Kadie

This movie is actually jokes lol. I wish i enrolled at this American high-school instead.

This movie feels like it was pulled straight out of a Wattpad draft written by a 14-year-old with a dangerously BIG IMAGINATION... I'm talking from experience btw LOL. The girls (mandy & her bffs) were honestly the highlight! They were so spontaneous, they are the kind of friends every teenager wishes they had while living under a strict household. The whole “breaking the rules and having the most unforgettable night ever” fantasy is peak 2000s teen movie energy. Also, can we talk about the phones?? The technology in this movie had me feeling nostalgic. I need that LG flip phone saur bad!!! They really don’t make phones with that kind of personality anymore :( The only thing missing was Soulja Boy’s “Kiss Me Thru the Phone” playing at least once. It would’ve completed the 2008 experience. Not a masterpiece by any means, but it captures that very specific era of teenage freedom, bad decisions, and flip phones which I love. Tbh I vibe with this film (:

"Say sine, cosine and tangent." My immediate response would be to wrap everything up because me and maths have never gotten along. If someone asked me to solve some complicated equation on the spot, I'd surrender immediately and avoid the embarrassment altogether. Rina, on the other hand? Completely different story. She's a masochist, so she'd probably have the time of her life. Give her impossible trigonometry, calculus, or whatever mathematical torture you can think of, and she'd somehow endure it with a smile. For her it's just foreplay. Me? Absolutely not. I'm tapping out before the teacher even finishes saying "cosine."

This film made me feel so good on the inside. I adored Maria and Peter. Their chemistry felt so natural that I found myself smiling through most of the film... and yes, I was blushing every time Peter was on screen. 😭 I need one like him!! What I appreciated most was how Cane River explores Black identity through different lived experiences. Maria's non-creole heritage and Peter's perspective create such an interesting conversation about what it means to be Black in America. The film never tries to force a single answer - it simply allows both identities to exist, and that made their relationship even more compelling to watch. There's such a quiet warmth to this film. It's romantic, thoughtful, and incredibly sincere. Despite its modest budget, it has so much heart, and you can really feel Horace Jenkins' love for these characters and this community. I'm honestly a little mad this never got the theatrical run or commercial success it deserved. It had so much potential then, and even now it feels fresh. Thankfully it was restored, because it truly deserves to be seen. A genuine hidden gem.