Brokedown Palace

What price innocence? This is the question posed by Brokedown Palace, a slight story of slackers who land behind bars in the most unlikely of places. Alice Marano (Claire Danes) and Darlene Davis (Kate Beckinsale) are best friends for life. They’ve only just made it out of high school, but that “for life” part will be severely tested, in several senses, before the movie is over. Bored by summer jobs, Alice and Darlene tell …

…tell how bored they are in college and at the mall. With characterization off on a vacation of its own, though, it’s impossible to care for long. If the film has any points to make, it appears to be a vague criticism of the slackerdom of youth. Director Kaplan (The Accused) could have painted a stirring portrait, but instead has made one which is merely slackerish, thus suffering from the very malaise it addresses.