Cherry

Cherry seems to have been created in part to prove that one can make a film about a guy determined to shed his virginity without the need to include a scene with the same guy fucking a pie (metaphorically speaking of course).  By that measure they've definitely succeeded.  Overall I found the film relatively enjoyable, but at the same time felt something pulling it all together was missing.

Our young hero heads off to college to study engineering.  Raised by parents who are both engineers who themselves come from a line of engineers he feels his career is cast in stone.  Of course things aren't as simple as that.  While he appears mildly interested in engineering there's clearer evidence on display as to his gifts as an artist.  Fitting the lame parents in movies everywhere model they don't want to hear about it and consider any art classes a waste of his time.  Which is a shame because his engineer skills are questionable - as are those of everyone else involved in his program (including the faculty) - more on that in a bit.  Oh, and of course he's a virgin, but I think you knew that.  Once at college he has various trials and tribulations to endure on the road to finding himself.  Complicating things more than usual are the older woman he meets and her too young for him (but highly sexualized daughter).  Let the games begin...

There are plenty of individual scenes to recommend the film including some true laugh out loud moments.  Perhaps the best is the detailed diagram provided to the main character by his father as a going away gift - detailing the "improbable" location of the clitoris.  Along with a hand written note that earlier access to this information "might have saved my marriage to your mother."  Cherry also includes life advice even for those not looking to lose their virginity.  For example the film reminds us that much in college much like like prison the key thing on your first day is to beat the crap out of your cell/room-mate.  Or maybe that's just my interpretation given what the main character puts up with from his roomie who feels he can take advantage of the virgin him in increasingly frustrating ways.

Overall the film has a slightly dark tone than you'd expect from a film whose title sounds remarkably like a simple college guy on a quest to get laid flick. The young engineering student wanders into an art class where he excels given his clear talent.  In class he meets an "older woman" probably in her early thirties who takes a shine to him. While he imagines it as a sexual opportunity that doesn't seem to be her agenda. Though occasionally it is for her 14 year old daughter who also likes him.  The relationship between him and the daughter (who he does have chemistry with) is another positive aspect of the film.  But the woman has problems which he's truly not in a good position to deal with.  Which drive the darker, dealing with addiction aspects of the movie.  As opposed to a fairly simple film starring Meryl Streep recently, this one truly could have been named "It's complicated."

Likely invisible to many, but seriously disappointing to me was the treatment of engineering students onscreen. While there were some hilariously realistic moments (such as students arguing over the process required to determine who among them is the most *ahem* "manly") most of the education process as depicted is beyond ridiculous. Case in point - a term project to build a device to walk on water. In the end scene it's obvious from the results that most of the students have never tested their devices. Which is a truly shocking omissions from alleged top notch engineering students. I mean, come on?....  This is probably not likely to bother many as much as it did me.  But if you share the ability to watch Control-Alt-Delete and find the idea of a dude sexing up his computer (in a very literal sense) less bizarre/unrealistic than the pseudo office environment the characters worked in - then you have been warned.

While this movie wasn't perfect I felt there was enough to like to recommend it. It's not altogether a satisfying conclusion in the vein of simple John Hughes films. But overall it was a pleasant enough take on the genre to avoid warning you away from checking it out.