SYNOPSIS:

Grrl Trouble - romantic comedy by James Gaskin Mick, 24, buys his parent's house so they can retire. Dora, the kid across the street, is almost 21 and gorgeous. But her life is partying, piercings, and punk rock, and his life is job, mortgage, and classical music. He thinks she's a kid, she thinks he's sold out. Dora's mother convinces Mick to let Dora hang around in case maturity rubs off. It doesn't, and arguments ensue. Dora makes an offer: come look at my life and revive your youth. OK, but only if she looks at his non-teenage life and culture. Punk to classical, skateboarding to tennis, rock band to string quartet. They get closer to each other, and Dora tones down her appearance little by little. Things go bad when a drunk Dora calls Mick an uptight asshole. Later, he gives her a key so she can get away from her parent without hanging with the wrong people. Dora has hidden plumbing talents, and solves Mick's work problem. He's surprised. A night at a jazz club ends with Dora seducing Mick on his couch. Members of Mick's string quartet tell Dora about Mick's pattern of dating two weeks then moving on. She realizes party life has a price when her dealer tries to pimp her out to pay her debts. The two have dinner with friends of Mick's. Fiona's former punk lifestyle in college turned into marriage and a baby. Later, Mick uses candles, silk robes, and massage oil as seduction tools for their first "real" night together. Soon Dora sees Mick with another woman (his sister with dyed hair and marital problems). Her two weeks are up; he got in her skirt, then split. Mick finds a hole where his TV was. He confronts Dora, who unconvincingly denies everything. Dora admits to her mother that she let her dealer steal Mick's TV to pay off her debt. TV shopping, Mick runs into a girl from college. He's about to accept her invitation for a date when a girl reminds him of Dora. Dora and her revenge date stop at Mick's. He says he now understands the betrayal his sister felt as Dora roars away. Realizing the woman she saw was Mick's sister, Dora demands to go home. Her date says no and kicks her out. She walks home in the rain. Dora bangs on Mick's door, they make up, and wet clothes disappear. The next day, Dora appears with a classical guitar so she can learn "real" music, and an electric violin so Mick can join her rock band. They both agree the suburbs can be exciting with the right partner.

GRRL TROUBLE