On the Outs (2004) User Reviews

Interesting take on Inner City Youth

[BlackNarcissus · 7/10 · 4 March 2006]

I just saw this movie as part of the Images of Black Women Film Festival in London. I got to say I was pleasantly surprised by the film, which I guess wouldn't be shown in the UK without this type of festival.

Set in New Jersey it follows three different young women. It's a fairly familiar tale if you've seen the likes of Boys in the Hood, Menace to Society, as it's a tale of growing up in inner city America today and the trails and tribulations that entails. That said it was an interesting take on the Genre in that it is to my mind the first film to tell this type of story from a female perspective.

Judy Marte's performance in the film is first rate as a drug dealer and reminded me of Michelle Rodriguez's in Girl Fight, one only hopes she goes on to have as good a career. Her two other co-leads give adequate performances from somewhat under written parts.

All in all a really good little movie, well worth watching.

Strong female drama shows how the choices for three lower class teens are limited at best with future incarceration only exacerbating the problem!

[SONNYK_USA · 7/10 · 2 July 2005]

Three teen girls at three different forks in the road, and they all manage to go the wrong way only to meet up in juvenile hall. What will they do when they get out? I'm not telling, but I will say that Judy Marte ("Raising Victor Vargas") has grown up and even though her character wears a sweatsuit for most of the movie she's still the one of the most gorgeous Latinas ever to fall under the Hollywood radar. As a 'tough girl' she plays it so perfect that most people on the street would take her for a 'thug' instead of a female 'homie'.

Overall a strong drama that might look like an afterschool special on paper but raises the bar by not pulling any punches. Parents might with troubled teens might want to check this one out and then decide whether it could be useful for starting discussions with their own teens.

The vicious cycle of 'poverty-to-jail' has got to come to end sometime. Communication is one of the keys and this film is certainly a conversation starter. Check it out!

A Heartbreaking Portrait of Teen Girls Vs. Drugs, Men and Inner City Life

[noralee · 8/10 · 27 January 2006]

"On the Outs" puts teen age girls front and center in as moving and disturbing docudrama like films that focused more on boys, from "The 400 Blows (Les Quatre cents coups)" to "Kids."

This is the distaff side of where the child drug dealers in HBO's "The Wire" come from, with Jersey City a strikingly similar locale to Baltimore. We see the intertwining and exacerbating problems of poverty, poor health, violence, and weak education with the destructive impact of drugs cutting a hurricane-like swath through their community and defeating individuals who try to stand up in its rip tide.

Three young black and Latina women, who intersect in the streets and in a juvenile detention facility, have the tragic contradictions of typical adolescents, especially of ones thrust way too soon into the adult world. (As Rush ironically sang: "We are only immortal for a limited time.")

We see the tough young dealer determined to make it in a man's world (the charismatic Judy Marte of "Raising Victor Vargas" as "Oz") who thinks she can nevertheless keep her family free of drugs and dealers; the loving but cocaine addicted single mom (a heartbreaking Paola Mendoza as "Marisol") who forgets to buy her daughter milk; and the naive lover (the pivotal and very non-amateurish Anny Mariano as "Suzette", who says in the accompanying film guide that she was inspired by her sister's experiences) of an older "Sportin' Life" of the streets-type -- the changes in her eyes over the course of the film illustrate the girls' trajectory.

The acting is uniformly excellent. Don Parma, in his screen debut as "Tyrell," is almost as devilishly riveting as Michael K. Williams's "Omar" in "The Wire," which is really saying something. The actresses portraying mothers and older relatives fairly showcase the difficulties these women have in preventing their daughters' from repeating their mistakes.

There are a few weaknesses. I was unclear what the passage of time was -- a month? More? We don't really understand how "Oz" got so tough and started dealing in drugs. It's a bit heavy-handed, if ironic and poignant, to frequently show the girls in silhouette to the unattainable Manhattan skyline, particularly of the Statue of Liberty. I also think writer/directors Lori Silverbush and Michael Skolnik want us to think of the bureaucrats they brush up against as rigid and uncaring, but, sorry, I don't think a foster child should be returned to an irresponsible addict not committed to a drug rehab program, regardless of how she got or stays that way. The "Scared Straight" approach didn't look effective, either, by further weakening the girls' self-esteem. At least the white middle-class employer of one girl's housekeeper mom wasn't drawn too stridently.

Some scenes use a herky-jerky whir that's a bit dizzying, and it's unclear if there's thematic consistency to its use or if they were artsy, cinematographic accidents.

The original music and selected songs were excellent, ranging from gospel (the beautiful opening "Motherless Child") to hip hop to singer/songwriter (Imani Coppola's lovely "Freedom Come"), particularly considering the small budget.

I'm not sure who the teens outside the theater were who appreciated my attending one of the last screenings in New York City, but they very helpfully directed me to the background booklet the filmmakers' produced which is essential in providing information that was not in the credits, and not just on the actresses's and creators. The booklet explains that the script grew out of a summer the creators spent working at a juvenile jail in Secaucus, N.J. and how they work-shopped the script with the actors. It also includes resource information on the problems of and solutions for girls caught in the juvenile justice system that are also linked on the film's Web site.

But there are no easy solutions for the three girls we cry for in this film, even as there are hints of hope.

Every Teen Should See This Film

[dorrie-4 · 10/10 · 10 January 2006]

On The Outs is a gripping movie that every teen should see this season. The film is about three young girls living in Jersey City whose lives intersect at a juvenile detention center.

Oz is a 17 year old drug dealer. She is very butch and really carries herself as one of the guys. She fights like the guys, dresses like the guys, talks like the guys and sells drugs on the street corner with the guys. The only person she seems to have a real emotional connection with is her mentally disabled brother. In a case of irony, Oz despises drug use and people who use drugs--despite the fact that she is a drug dealer. On top of all of that, Oz has a mother who is addicted to drugs.

Suzette is 15 years old and meets a neighborhood boy named Tyrell. He shows just a little bit of interest in Suzette and she gets hot and heavy with him real fast. The two become sexually active and Suzette becomes pregnant, much to the dismay of her hardworking single mother. After becoming pregnant Suzette runs away from home to be with Tyrell, a street drug dealer who doesn't seem to have a place to live himself. On the streets Suzette finds trouble far beyond her unplanned pregnancy.

Marisol is a young mother and a crack cocaine addict. She spends much of her time on the streets. When she is arrested following an accident she is forced to face her demons face on. While in juvenile detention her daughter is put into foster care. Marisol thinks a quick fix will help her regain custody of her daughter. She is faced with the prospect of having to stay clean and become responsible to get her daughter back.

On The Outs is the best film created for young teen girls in years. Young women today are faced with so many obstacles and choices lead to consequences. This is an excellent film and the voices of the young girls seem authentic.

On The Outs...true to life

[SaraS1982 · 27 July 2006]

I work in a Juvenile Detention Center and I am constantly on the lookout for films to show the youth during our "groups." While in the video store I happened to come across this film and decided to show it. The kids really responded positively to the film. So, I had them write a review on why they did or didn't like it. Almost every one wrote that they really enjoyed the film. Most could relate to it. They said that more people should watch this film so they could see how kids who frequent detentions live.

To quote: "I liked the film because it was based on the true life world that we(detention youth) live in." -16year old male "I very much enjoyed the film because some of us in here really live the way those girls live. Some of us deal drugs, and buy drugs. Then, we come back to detention again and again. It's all true. I want to change, but it's hard to change." -13year old male "I identify with all of the characters. I've been a runaway, I've sold drugs, and I've been addicted to them. This was a great film. It shows people how your choices really affect yourself and others." -18year old male.

My life unfolded right before my eyes and I realized wow that was me, I was OZ

[tlugo33 · 10/10 · 20 September 2005]

As a Youth Counselor in the South Bronx, my supervisor suggested we take our kids to see this film. I heard the film was suppose to be pretty good and was pretty excited to see it. Needless to say when I saw the film I was in complete awe. I sat in the movie and felt as if someone had told my life long secrete. You see, I grew up in a similar environment and I was OZ. A young Latina growing up in the Bronx with a warm heart,but tons of street knowledge. The scary thing was I even resemble her and that really made me feel weird. I felt like my life was unfolding right before my eyes all over again. I must admit it was a pretty overwhelming feeling and I constantly cried because it brought me back to those nights hanging out in the South Bronx ( where I was raised) telling my drug dealing friends not to sell to my pops. The youth that I brought with me had no idea why I was overly emotion and just thought maybe she is just a sap, but deep down I knew I was hearing a story being told about me. I felt like someone found my journal. The cool thing about it though is that like OZ at the end who threw away the drugs she was prepared to sell - I knew she would find a better life for herself like I did. I now work with the youth and soon will be implementing programs for the troubled youth. It just makes me realize that you don't have to be a product of your environment - If your mentally strong. I enjoyed the movie because it was not at all sugar coated, it was real!

I didn't expect to enjoy this so much

[ellism · 8/10 · 10 June 2006]

Five minutes into this movie, I thought that I was going to hate it. The initial setup of three tragic stories seemed a little trite, but the incredibly believable, candid acting of the three female leads blew right through my preconceptions. The stories are probably all too common, but the film-makers managed to make each girl's story very personal. The film's style is gritty and the camera work emphasizes that well. I really liked some of the candid shots of people hanging out on the streets. It really gives you the sense of what it would be like to live in those circumstances. Kind of sad and frightening, really. One gets the impression that the film-maker's were working from personal experience. I would highly recommend this movie, especially to people looking for something non-Hollywood main stream. No stars, but really, really good acting.

A Diamond From Coal

[yf-3 · 10/10 · 4 January 2006]

I had the good fortune to see this film over the summer while I was a youth leader at my local community center. I went in the theater thinking it was just going to be one of those low-budget after school special type films trying to be hip and educational at the same time. But then as the film progressed I started to get hooked. The stories of these three girls in a down-ridden neighborhood bereft in American's society was so dynamic! Even though the look of the film was something to get used to at first 'cuz I usually enjoy movies shot on film and not on video. None of that really mattered 'cause in the end the acting and the drama portrayed made up for all of this film's flaws.

Very interesting movie about being young in New Jersey

[ft-5 · 9/10 · 15 February 2005]

The plot tells the partly interwoven story of three girls living in New Jersey. What makes this movie interesting -at least to me - is that it steps away from this male-ghetto-hero bullshit and shows how life as a young girl in a town like New Jersey can be. And it surely shows that prisons are a quiet helpless effect to just makes problems invisible instead of solving them. When i saw this movie at the Berlin Film Festival it really impressed me, and even more so when i learned that the makers really did it with the people in New Jersey and especially the people in the Girls Youth Prison. Let's hope there gonna be more movies of those guys!

Highly recommended.

[davidgarvoille · 8/10 · 27 July 2005]

I saw this film on its last night at the Film Forum in NYC. It was a special night as one of the producers, one of the actors, and a good crowd showed up. The producer spoke before the show and asked us to spread the word if we liked the film, and to keep it to ourselves if we didn't...I'm spreading the word.

Shot in grittier parts of Jersey City, which lies just across the Hudson River from Manhattan, with a cast of mostly unknown actors, this film does a fantastic job of peeling back the lid on urban ghetto life. It's not a documentary but has a cinéma-vérité quality that is truly remarkable for a fictional film. Being young and working in film is cool, but making a first film that is as incredibly powerful as this one is an extraordinary achievement for the cast, crew and writer/director, Lori Silverbush.

I enjoyed seeing a film set in the much maligned Jersey City. I lived there for several years and the locations used were well chosen (kudos to the location scouts). The montage of JC images (places and people) in the beginning of the film did an excellent job of establishing the setting for the viewer, and was well-queued with the throaty, resonating rendition of "Motherless Child" (kudos to the editors for that one). I was happy to see the beautiful Judy Marte, from Raising Victor Vargas, playing a super-tough drug dealing lesbian(?). If not always strong, the entire cast had an honesty to their performances that made it seem as if they were really playing themselves caught on film. The seduction scene with Tyrell (Don Parma), for instance, gives mothers in the audience a picture of the kind hustler boyfriend you don't want your daughter to have.

I was deeply moved, and I hope this film gets a lot of mileage. If I were still a public school teacher in the hard knock Bronx, I wouldn't hesitate to send those permission slips home (because of profanity and drug use) in order to show this to my students. I highly recommend anyone who works in urban education to see this film...and share it with their students.

Oh, the choices we make.

[lastliberal · 8/10 · 13 December 2007]

Veteran director Michael Skolnik joins with writer/director Lori Silverbush in her sophomore venture and they combine to create a work that will stand the test of time.

We all make choices, some good and some bad. But, what if the choices we make are really not ours? What if we want to make the right choice, but can't come up with an option? What if we are driven to make a choice based on our environment? These sociological questions are some that many of us never know as we are given good guidance in making choices.

Life in the inner city is nothing like life in the 'burbs. The pressure to make wrong choice like drug use or sex before you are intellectually and emotionally ready, or dropping out of school are sometimes just too easy to make as there is no guidance driving you in a better direction. You only know one route.

This compelling film tells the story of three girls who have driven to make wrong choices. One doesn't feel things are "right," but does it anyway. Another wants to escape, but doesn't know where to go. The stories of Oz (Judy Marte), Marisol (Paola Mendoza), and Suzette (Anny Mariano) will captive you through the film. Like Oz, sometimes you just want to scream and pound on someone to make them see. It doesn't work. The whole culture needs to be improved and, until that happens, we will have a million more stories like this.

Probably none told so well.

A brutally honest portrayal of drug addiction in modern cities

[GethinVanH · 8/10 · 23 October 2008]

There are few movies that are so honest about what's going on in the modern American poor cities. The topic of three intertwined stories from three women could be heavy-handed and awkward in the wrong hands. It isn't here. Some people might think what happens in this movie isn't real but it's quite real and happening right now in most cities to many people. The fact that there are no recognizable faces in this movie just adds to the realism. But that isn't to say that the acting was bad. It wasn't. A lot of movies are just afraid to tackle the topic of drug abuse accurately and I think this one did a fine job of showing what goes on. This isn't an uplifting movie but life isn't always uplifting. It's also very easy to blame the victim in these situations and I think this movie is sympathetic to its characters but not overly sympathetic. Well done movie. One of the best films of 2004!

A film without one false note!

[david-greene5 · 10/10 · 11 May 2008]

During the opening minutes of this film, one might conclude that it was the result of some sort of group project created by a bunch of inner city kids eager to express their perspective of life on the "mean streets". Having seen such material before, I prepared to make allowances for the clumsiness and unprofessional moments that commonly weaken these efforts. Boy, was I fooled! There wasn't a false note in the whole show. It skillfully gives you the impression that it is an intimate documentary, assembled from hand-held camera footage of actual events. The camera work appears to be incredibly rough sometimes. This contributes to the feeling of spot-on realism. The editing brilliantly maintains a great narrative flow throughout, powerfully conveying a rising tension and growing sense of intimate connection with the numerous characters. The film's greatest asset is also its biggest surprise. Unknown actors usually display the failings that arise from inexperience with acting in front of the camera. Frequent little moments that just do not ring true tend to undermine the believability of their overall performances. So where did the actors in this picture come from? There wasn't a single moment that did not ring true, not one giveaway slip-up. Likely, some of those in the smaller parts were very limited talents but they were utilized so skillfully that it never became obvious. Meanwhile, the work of the principals in the cast was so powerfully truthful that the world of this story continued to be convincing and deeply moving throughout the entire show. This is a gritty masterpiece.

Praise the underdogs!

[moshima23 · 10/10 · 16 January 2006]

I'm usually not the type to get my head into the low-budget films because they usually have that grittiness to them that keeps me distracted from everything that is good about the film. On the Outs however had the complete opposite on me. The grit worked well with the plot of these 3 girls struggling to survive a neighborhood thick with disdain and negative coping mechanisms. I dug the shots of the Statue of Liberty with "her" back to Jersey.

There were some flaws in the main characters' acting, for many of them they were first-time roles. Judy Marte's character, Oz, gave me such an emotional jolt. I couldn't believe this was the same actor from Raising Victor Vargas. All in all though, everything in the film clicked together. The settle eruptions of violence and the one-liners that breathe reality into your lungs killed all negativity I held for those small "underdog" films.

Incredible.....

[holy100073-1 · 8/10 · 12 September 2005]

In all honesty, I wasn't a big Indie film fan. In fact, I came across "Raising Victor Vargas" by accident. Because of an actress, who is as beautiful as she is talented, I'm quickly becoming an Indie film watcher. The storyline and setting, surrounding "On the Outs", made the story stand out even more. Formerly a Jersey City resident, it brought back memories of the hardships that engulf a Hudson County city rich with history. Films where real life decisions and defining moments are what's most important, having an unequaled appeal to them. And this film has it. I'm sure she has heard before, and I'm sure I won't be the last...Ms. Marte you are an incredible actress, and one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen in my lifetime...