The film is a classic tale of good vs. evil with some laughs thrown in for good measure and some slapstick comedy. I was amused and fairly-entertained for the duration of the film, which is saying quite a bit for me, as I tend to like my films violent, gory, and plagued with scantily-clad or fully nude women running around. After seeing Pfeiffer on the screen for almost 90 minutes, I sure had wished that this film was not a "family-oriented" movie and was more along the lines of the American Pie series or the edgier National Lampoon's line-up.
Danny Trejo is also in this film but its a very short cameo right in the beginning of the film so if you are watching this flick to see him in it, you will be sorely disappointed, as was I. One other negative comment must be made and addressed to this film. There was one repeating thing that actor Chris Laird did that drove me nuts. I almost felt embarrassed for him. Laird did a stupid and annoying Capt. Jack Sparrow character impersonation several times in the film, using it in the hopes of "impressing" the hottie of the film, Angelic Romano (Pfeiffer), causing great agony to me to the point that I was embarrassed for him. I guess he sorta sounds like Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean, and maybe that is Laird's best and only impersonation, but why the hell would one want it in the movie! It was just so damn cheesy! The fact that it was done several times just added to my disgust. It sort of reminded me how utterly ridiculous that Toby Maguire looked when he did that stupid scene in Spiderman 3 at the jazz club, dancing around like a fool to impress Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst). But I guess all the aforementioned points just illustrate at what great lengths men will go to attract the opposite sex, usually making fools of themselves in the process.
The film has the regular assortment of villains, all different backgrounds and mentalities, some street thug-ish and others high-brow, suit-sporting Wall Street types which made for interesting dynamics, I guess. The pace of the film was quick and edited nicely. Being a family film, it sort of had the vibe that one would get while watching a Nickelodeon 30 minute drama, but just on a longer time scale. It definitely was far less agonizing than I thought it would be, pleasantly surprising me.
Director and writer Rob Diamond (Propensity, Tears of a King) annd Troy Hinckley (Elizabeth's Gift) who chimed in on the writing credits and also produced, have made a decent little indie flick that will be entertaining for the whole family to watch, adding some major eye-candy with actress Shareece Pfeiffer. I really would like to see Shareece Pfeiffer in some more films, hopefully seeing her blossom into a decent actress to go along with her stunning looks. A bit of trivia on Shareece is that she was crowned Miss Idaho Teen USA in 2008 and you can catch her in small roles in Forever Strong (2008) and Unaccompanied Minors (2006). Ms. Pfeiffer has a very wholesome look and I hope that she does not tarnish it by going the root of exploitative T&A flicks, although I would not mind seeing the young beauty in those films as well. Although she did have some competition in Justin Time with a scene in which Justin's best friend dresses up as a chick and poses as Justin's date for the dance scene. Yeah, this film has some humorous scenes in it that played upon stereotypes and cliques that most of us encountered at one time or another while in high school.
Summing things up, checking out Justin Time for a low-budget indie night with the family could not be the worst thing one can do on a Saturday night, for the film has its merits. Knowing my tastes, this film generally is not my cup of tea...but this reviewer does enjoy quite a few Disney films so I do have my quirky tastes.
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