In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.

"
an intimate , character - driven drama about a troubled youth at a crossroads in his life , " read the press notes for _
reach_the_rock
_ .
i 'm not really sure what film that statement is describing because those words bear little resemblance to the slow , completely uninvolving bore i saw --
at least , it certainly does not describe what goes on for most of the film .
alessandro nivola plays robin fleming , a troubled , directionless 21-year - old who has a penchant for breaking storefront windows in a small town .
police sergeant phil quinn ( william sadler ) takes him in , and what ensues for the first 70 minutes is a tedious series of sneak - outs and sneak - ins where robin slips out of his jail cell , breaks a window , then returns , all without quinn ever noticing .
also added to the pointless proceedings is some would - be humorous shenanigans involving quinn 's dimwitted deputy ernie attempting to engage in clandestine patrol car sex with his girlfriend donna ( karen sillas ) .
with a half hour ( if even that long ) remaining , director william ryan and writer john hughes ( yes , john hughes of ' 80s youth films
and _ home_alone _ ) finally approach something close to a point .
turns out robin still pines for his high school sweetheart lise ( brooke langton ) , who has long gone on with her life , and hughes 's main concern at long last reveals itself as a tired " live in the present and for the future " message .
most moviegoers , however , will likely be asleep by that time .
wide awake , however , is the cast , who individually tackle their showcase dramatic scenes with energy and skill -- thus revealing the _ real _ purpose behind
this listless enterprise : to serve as a series of acting exercises .
such a glorified workshop may have its rewards for the actors , but it leaves audiences with a booby prize .
( opens october 16 )
N

" crazy / beautiful " suffers from the damned - if - you - do , damned - if - you - don't syndrome .
after a spate of flighty , cookie - cutter teen films , the romantic drama addresses alcoholism and parental loss along with its love story .
but rather than applaud the production , early reviews have dismissed it as an overblown " afterschool special .
"
even worse , in the wake of federal trade commission hearings that blasted the industry for marketing violent and sexual movies to young people , the studio got a case of the heebie - jeebies and forced director john stockwell to re - shoot scenes and cut footage to " tone things down .
" needless to say , the filmmaker was frustrated .
"
we were trying to make a cautionary tale , " he told newsweek , " and we could n't show the behavior we were trying to caution people away from . " regardless , the film works , thanks to exceptional performances from its lead players and a script determined to transcend stereotypes .
" crazy / beautiful " is quality fare , good enough that i half - expected the summer movie crap police to walk into the press screening and confiscate the print for " failure to incorporate explosions and poop jokes .
" set in pacific palisades , calif .
, the story follows the burgeoning relationship between two teens .
every morning and evening , carlos nunez ( jay hernandez ) takes a two - hour bus ride in order to attend pacific high school .
an honor student and star athlete , carlos is responsible , modest and focused as he works on securing a place in the naval academy .
all is well until he meets nicole oakley ( kirsten dunst ) , the daughter of a rich congressman ( bruce davison ) .
nicole is a drunk apparently hell - bent on self - destruction .
carlos is smart enough to recognize the danger in getting involved with her , but he is only human
and she has the greatest smile .
plus , as her father notes , she has a real knack for drawing others into her downward spiral .
as with " save the last dance , " " crazy / beautiful " ( god , how i hate lower - case titles ) takes situations that look stale on paper and makes them seem fresh .
while noting the racial and social differences between the kids , the screenplay dances around most of the clich ?
s
( there are still several mtv moments , though ) .
the filmmakers make a point to give characters that crucial extra bit of shading that turns them into individuals instead of stereotypes and the actors take it from there .
cute - as - a - button dunst forces the viewer to share the pain beneath nicole 's behavior .
she is credible enough that when dad urges carlos to get away from her before she drags him down , i hoped the boy would listen .
as carlos , hernandez is a revelation . hunky without looking like the product of a hollywood design team , the young man can really act ; we will see a lot of this guy in the future . aside from its title , the biggest problem with " crazy / beautiful " is its ending , which wraps everything up too fast and too tidy .
after carefully presenting credible characters and situations , the conclusion feels rushed and lazy .
still , this is the kind of film that deserves accolades from critics instead of cheap shots .
"
afterschool special " my ass ?
" crazy / beautiful
" is the real deal .
P

i think that any competent member of the human race who 's ever seen a movie -- any movie -- could probably predict just about every turn in the wedding singer .
even though i try very hard to not predict films as i 'm watching them ( especially not romantic comedies ) , the plot of this particular film just advanced before me seconds , and sometimes minutes , before i actually saw it happen on screen .
but i do n't care .
not even a little .
my reasons for this are simple : 1 ) adam sandler is great .
2 ) drew barrymore is great .
3 ) the movie is so funny .
there are parts that left me gasping for air because i was laughing so hard
.
i have n't laughed this hard in a movie since austin powers .
sandler plays robby hart , a wedding singer who once had dreams of being in a rock band and writing his own music .
in the opening scenes , he seems like a happy - go - lucky wedding singer , at least partially enjoying his profession and doing a rather good job of talking down a really drunk individual ( steve buscemi ) who decides that his brother 's wedding is a good place to tell the whole world that his life , up to that point , was utter pointlessness .
a week later , at his own wedding , he is left standing at the altar by his ex - fianc ?
e , linda ( angela featherstone ) .
with his life in complete disarray , he meets julia ( barrymore ) , a waitress .
she is engaged to glenn ( matthew glave ) , and is to marry him in about three months .
julia and robby become good friends when she enlists him to help with the wedding plans .
soon ( and predictably ) it becomes pretty clear that glenn is a jerk , and that robby and julia really love each other .
oh sure , it 's trite .
and if anyone making this film expected us to , like , feel suspense or something while watching the wedding singer , then they truly underestimated their audience .
what makes the story bearable , aside from the terrific costumes and 80s music , are the performances .
barrymore is simply adorable here
( i 've never seen her look so close to the way she did in et ) .
not only is she pleasant to look at , but her acting job here really is a good one -- and it does n't hurt that the character is likable and adequately well - written .
and the jerk , played in full - force by graves , is just as despicable as any villain in any romantic comedy i 've ever seen .
naturally , the true star here is sandler .
i think the guy is flat - out hilarious .
he can say something that just is n't funny , and his delivery makes me laugh
.
his comedic performance here equals that of happy gilmore , but in this film he goes much further and proves to me that he can , indeed , hold his own as a leading man in a romantic comedy .
whereas his roles in his previous films kind of had sandler playing sandler , the wedding singer gives him a character that , for the first time , he actually has to fit into . as far as i 'm concerned he succeeded , and this film is testimony that he does , in fact ,
have some range in his talents .
and
the movie is just so funny .
perhaps the best moment is when he sings a song for julia that he claims is a little uneven because he began writing it while in a good mood and finished it after his fianc ?
e abandoned him .
this is the part that literally had me groping for a breath of air .
and while the film , like all romantic comedies , takes a hiatus from laughs towards the end because the plot has to finish up , there are more than enough truly hilarious moments in the first hour that make up for any slumps in progress during the second half .
my formal complaints for the wedding singer are n't very important .
the film is predicable , but who cares ?
the characters are extremely likable , the movie is ridiculously funny , and
the experience is simply enjoyable .
in addition to this , i ca n't imagine anyone seeing the preview and not wanting to see the film .
in that order , i conclude that it is pointless for me to even have written this review .
i just want everyone to know that i laughed .
a lot .

P