Cast and Crew
Director
Adam Salky
Producer
Mary Jane Salski, Jason Orans
Screenwriter
David Brind
Starring
Emmy Rossum as Alexa Walker
Zach Gilford as Johnny Drake
Ashley Springer
Ana Gasteyer
Alan Cumming as Grant Matson
Sandra Bernhard
Rooney Mara as Courtney
Cady Huffman
Genre
Drama
Release Date
November 13, 2009 (Limited)
Duration
92 min.
Studio
Image Entertainment
Movie Story
Emmy Rossum ("The Day After Tomorrow"), Zach Gilford (TV's "Friday Night Lights") and Ashley Springer ("Teeth") head up a stellar cast including Ana Gasteyer ("Mean Girls"), Rooney Mara ("A Nightmare on Elm Street"), comedienne Sandra Bernhard (TV's "Roseanne") and Alan Cumming ("X2:X-Men United") in this captivating story of high school seniors at the crossroads of their adult lives. When a pompous actor tells good girl Alexa (Rossum) that she hasn't lived, she embarks on a bold journey that takes her to mysterious bad boy Johnny (Gilford). Envious, her shy best friend Ben (Springer) also dares to pursue Johnny, complicating Alexa's romance and pushing the boundaries among the three friends.
Review:
Dare follows three very different teenagers through the last semester of high school. There are Alexa (Emmy Rossum), the overachieving good girl who longs to break out of
her shell; Ben (Ashley Springer), the melancholy outsider confused about his sexuality; and Johnny (Zach Gilford), the rich kid who has everything, including good looks, but hides behind his bad boy persona. This unlikely trio fall into each other's lives and each
other’s arms, making a last ditch effort to shake things up before they actually have to start living as adults. Director Adam Salky and writer David Brind takes us into some uncharted territory with fresh eyes and matter-of-fact authority. Sweet and sexy don’t always go together, but they work beautifully in this instance because the sexuality of the film is cleverly woven into the fabric of the story. You can ask why the kids are in such a hurry to experience adult feelings, especially when their parents, comically enough, are afraid to get in the way. All is answered in the nuanced performances of this exceptional cast. They capture perfectly a generation with nothing to rebel against except their self imposed inhibitions. By being keenly perceptive, director Salky stacks up countless priceless moments in crafting teen romance with a decidedly modern spin. In DARE, the kids do what they need to do to become the adults they should.
Dare Movie Trailer
