Toronto. Very Young Girls.

"The story of several teenage prostitutes (most of them black) whose New York experiences lead them to seek out social rehabilitation, Very Young Girls begins with the shocking revelation that the average New York prostitute is thirteen years old," writes Eric Kohn at indieWIRE. "The story falls apart in the third act, as director David Schisgall pulls together a number of developments and fails to lock onto a unifying conclusion, but the lasting effect of the girls' accounts is indisputable."

"Though littered with moving testimonials and some good information about the problem of underage prostitution in urban areas, I wished this well-intentioned documentary had dug deeper," agrees Scott Tobias at the AV Club.

"[I]n a way, this film made me angry but for all the wrong reasons," writes Aaron Dobbs. "[N]ot because the subject matter and lives of these young girls has been so terrible, but because the true impact of their stories is done a disservice by a disorganized, unfocused documentary that goes from pure talking-head, conventional, uninspiring storytelling to a simple public service announcement highlighting an organization called GEMS that helps teenage prostitutes get off the streets and change their lives."

Posted by dwhudson at October 3, 2007 5:17 AM