erica grows impatient and leaves her to come home on her own. Barry watches Erica leave and then approaches the little girl in a threatening manner. The child later arrives back at home shaken and crying, saying that Barry has ripped off her tail.

Aged eight to thirteen

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

The above-mentioned scene could also frighten some children between the ages of 8 and 13.

Over the age of thirteen

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

There is nothing in this film that would frighten children over the age of 13.

Sexual references

The film contains a number of sexual references.

• A car parked at school has a big sign on it: “Lick me bimbo mobile.”
• In the staffroom Miss Belmont sticks one leg up in the air and is adjusting her fishnet stockings. She puts her leg down and straightens her skirt when another teacher, Mr. Kennard (Craig McLachlan) appears with innumerable offers to be of general assistance to her.
• On a school camp, the students talk about how Miss Belmont and Mr. Kennard had “gotten together”. Mr. Kennard was seen entering her cabin at night and sneaking out in the morning.
• After Erica dumps a bowl of salad on Barry he says to her: “You so want me.”
• Barry kisses Erica and later on says “Next time I'm putting my tongue in.”
• In the background music of one scene, the words “think you're sexy” are repeatedly played.

Nudity and sexual activity

While the film doesn't contain any sexual activity there is some nudity:

• On the way to camp two naked butts are seen out of the rear windows.
• Erica's older sister Valjoy is repeatedly seen wearing tight and revealing tops.
• Barry takes Mr. Kennard's clothes after he has had a shower and Mr. Kennard has to run around clutching a towel trying to get them back.
• Barry organises a small fire in the girls' shower area and has the boys set up chairs and video equipment to capture the moments when the girls ran out wearing only undergarments.

Use of substances

• Miss Belmont often confiscates cigarettes from students, particularly Barry.
• Erica's brother is growing a marijuana plant in their garden.

Coarse language

The film contains a small amount of course language and a lot of name calling.

• Two music tracks are played which contain some coarse language: “God damn right it's a beautiful day.” “I see you baby shaking that ass”
• Erica says of her older sister “She has a black belt in being a bitch.”

The movie's message

The movie's main message is that those who appear to have it all may not have the most important things and that a simple act of kindness can open the doors of understanding and can even turn an enemy into a friend.

Some issues and values that parents may wish to discuss with their children are: friendship, jealousy, the role of family, truthfulness and the importance of believing in yourself.