The bigger tragedy

I thought the film, while poignant at times, was also pretty awful. But I give credit to any movie who makes me go online and write about it.

In this case, the terminally ill boy appears to be the tragedy. I disagree. People get sick and there is not a whole lot anyone can do about it. The model's story, on the other hand, is 100% the fault of society.

Through the cheesy flashbacks, we see a beautiful girl in high school with a handsome boyfriend, and young and in love, they think they will get married and have babies. Instead, because of said beauty, she is able to become a high profile model in NYC.

This is not to say all models and/or celebrities take this road, but so many turn to drugs/alcohol/sex/insert your own vice. Why is that? She was once a real person with real friends, and then was put into a superficial world where her beauty was really the only thing that mattered.

SPOILERS

I think a better movie would have had her dying when she took the pills. American movies like to be optimistic, but real optimism to me is showing real despair so maybe people can change. Instead, Nikki had an awakening (literally) and went to visit the sick kid. I get that her taking him to the beach is good for both of them, but what about what happened next? She is reverted back to a sexual tool when he just wants to kiss her (and presumably other things take place).

I think the tragedy of the attractive female is often overlooked in America. Because pretty women often have better jobs, attractive boyfriends, etc, we tend to think they are happy. Studies have even shown we think people are happy merely because they are attractive. I think having the model kill herself would have been powerful, but not as powerful as having her and the kid go to the beach without the sex. Humanity is a much stronger concept than lust.