This film has some premise of "American Beauty" in it, I can also see a little bit of "Samaritan Girl" girl thrown in it as well although it's probably not intentional. But unlike the past 2 films this one has to do more with a 13-year-old Lebanese American girl named Jasira(Summer Bishil) who is experiencing the life of growing up in the suburbs. It may not be great as "American Beauty" it's still a decent film that also deals with prejudice in a American society, when the war in Iraq was big. The film may not be engaging to some audiences cause, since the premise is a bit exaggerated although there are people that act similar to the characters in the film, it just felt a bit unnatural and forced. And wow I never knew Texas was mostly full of douche bags cause, the story takes place in Texas and just about everyone character in the film is a douche bag. Especially Jasira's father who accuses every white men to be racist against his Lebanese heritage, but is equally races and talks too much trash about his ex-wife while being a hypocrite. While her mother just tells her to shut her mouth and do everything her father says since everything she does is wrong and everything is her fault. Jasira's father is even more illogical than drunk rednecks and even tries to go through her private belongings while acting like he knows what is best for her while only caring about his reputation that doesn't exist, he is basically a unfunny and more retarded version of Borat. And the scene where he comes to get Jasira from a white family after she runs away clearly shows his ignorance of not wanting to see her with a white family, when he himself was married to a white women and was fine with it when his wife tried to take her away. Jasira's mother was pretty terrible too as a mother figure, she basically treats her like a pet dog that she can kick out whenever she want to and tries to get her back when she is lonely. In another words she is a crazy whore that is full of crap and childish as well. I like Aaron Eckhart and he is a great actor, but I thought his role didn't really fit him very well since he is too likable, while playing a pedophile that tries to convince himself of being good while taking advantage of a 13 yr old girl and throwing quotes like "I would've never done that thing to you if I'd knew you were still a virgin" like that makes him a better person, but at the end I sort of understand why he was good for the role. Jasira's boyfriend was also a douche bag that only wants Jasira as a sex object while giving quotes to her like "So let me know when it grows back. I can shave it for you again" like he is doing her a favor. As a matter of fact the title Douche Bags is a fitting name for this movie, although I doubt it will sell as well. Even the kid Jasira babysitted who was played by Chase Ellison was annoying and you just can't help yourself but watch him get run over, he is a fine example why some people just don't want kids. However fortunately Melina Hines acts closer to being a mother figure for Jasira than her real mother ever was and plays a big part in the climax of the film. This film wasn't even close to being good as "American Beauty" but it was a good watch, I just wished it dealt with more of Jasira's ethnicity and how she had to struggle cause of it instead of constant sexually disturbing. And Jasira's naivety seemed exaggerated as well cause she was intelligent enough to know what was really going on. Seeing how over obedient Jasira is throughout most of the movie, you can't help but wonder, what if she was replaced by the girl in the movie "Thirteen" by Evan Rachel Wood. Despite that this is a daring film with good human drama, it just isn't that engaging and the changes in the characters near the end wasn't that believable.
7.8/10
7.8/10