So much average

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

"Dear Wendy" is a boring, unpleasant movie which is not nearly strange enough to be interesting. It doesn't have a believable moment or character in it. It's like a long elaborate joke with no punchline.The movie is about a group of kids who live in a town which I guess is supposed to be "Anytown, USA" but which I doubt is like any town, any where. It seems to consist of one street with an abandoned mine shaft at the end.The kids form a group called the dandies which is obsessed with guns. They obsessively study videos of gunshot wounds and practice target shooting down in the mine. But, get this: they're pacifists.A black kid joins their group though he does not obey their rules and there is a violent confrontation at the end.In films, the odd unexpected development helps maintain interest. In a movie in which none of the characters motivations make sense, none of their behaviour is explained or explicable, these developments are merely irritating. Watch "Dear Wendy" for examples.

I found this film like a year ago or so and mostly I wanted to watch it just because Lars von Trier wrote it. I'm not his biggest fan (and I hate the way he treats actresses) but by then I had just watched Manderlay (a film that I loved) and Dear Wendy looked extremely interesting, even with the title that it has in my country (it is called "Calles Peligrosas", that means something like "Dangerous Streets", and for a fact the terrific Martin Scorsese 1973 film Mean Streets has the exact same title in my country!). Anyway, like a year ago I saw it and I really liked it, yesterday I saw it again and I still liked it a lot, I think even more. First of all it is quite entertaining and even exiting since it features the creation of something new that for their creators is the way to spend their days and with that the way to live. Is like a very known subject, the fact that some persons in the same "situation" find in their club a new world that nobody else will understand. However this is a work of Lars von Trier and yes it can be seen as the bastard project of his "USA: Land of Opportunity" trilogy. Here we have Dick (Jamie Bell) as the main character. In the town where he lives if you don't work at the mine you will be seeing as a loser. Dick is alone but soon he will find a friend, a friend that will make closer his relationship with Stevie (Mark Webber) and later with some others that, like him, feel that they are losers. That mentioned friend is a gun and Dick will call it Wendy. Dick bought it thinking that it was a toy gun and not even for him, he is a pacifist, but as a present for a boy who was not his fried at all. Call it destiny or whatever but that gun never left Dick and eventually he found that was not a toy, it was one of the things that make the world an evil place, one of those that he hated. Everything started mostly just like a game for two friends, a secret game that soon became like the thing they were waiting all the day for. They became experts on the subject and with the "power" of knowing that they were carrying a gun they felt happiness and since they were so damn generous and were concern about others like them they decided to share their experiences with other three persons (Chris Owen, Alison Pill and Michael Angarano) to be now The Dandies. Pacifists in love with guns, well that's what this film shows, a bunch of young and intelligent persons that became even brilliant in what they were doing, these persons were living in their own little world with their own rules and rituals and since they were pacifists everything seems to be just a game and seems that these kids knew what they were doing. Eventually they will be part again of the world with the character Sebastian (Danso Gordon). Sebastian killed a person and needs to have like a guard so the office Krugsby (Bill Pullman) give that "mission" to Dick. Is quite interesting since Sebastian is an unarmed criminal who wants a cure. Dick and pals are armed decent persons and here we have the classic fight in order to be the leader with both Dick and Sebastian but finally the important issue is the fact that in the end there's a fight with everyone armed. The Dandies wanted a good thing but they were armed and violence makes only more violence. Sure in their world they had their own believes and sure they were pacifist but everything was turned around the guns so is the time of the season for loving...A very strange photography and great performances; I hated Billy Eliot but here Bell is great as the main role as that lonely kid that began having even an obsession, a madness that after all ended in the only possible way he would like to and that resume everything, what a gun could made in him, in his mind. Dear Wendy is definitely an overlooked little gem that I would like to recommend. And the Zombies all around with She's Not There and Time of the Seasons obviously. Fantastic!Well no one told me about her the way she lied Well no one told me about her how many people cried But it's too late to say you're sorry How would I know why should I care Please don't bother trying' to find her She's not thereWell let me tell you 'bout the way she looked The way she'd act and the colour of her hair Her voice was soft and cool Her eyes were clear and bright But she's not thereWell no one told me about her, what could I do Well no one told me about her, though they all knew But it's too late to say you're sorry How would I know, why should I care Please don't bother trying' to find her She's not there

What a stupid movie! It feels like it is going on for ages and it goes nowhere. The director, haven't heard of him in my life, I have to say did not such a bad directing, or editing for that matter. The cast was pretty god as well, Jamie Bell outstanding as usual, Chris Owen and Danso Gordon weren't bad at all, but all that could not give the rubbish script any substance or save that disaster of a movie.Clearly there is a moral of the whole story-guns don't kill people, people do, but I bet there was far more interesting way to point that out. A bunch of kids sharing the same love for firearms and exit wounds, playing cowboys pacifists could lead to one thing and one thing only- someone will get killed. It was a bit too violent that they all got shot so mercilessly and pointlessly, putting all that nonsense to an end. How this movie got rating 6.5 I will never know! What a waste of time and money! ...

While the cinematography was very pleasing to the eyes and the young actors did a commendable job, the story itself leaves something to be desired. Though it starts out with an interesting concept, Dear Wendy winds its way into a ridiculous hole. The "twists" are random and unfounded, probably there for the sole reason of providing conflict. Also, the movie tends to be sluggish: watching for an hour feels like two or three. On the positive side, the young actors did a very good job (for the most part). At times dramatic pauses cause more laughter than thought, but that's difficult to avoid with the script. Eye-catching camera angles were used, along with some interesting techniques. To sum up, the director, cinematographer, and actors are probably usually amazing at their jobs; however, if they enjoy their careers they should stay away from writing like this.