New Best Friend (2002)
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5% of critics liked it
(38 reviews) -
40% of users liked it
(2,782 ratings)
Three rich, pretty people befriend their poor, mousy classmate and live to regret it in this teen-centric thriller. Alicia (Mia Kirshner), Hadley (Meredith Monroe), Julianne (Rachel True), and Sydney (Dominique Swain) are four students enrolled in the same sociology class at Colby University, an… More Three rich, pretty people befriend their poor, mousy classmate and live to regret it in this teen-centric thriller. Alicia (Mia Kirshner), Hadley (Meredith Monroe), Julianne (Rachel True), and Sydney (Dominique Swain) are four students enrolled in the same sociology class at Colby University, an exclusive and respected college in the Carolinas. Alicia is a local girl born into modest circumstances who struggles to make ends meet and rarely gets a second look from the male students on campus, while Hadley, Julianne, and Sydney are close friends who all come from wealthy families and seem more concerned with partying than their studies. Alicia and Hadley are paired up to work on their semester project for the class, which is to be centered around the theme "Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way." As part of the project, Hadley decides to befriend Alicia, and brings her into her social circle. At first, Alicia seems more than grateful for the attention of her new friends, and blooms under the influence of Hadley, Julianne, and Sydney. But it isn't long before Alicia's personality begins to shift; she develops a powerful appetite for drugs and alcohol, and soon begins taking advantage of her new friendships. Things come to a head when Alicia seduces Sydney's boyfriend, Josh (Oliver Hudson), and soon Alicia ends up in the hospital after OD'ing on drugs. Artie Bonner (Taye Diggs), a local sheriff, begins looking into Alicia's case, convinced that her near-fatal accident with drugs was no accident at all. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Zoe Clarke-Williams
- Written By
- Victoria Strouse
- Genres
- Mystery & Suspense, Drama
R,
- In Theaters
- Apr 12, 2002 Wide
- Studio
- Sony Pictures Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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Dennis Harvey, Variety
A campus drama-cum-whodunit that's obvious and exploitative even by low-bar youthpic standards.
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Sergio Mims, Chicago Reader
A dull, generic title for a dull, generic film.
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Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
The party scenes deliver some tawdry kicks. The rest of the film ... is dudsville.
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Peter Howell, Toronto Star
Instead of trying to bust some blondes, [Diggs] should be probing why a guy with his talent ended up in a movie this bad.
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Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
Nobody seems to have cared much about any aspect of it, from its cheesy screenplay to the grayish quality of its lighting to its last-minute, haphazard theatrical release.
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Cast
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Mia Kirshner
as Alicia
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Meredith Monroe
as Hadley
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Dominique Swain
as Sydney
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Scott Bairstow
as Trevor
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Rachel True
as Julianne
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Taye Diggs
as Artie
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Glynnis O'Connor
as Connie
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Joanna Canton
as Sarah
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Eric Michael Cole
as Warren
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Rhoda Griffis
as Attending Nurse
- Oliver Hudson
