MDMA

I was trying to watch a movie and I saw a college party, so I just decided to leave it on. Then as the movie went on, I really got into it. It's about Angie who is from a bad neighborhood in jersey and she's in college in the 80s. She is going to an elite school with all rich white people, who do drugs, drink and have sex. Angie runs out of money and starts making ecstasy herself in a lab, and it's the best ecstasy around! She starts making a ton of money, but you have this bad feeling eventually something will go wrong. You can't sell top of the line drugs and get away with it forever. As she's doing the drug scam, she goes through a lot. Her rich best gf has a horrible mother, which makes her throw up and cut herself. This cute boy on the swim team wants Angie. Her best friend tommy is a good guy, who also likes Angie. Angie joins a program and big sisters a poor girl, who's mother takes drugs. And Angie has flashback of her mother who never cared about her and her father who raised her, but never says I love you. She also went through sexual abuse and being raped, when she was younger. She's going through all this on college and making a killing on the ecstasy she makes. Towards the end it gets very sad, you see the little girl, who Angie big sisters mother still on drugs and not paying attention to the child. She tries to take tommy out for his birthday and he ends up getting shot by the drug dealer, who is not giving Angie her fair cut. Her best friend and roommate ends up in the physc ward, she ends up getting bored of her hot bf Alex and the schools finds out about the ecstasy and drops her. So she becomes a *! She has to learn to pull herself again and actually go see her father. I thought it was a great movie, especially it's based on the writer/directors life. I highly recommend watching it, but it might not be for everyone. I enjoy college craziness, mixed with drugs and loss!

I ran across this film by accident, and I'm glad I did. If you were expecting a girls gone wild type of party film, just be warned that there is no predictability about the direction any of that will take - which makes the journey and arc of each character rewarding. The range of issues that this film touches upon honestly and sincerely surprised me on so many levels - from emotional abandonment, abuse, assault, underage drug use, to economic disparity and social access. While some of the film felt rushed, other sections allowed for some of the most powerfully moving scenes I have witnessed in recent film. By and large an outstanding cast and well-constructed story flow. Important to note that the movie doesn't rush into revealing the layers of the lead character too quickly. While the flashbacks began to paint a more complete picture of her life, it never treated it as something to be summed up with a neat bow or overly-sentimental finish line. The best part of this film for me was that the lead character was a young Chinese woman. I can not think of one other film of the top of my head where I have ever seen this, and it worked so brilliantly, I want more: more of this actress, director and more types of coming of age films with women of all ethnic backgrounds. Spoiler sort of (if you dont read the tagline carefully, like me): I was shocked to find out that this was based on real events.

Ok, I managed to watch the whole movie, I was in a party mood so I started laying a bottom with some beers before going out. So I tought, WTF, it's a dope movie with 80's music, parties and all, even a true story also... Of course I knew I was in for a low budget movie, written, directed and produced by Angie herself. But the first half was bearable, sometimes funny even, but the second half OMG. The girls started crying, mumbling and crying some more till the end of the movie. And that's where I knew the writer wasn't honest: or she covered things up in her own life and only shows the regret (the legal issues of cooking & selling drugs, murder, embezzling,... aren't even touched), or she exaggerated her own youth but didn't have the money to pay for those consequences in terms of a solid script, with of course the necessary settings, additional actors,... I dont know, but when this movie hits the point of crisis, it stays there till the end. I see people from the crew are talking about the 80's feel & setting. Except for a few songs, I never had an 80's vibe. And the sets, as cheap as possible, as less as background possible. A club is one long sofa with people sitting next to each other haha. And for someone who took and selled XTC, she knows not very much about the product. Nobody takes some pills and starts dancing right away, first you have to get through that nauseating feeling for half an hour and only then (if you are not sticked to your chair high on serotonine) the party's on for 2 hours. I find it kind of a pity this movie spiraled down that hard in the second half. 'Cause despite the low budget I tought the first 40 min. seemed promising, but she couldn't keep it up. My advice: don't watch it.

I believe this movie is setting up the viewer for either a series or a prequel. Leaves you wanting more. More please.!! This is a great movie! I Can't wait for Angie Wang's 1st high budget Film.

Bad acting!! Bad script!! Bad everything!! This flick must have been written by a high school dropout from the valley. So awful it's worth watching for a laugh.

My wife and I started watching this at home on DVD from our public library. After 11 minutes she said "I'm not really enjoying this" so we switched to a lightweight rom-com. The next day I finished watching it myself. Many of the "reviews" here are unfair, the movie actually has a lot of positive things to offer. The problem is, the movie is about mostly despicable people exhibiting despicable behavior in 1984. Lots of drugs, sex, and booze. Instead of focusing on college studies. But apparently it is a fairly faithful telling of the writer/director's own experiences. The movie has no value if there is no redemption and it appears there is. Angie is a Chinese American who grew up in a bad neighborhood, apparently experienced some sex abuse growing up, had been raped by local young men, and her father didn't have the ability to tell her he loved her. As a result of all those factors she was a hardened young lady who found it difficult to form relationships. When her college money ran dry she hit upon the idea to sneak into the chemistry lab and synthesize MDMA, the drug ecstasy. Is the movie worth viewing? Not for those who like a rather clean, sanitary story. While this will not be a favorite of mine, and I would never want to rewatch it, I am glad I was able to see it once. It shows a slice of life that I am otherwise unfamiliar with.

I didn't know what to expect when my girlfriend dragged me to a screening of this film I was expecting to take a nap but found myself sucked in. "Angie" played by Annie Q is a fiery, broken girl who decides to break bad and make MDMA in her school lab and sell it to help pay for school. The story arc is typical, it's fun until it's not, and those who fall into her orb don't fare well. However, despite her pitfalls and demons, manages to get up and keep fighting.. She's a heroine (and an Asian woman at that!) who is rich, complex and fights for redemption. The acting is incredible. Annie Q delivers in the lead role. Francesca Eastwood is electrifying as the rich preppy roommate "Jeanine"( not sure about the costume choices when we first meet her but hey) . I agree with the Hollywood Reporter write up of her performance. Look for some incredible moments. Scott Takeda sells the likeable nerdy sidekick. Two standouts in what could have been melodramatic throwaway performances were Ron Yun as "Michael" the hard ass dad and Yetide Badaki as "Anita" the crack mother. Each of these powerful actors brought a depth and as the filmmaker, the "real Angie" put it, humanity to 2 archetypal bad parents. There is some sex that seemed gratuitous to me until my girlfriend explained it through a chick's view. I'll let her write about that though. I will say that every red blooded boy enjoys a good threesome scene without being exposed to too much male nudity. i enjoyed this film far more than I thought i would. DIdn't nap at all. And it stuck with me, making me think for a weeks. The filmmaker says that she wanted to inspire empathy and she did. I almost didn't watch this movie because of some of these negative user reviews, but I think they're all from one or two people who seem to have some personal beef or forgot their meds. I looked at the critics reviews which were mixed but seemed to agree that the film has merit. MDMA is film that has flaws, but I give it 9 stars for heart.

This movie confronts head-on a difficult problems within a tangled and male-dominated sub-genre. Meeting all of the criteria that the genre demands and more this movie confronts challenges, such as underrepresented minorities in cinematography. One major issue that I found with the movie, which is very loosely based around true-ish events was the movie covers in entirety the lifestyles of young party-goers and the consequence of their choices. Simply dismissing this film as an attempt to appeal to a younger audience is wrong in my opinion because as far as I can tell, no other film to date gives such a comprehensive view of the 1980's club culture aside from anti-drug PSAs, clearly what this movie is not, and historical films. This film plays like a biographical narrative while being a fun and light-drug movie that brings a strong theme of the destructive effects of criminality, warning the viewer away from the dangers associated. While the movie doesn't condescend to the viewer the story takes on too many subjects, drawing the viewer away from the entertaining aspect of watching these young people at their worst. I believe this movie is underrated. The actors play their parts with gusto, guiding you in the chaos that the subject entails. The movie moves quickly from topic to topic, but in a easy to follow format that many clubbing movies simply lack. The reviews for this movie are of course critical, and the poor rating shows that the movie was received under the same criticisms that movies in the genre, following scarface and other classic clubbing movies, are subjected. Many movies that are ascribed to the niche 'party movie' genre were underfunded and suffered from poor casting. A movie like this one would have received praises had it been release 20 years sooner, when the genre was thirsty for innovators.

Well scripted and well acted, MDMA is worth watching, and Angie Wang deserves kudos for writing, directing, and producing this autobiopic. Annie Q emoted more than most actors ever will and had great chemistry (pun intended) with Francesca Eastwood. (I'm glad I didn't know "Neen" was Clint-the-Gunslinger's kid until after the movie's end, or I would've pre-judged her). The story arc worked, and I enjoyed the inclusion of Adam Ant's music (though I could have stood for more 80s tunes throughout the film). Epilogues would have given the audience some needed satisfaction.

At times amateurish, but always with an honest telling of a damaged girl trying to be good while drowning in a dark world. It rings true.