Shock value over subtlety

Rating: 1/10 (8 July 2005)

So Hollywood decided to do a glorified after-school special complete with R- and even X-rated content. (Who'd watch it otherwise?)
Gratuitous over-the-top, worst-case-scenario manipulative agenda.
Substitutes shock-value for subtlety; a decent potential wasted by extreme hyperbole and situations exacerbated into the unreal, and unrelatable.
Scare tactics instead of substance. We see what addiction does, heartbreakingly, but to such levels that stink of Lifetime TV.
Yet somehow it manages not to be preachy in a LITERAL sense. Because THAT would be too much? This movie really overdoes it, and that's supposed to make it unforgettable on a psychological level?
A disgrace to thoughtful film-making.