Crazy/Beautiful

Carlos Nuñez (Jay Hernandez) is a 17-year-old Mexican-American teen from East LA who rides a bus two hours every day to attend school in the Pacific Palisades for a better education. A straight-A student, he has ambitions of attending the U.S. Naval Academy and becoming a pilot. On a day out with friends at the Santa Monica Pier, he meets Nicole Oakley (Kirsten Dunst), a classmate who is doing trash pickup at the beach as part of a DUI sentence. She is the daughter of a US congressman (Bruce Davison) and lives in the upscale Palisades, but she is rebellious, hard-partying, and has a strained relationship with her father. Her troubles stem from her mother's suicide when she was young, as well as the feeling of being unwanted by her father and his new wife (Lucinda Jenney). Despite their differences, Nicole and Carlos begin a romantic relationship. The romance runs into obstacles that arise from their different backgrounds, as when Carlos invites Nicole to a family party and she feels out-of-place as the only white person there. She pulls a stunt that lands Carlos in detention; and when she tells him to lighten up, he angrily points out that she doesn't appreciate the privileges she has. Despite the obstacles, their relationship blossoms. Carlos tries to steer Nicole away from her drug and alcohol abuse, and Nicole arranges a flying lesson for Carlos, who dreams of being a pilot but has never flown in a plane. Nicole's father offers to help Carlos with his Congressional sponsorship to the Annapolis Naval Academy, but warns him to stay away from his daughter as she is so self-destructive and doesn't want to see Carlos dragged down by Nicole. Carlos's friends and family also look down on the relationship, fearing Nicole is a bad influence on him. Feeling pressure from other peoples' expectations, Carlos breaks up with Nicole, sending her spiraling back into wild, drunken partying. One night, Carlos returns her phone call to find out she is drunk at a wild high school house party. He goes to there and saves her from a boy trying to take advantage of her. He drives her home, but they are stopped by the police for her expired car registration stickers. As a result of this incident, Nicole's father and stepmother decide that she needs to go to a boarding school in Utah. Carlos rescues Nicole and they run away together. While they are away, Nicole tells him she doesn't want to obstruct Carlos's dreams, and they decides it is time to face her father so she can be better for Carlos and have a future with him. They return to her home, where she makes up with her father, who thanks Carlos for not listening to his advice to abandon Nicole. As the film ends, Carlos is shown becoming a pilot with the United States Navy.