MovieChat Forums > Somersault (2004) Discussion > Most unrealistic 16 year old ever

Most unrealistic 16 year old ever

posted 12 years ago by Foxxyx
5 replies | jump to latest

Aside from the fact the actress looks nothing like a 16 year old, she also behaves more like a 25 year old. Sure teenage girls are horny, but not to the extent where they literally try to have sex with every single male they meet. Let alone be willing to have sex for any excuse e.g. to get a job in a random shop. Basing what an average 16 year old girl is like on myself and people I grew up with, this portrayal is incredibly unrealistic. I'm not saying this is correct, but girls tend to follow social norms which say sleeping around if you're female makes you a slut. Also most girls wouldn't feel comfortable having sex with complete strangers unless they're drunk. It is a societal fact that guys are more free about sex than girls, including talking about it and doing it. She behaves more like a 16 year old boy than a 16 year old.

Also, the character seemed to have no emotions whatsoever. She displayed absolutely not evidence of being worried, nervous or even excited by flirting and getting it on with all these men. Even when she was rejected by Joe, she wasn't even upset or embarrassed. Wtf? Most girls her age have insecurities, and wouldn't feel that comfortable in every single situation. They wouldn't just be able to walk into a bar on their own and comfortably hit on every guy in there. I don't know anyone who would feel that comfortable being intimate with complete strangers. Also, unlike a regular 16 year old girl, she doesn't wear any make-up or spend time on her appearance. Again, completely weird! She MUST have some sort of personality disorder for her to be this unaffected by all social situations.

I was expecting it to be revealed that she was molested as a child or something, the way she behaved was completely not normal for a girl her age. Not saying it isn't right just because it isn't normal (well, hope she was using protection and didn't get HIV), but if the filmmakers were trying to show a coming of age story that people can relate to, they didn't.

[–] ozechris 12 years ago

Genuinely freightening that there seems to be an expectation now that people that behave a bit weird must have been abused. Just like there seems to be an expectation that being abused must lead to behaving weird in some way. Glad the movie disappointed some!

[–] CarefulSheBites 11 years ago

The OP clearly knows nothing about teenage girls. While I agree with you that there wasn't enough character development that led us to know the reason for Heidi's promiscuity, you're really off the mark about how certain teenagers express their sexuality. Some teenage girls are so lonely that they will literally throw it at anyone who shows them an iota of affection. This girl was clearly isolated; she seemed to be emotionally detached most of the time, and for some ppl who are in this state, the only way for them to "feel" anything is by making the grave mistake of thinking that sex is a resolution for whatever problems they may have.

We don't know if Heidi was molested or not; I'm willing to bet that wasn't even the case. Not everyone who is promiscuous has a history of being molested; although there has been a significant amount of data stating this is the case. Some ppl are just quick to confuse sex with love, and I think that's what Heidi's problem was. I really enjoyed this movie. I actually cried for her-the level of depravity that she was willing to sink to just so she could forget about the guy she thought she loved after he rejected her.

I'm very surprised that you would pigeonhole all teenage girls under one umbrella; her behavior is actually very common amongst those who are emotionally broken.

Excuse me--ya'll lookin' for a dead body??

[–] venetianlucifer 10 years ago

I agree completely with you.
I cannot imagine how sheltered a life the OP has lived to make these kind of judgements.
I dated a girl who was almost exactly like her, I was much older.
The most complex, engaging, *beep* up, beautiful spirit I had ever encountered.
When I first saw this movie I was shaken up for weeks, I could relate to her, the other characters, the circumstances, her mother ( who was the obvious template for her promiscuity).
I thought this was an absolutely brilliant film, albeit maybe because of my own personal experience.

[–] jacottj 11 years ago

Actually, lots of teenage girls look a lot older and many times men simply get fooled. She was a runaway teen, not an average 16 year old girl. I don't think she was trying to have sex with every single male she met; she was obviously using sex to obtain certain things that were fundamental to her survival such like a place to stay at night, food or a job. Runaway kids and juvenile prostitution are often related. I found her portrayal very realistic.

[–] rmoriarty97 9 years ago

I think there was a bit of an undercurrent there that she HAD been abused - it was implied in the beginning that there had been a pattern of her mother's partners putting it on her, that's why her relationship with her mother was the way it was - as she always got the blame for these incidents. People who have suffered this kind of abuse can block it out and it comes across as sexual indifference - sex means nothing to them and they will just give it away to get what they want, whether it be material goods, attention (even negative attention) or whatever.