LOL (2012 film)

Plot

Lola (Miley Cyrus) leads an ordinary life, with her boyfriend Chad (George Finn), and best friends Emily (Ashley Hinshaw), Janice (Lina Esco) and Kyle (Douglas Booth).When they return to school, after summer vacation, Lola discovers that Chad has cheated on her over the summer, so the two of them break up. Lola and Kyle begin to realize that they have feelings for each other and pursue a relationship, but this is difficult due to the fact that Chad and Kyle are friends, and Lola's "enemy" Ashley (Ashley Greene) wants to date Kyle. Kyle and his band No Shampoo want to compete in the battle of the bands, but Kyle's father doesn't support Kyle's passion for music and feels that it is getting in the way of his schoolwork, the situation is further complicated by Chad's jealousy towards Lola and Kyle’s new relationship.

Lola's mother, Anne (Demi Moore), is a divorcée who frequently has sex with her ex-husband, Allen (Thomas Jane) until she finds out that Allen has been sleeping with another woman at the same time. Anne also begins to realize that she and Lola are growing further apart once Lola throws a party and is caught by Anne, who threatens to not allow Lola to go on her class trip to Paris.

Things finally start to change when Anne meets police officer James (Jay Hernandez) and they begin to date. During their relationship, James offers Anne advice on how to reconnect with Lola. She takes up the advice. After a presentation at school, Lola looks for Kyle in the bathroom, and overhears two people having sex in the stall. Lola assumes it is Kyle and Ashley after seeing a purse similar to Ashley's peeking out from under the stall. Afterwards, Lola confronts Ashley, who doesn't deny it.

A huge argument breaks out between Kyle and Lola, where Lola accuses Kyle of cheating on her, and the two break up. Kyle father learns that Kyle has lied about his grades and smoked pot which leads to him being grounded and his dad destroying his guitar. After the break up, Lola is determined to make Kyle jealous, and tries to do so by making out with her childhood friend Jeremy (Jean-Luc Bilodeau). Meanwhile, Lola and Anne reconnect, and Anne allows Lola to go on the class trip to Paris.

While on the Paris trip, Emily finally admits to Lola it was actually her and her secret boyfriend Wen (Adam Sevani) in the bathroom, not Ashley and Kyle. After this realization, Lola and Kyle get back together and Lola spends the night with Kyle where he is staying and they have sex for the first time.

When they all return home, Chad and Kyle reconcile and he gives his blessing to Kyle and Lola relationship. Lola sticks up for Ashley when Chad insults her. Ashley thanks her for this and they become friends. Meanwhile, Anne finds Lola's diary and finds out that Lola has slept with Kyle and done drugs by smoking pot. She confronts Lola, and the two of them have a huge falling-out, causing Lola to move in with her dad.

Eventually, Lola and Anne reconcile and Lola moves back in with her mother. Kyle's band wins battle of the bands and his father finally begins to support his musical aspirations. Kyle and Lola stay together and Ashley and Chad begin to date. The film ends with Anne and Lola laughing out loud while cuddling.

Cast

Production

Principal photography started on July 16, 2010 in Dearborn, Michigan. LOL was primarily filmed at Grosse Pointe South High School in the city of Grosse Pointe, a suburb northeast of Detroit, Michigan. It was also shot in Chicago, Illinois. In September 2010, production moved to Paris. Post-production began on September 14, 2010, and required a year and two weeks before it was completed on November 1, 2011. The film was set to be released in 2011 but it was pushed to 2012. The movie was initially supposed to be a television drama, but such plans were changed when the series ran into legal issues connected to the French film of the same name. Many scenes from the movie were originally supposed to be a part of longer episodes, which would have expanded upon the concepts involved (Lola's trip to Paris was originally supposed to be a special scheduled to come after the episode that included the scene in which Anne reads her diary). Some speculate that the movie was a sort of montage of the series, which were written to include true plots and character arcs.

Soundtrack

1. "Everybody" - Ingrid Michaelson
2. "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" – Jean-Phillipe Verdin
3. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" – The Rolling Stones
4. "Somewhere Only We Know" – Keane
5. "Houdini" – Foster the People
6. "The Big Bang" – Rock Mafia
7. "Microphone" – Coconut Records
8. "Location" – Freelance Whales
9. "Cul et chemise" – BB Brunes
10. "Birds" – The Submarines
11. “Heart on Fire" — Jonathan Clay
12. "Little Sister" — Jonathan Clay and Becky Henkel
13. "Dreamers" - Jean-Philippe Verdin

Release

LOL was originally set to have a wide domestic release, but instead, it was rushed into a limited release with no significant marketing from the theatrical team. The movie was released only because of a technicality in the contract and this contributed to it being a financial failure at the box office.

On February 10, 2012, the film was released for the first time in India, and on March 1, 2012, in Singapore. The feature film also had a limited release on May 4, 2012, in the United States.

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 17% approval rating and an average score of 3.7/10 based on six reviews.

Home media

The film was available on DVD, Blu-ray, digital download, and on-demand on July 31, 2012 in the United States from Lionsgate Home Entertainment.