Triple Dog

TRIPLE DOG
3/5 Stars
Now Streaming on Netflix


     Just as Panic Room is like the best Lifetime movie ever made, Triple Dog is like an ABC Family Original gone wrong- in a good way.
     Most teen melodramas fail to capture much of the bite of the suburban high school experience. The problem lies mostly in the language. Cool slang is a chimera screenwriters can never manage to get their qwerty little hands on, and failed attempts only stand out as square red flags. Onscreen teens often come off sounding like undercover cops posing as high schoolers. (Ooh, I just had an idea for a TV show! They did? Really? Well, how about a movie reboot? They are? With Jonah Hill? Seriously?) Besides being mercurial, teen language is far from subtle- another aspect often absent in the cruel words of teen films. Somehow, being called a "dorkwad" just doesn't hold the same stigma for kids who regularly hear "slut", "bitch", and the perennially popular "faggot".
     Triple Dog is not 100% successful in its treatment of teen dialogue (it still comes off a bit like a cutesy cell phone commercial at times), but it does attain an uncommon level of viciousness in its words and actions. Considering the youth of the characters involved, I think you can chalk up the language as a small victory. Ironically, the R-rating keeps out the obvious demographic, so I'm not exactly sure who this movie is for. But if your 13-year-old sister thought The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants was bullshit, I might have a recommendation for her.

PS- For true success in teen language, check out these other classics currently streaming on Netflix:
Heathers
Angus
Brick