Peter Pluymers "Stay invisible. Stay out of sight. That was the plan."Lots of years ago I saw "Christiana F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo" (including a masterful German version of "Heroes" by Bowie). After watching it, I was immediately afraid of heroin. The impact this film had on me was indescribable and I decided I'd never start experimenting with it in my life. The image I had of cocaine after seeing "The preppie connection" was that this is just an innocent party drug. It looks like a not so dangerous but a costly drug. To be honest concluding this terrified me a bit. That's pretty much my feeling about this film: an average film based on a true story that left no lasting impression. Everything revolves around Tobias (Thomas "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" Mann), a teenager from a not so wealthy family who, forced by his mother (Amy Hargreaves), starts his school career at an elite school. His fellow students are the more privileged types who aren't worrying about their study results. If your parents own a well-stocked bank account and you're brought to school in an expensive limo, this is the last thing you worry about. I suppose subtly promised sponsorship by the wealthy family will help eventually. Tobias feels like an outsider. A parasite without money who dares to mingle with the bourgeoisie. The day he helps a bunch of those rich buggers so they don't get expelled from school, his reputation changes drastic. And with the (unintentional) cooperation of the son of a Colombian ambassador (Guillermo Arribas), he sees an opportunity to earn a spot among the wealthier youngsters by smuggling cocaine from Bogota. At the same time he's trying to conquer the heart of Alex (Lucy Fry) and the trust of her boyfriend Ellis (Logan Huffman), a spoiled rich jerk.The film is based on the true story of Derek Oatis who went to school in similar circumstances. He attended Choate Rosemary Hall, an elite private school where John F. Kennedy once went to school. You can find part of the real story here. Perhaps the facts are a bit distorted and sugarcoated, but what I definitely liked was that '80s atmosphere. When "Just like honey" by The Jesus and Mary Chain echoed through the room, this couldn't go wrong. Maybe that's because I am a huge fan of music from the 80's. The soundtrack may have been a pleasant surprise, but the film on its own wasn't. Not that it was boring, but it wasn't really intriguing. The clash of social classes in a school environment and the way individuals must assert to be accepted, is a subject that has already been used several times. And drug-related films are also in abundance. Besides, I didn't know it was so dead simple to smuggle drugs in those day. Book a trip to Bogota in Columbia and wander around aimlessly (preferably in the slums) so you can get in touch with some local dealers who keep packets of cocaine in their storage cellar. And in the end you walk calmly through customs. This seemed a little bit too easy to me.Also the performances were fairly superficial. At first I thought the way Thomas Mann acted in "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" was purely because of the script. Now I'm convinced that this is just his true nature, because he acts the same way here. A timid, somewhat nerdy look and at the same time a humble attitude. He wants to be rebellious, but always decides to keep a low profile. Lucy Fry has the appropriate appearance to act as a toy for the rich boyfriend and also played in other nondescript teen movies (such as "Lightning Point" and "Mako Mermaids"), but her character is essentially a necessary prop. The one who impressed me the most was Logan Huffman. Exactly the same psychopathic empathy as his character in "Final Girl". A brilliant rendition that shows how a drug like cocaine affects your personality and can make you utter schizophrenic. However, when you like to have a quality movie night about these subjects, a combination of "The Breakfast Club" with "Trainspotting" would be a far better option.More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT

cotton club rotten tomato is stupid. lately movies that are 0% and garbage are rated in the 80's/90's over there and winning Oscars for political correctness. i guess in this safe space day and age a good old fashioned story of how awesome the 80's was and the innocence the decade shared in relation to drugs and especially coke is lost on many. the soundtrack was amazing. only reason I'm here really...i figured someone had the track list for Pete's sake.great movie. travesty rotten gave it poor reviews. i may have bypassed it.8/10rotten tomato is stupid. lately movies that are 0% and garbage are rated in the 80's/90's over there and winning Oscars for political correctness. i guess in this safe space day and age a good old fashioned story of how awesome the 80's was and the innocence the decade shared in relation to drugs and especially coke is lost on many. the soundtrack was amazing. only reason I'm here really...i figured someone had the track list for Pete's sake.great movie. travesty rotten gave it poor reviews. i may have bypassed it.8/10

fmarciano-1 Spoiler Alert !!!Great Movie. The two lead actors, Lucy Fry and Thomas Mann are destined for greatness. The actors are perfectly cast, seeing Alex's good looks fade away like Lindsey Lohan, until she literally disappears, is almost like a bellwether of the movie's trajectory. Ellis's decline from the king of the preppy universe to a beaten down, pathetic loser, is almost Shakespearean. His pathological betrayal of all his friends, his revenge on Toby and Alexis is mirrored in his face. By the end of the movie, his handsome face has turned into a psychotic Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow in Batman BeginsBut Alex is only a cipher, in love with no one, not Ellis, not Toby and not herself. Like the Cocaine itself, an empty vehicle that blows away like dust. The fact that Toby never sees Alex again is a metaphor for the coke itself.The most sexualized scene is when Alex is on the bus with her boyfriend touching his body but having sex with Toby as she locks her eyes on him. There is a moment she grabs Ellis as if to show Toby she is grabbing him while Ellis is hopelessly clueless about how much Alex is not in love with him.The only true love in the movie is Toby's father's love towards Toby. The lack of parental love and affection is the biggest force in the movie, which I think causes the suicide death of the girl, the underlying reason for Toby being in a world he does belong in and the source of the money that allows the rampant drug used. By not throwing in a clichéd scene of rich parents partying, the absence of the parents love is driven home by their absence in the movie.And Toby's mother, who somehow thinks she can reclaim the glory of her German family's past manipulates her son into going to this school where he knows he does not belong And she gets her way by sulking into a dark depression that only Toby can cure by capitulating to his mother's dreams. Another parent who's self obsession leads her child astray.The ending was great was the ending with the real life, model handsome Toby, as he talks about the five minutes before his bust and the five minutes after the bust, and then instead of showing redemption or reflection on his bad ways, he embraces the entirety of his descent by even saying he misses Ellis.

Richard I saw The Preppie Connection tonight, and found myself enjoying every bit of it. The fact that it was a true story made it an easy sell for me, but I particularly appreciate that the film makers didn't present anything fantastic or over the top. Instead, you really feel that what you are watching is probably what actually took place, no more, no less. In short, the risk the main character takes in traveling abroad for the purpose of drug trafficking is presented clearly and thoroughly for the viewer, and this serves to make the film engaging.I've read a review elsewhere that regards the acting in this film as weak. I don't agree at all. I thought the acting was great, the kids were believable, and I especially liked the soundtrack.To sum up, I probably wouldn't go handing out Oscars to the actors and crew, but in my opinion the film entertains all the way through, and is definitely worthwhile watching.