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Close Call

Play trailer Poster for Close Call 2004 1h 31m Action Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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A Korean man returns to Los Angeles to help Jenny, a troubled and reckless teen who has been in the custody of a selfish and neglectful mother.

Critics Reviews

View All (5) Critics Reviews
Sheri Linden The Hollywood Reporter Ineptitude abounds in this ham-fisted thirteen wannabe. May 4, 2004 Full Review Robert Koehler Variety Too inconsequential and too earnest to belong in the So Bad It's Good category; rather, it's merely bad. Apr 28, 2004 Full Review Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times Silly, often unintentionally hilarious potboiler. Rated: 1/5 Apr 16, 2004 Full Review Brent Simon Entertainment Today A poorly executed DIY production replete with all the un-tethered irresponsibility and overly demonstrative signifiers one would expect. Rated: D- Apr 26, 2004 Full Review Chuck Wilson L.A. Weekly Lee has heaped so many social ills on his heroine that it's difficult to buy any of it. Apr 16, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (4) audience reviews
Audience Member Jeez, RT critics, chill. It is hardly that bad. It's well acted, believable for the most part, I was never not interested. The movie has a point, and makes it clear, no beating around the bush. I found it very compelling. Sensitive direction. It worked for me, I felt for the characters, they moved me. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/coverv/24/470024.jpg[/img] "Men will sit through the most boring pointless movie if there's the slightest chance a woman will take her top off," Elaine Benes. [img]http://www.closecallmovie.com/version2/stills/stills07.jpg[/img] Sex, drugs, smoking in the girls' room, teenage rebellion, etc. are portrayed here in this caricature of a movie they call this based-on-true-story waste of time. What's her problem? So she's an Asian-American. She's trying to fit in. She's struggling to find her identity. Her parents are divorced. She saw porn at age nine. Later that same evening she sees her mom having sex with someone. This turns her into a crack whore? [img]http://www.closecallmovie.com/version2/stills/stills14.jpg[/img] I'm too lazy to even write a synopsis, so I'm putting this link to their website. [indent][url="http://www.closecallmovie.com/version2/story.html"]Close Call[/url] focuses on sixteen-year-old Jenny Kim, born and raised in corrupt Los Angeles. Family problems lead to a divorce causing Jenny to suffer from intense feelings of alienation and abandonment. Ignorant of her native culture and unsure of her place in American society, Jenny finds herself vulnerable to the evil influences and temptations surrounding her from friends, raves, boys and other mishaps. While her mother loses control of her, it is her father, David, who reunites with Jenny and leads the teenager to redemption. Never losing his all-consuming love for Jenny, David proves willing to make any sacrifice to save her. It is the intense psychological interplay between father and daughter in two different worlds that forms the heart and soul of Close Call. [/indent]This is a pointless movie. I knew it the moment I saw this DVD in the streets of Quiapo. The cover and the synopsis at the back of the case say so. I wish they had thrown in some boob exposure here to reward me for the 93 minutes of this melodramatic soap operatic bullshit. [img]http://www.closecallmovie.com/version2/stills/stills12.jpg[/img] It's so awful the only explanation I can imagine why this movie was made is that the lead actress got it through casting couch. Writer-director Jimmy Lee, once promised her a movie. While she was giving him head, he blurted out something like, "I'm going to make you a star!" After relieving himself of some serious semen blockage, he realized he made an empty promise to an aspiring actress. To have her in bed again meant he had to make a movie for her so he slapped together all those cliches in teenage soap operas he watched as young man growing in Korea, put them together, added some gayish rave music and made something that he hopes will pass as a movie to western moviegoers. [img]http://www.closecallmovie.com/version2/stills/stills11.jpg[/img] But in the special feature of the DVD (yes, this pirated disc has a special feature), it is revealed that the main actress is actually Jimmy Lee's daughter! Oh... Well, that explains. Dad wants to make baby girl a star. [img]http://www.closecallmovie.com/version2/stills/stills20.jpg[/img] But wait... This is weird. This movie is like some substitute-Elektra complex Taboo-ish incestuous sex on film. This director dad puts her daughter in kissing scenes with both genders. He makes her wear skimpy skirts. Made some panty shots. Yes, there's no boob exposure here, but there's a lot of scenes here that a father wouldn't want to see his daughter in. (It's been a long time since I've posted here I don't know how to save anymore. This is still a draft) [size=3][/size] [size=3][/size] Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Really dumb movie, I had never heard of it, but my roommate has it so I watched it. Jeff Fahey was cool in his small part, but the whole story and everything is bad. Bad script, bad director. Just bad. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Granted, this film may seem slow and boring, but I honestly like it because of the fact that it shows the chaotic life of a teenager, and it also shows the adults trying to understand save her from going down the wrong path. It may be a bit cliched, but its definitely worth the time to watch and is enjoyable on a several levels. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Close Call

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis A Korean man returns to Los Angeles to help Jenny, a troubled and reckless teen who has been in the custody of a selfish and neglectful mother.
Director
Jimmy Lee
Producer
Jeff Fahey, Angie Lee, Jimmy Lee
Screenwriter
Jimmy Lee
Genre
Action, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Oct 17, 2006
Runtime
1h 31m