A group of wealthy Los Angeles teenagers, drawn to hip hop culture, begins to imitate the lifestyle of street gangs. Their trips into the city's inner-east neighborhoods bring them into contact with a crew of Latino drug dealers, and what started as a game of provocation turns into situations they cannot handle. The film follows their choices and the gap between the image they want to project and the reality they encounter.

How it was made

The project began with an original script by Jessica Kaplan, written in 1993 when she was fourteen, based on what she observed among her classmates in West Los Angeles. New Line Cinema bought the script in 1995 for $150,000, and it was developed at Single Cell Pictures, the company headed by Michael Stipe. After going unused for a while, the script was rewritten by Stephen Gaghan and retitled several times before settling on its current name. Peter Horton and Tony Kaye were both linked to direction at different stages. Mandy Moore was cast as Allison but left shortly before filming, and Anne Hathaway replaced her. Shooting took place across Southern California in the fall of 2003, on a budget of $9 million. Kaplan died in a plane crash in June 2003, shortly before production began, and the film dedicates a tribute to her before the end credits. The music is by Cliff Martinez and the cinematography by Kramer Morgenthau.

Reception and legacy

The film premiered at the Filmfest München on June 26, 2005, and was screened at several other festivals. It received theatrical releases in some overseas markets, but never reached American cinemas, going straight to DVD in the United States on November 29, 2005. The sources consulted do not document critical responses or awards, so its place in film history remains modest and under-recorded, though it may interest those studying films about adolescence and urban milieus.

Stills

Trailer

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Trivia

Reused title

The DVD release of Normal Adolescent Behavior was issued under the title Normal Adolescent Behavior: Havoc 2, although it has no connection with this film.

A script written in adolescence

The original treatment was written in 1993 by Jessica Kaplan when she was fourteen, drawing on her classmates.

More films by Barbara Kopple

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American Dream1990

Original Cinematopedia text based on Wikipedia (es) and Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.