Review: Palo Alto

According to my sources, Palo Alto is one of the most expensive cities in the United States and its residents are among the most educated in America. This and other little nuggets about the place - it is named after a tall tree and Joan Baez was born there - will hopefully lend a bit of colour to a place that is void of any in Gia Coppola's film. Gia is the granddaughter of cinema titan Francis Ford C and when your grandpa has directed The Godfather, you don't get put on hold in Hollywood.

To be fair, Gia has reached 26 without making a film, but when she met actor James Franco - who graphically cut off his arm in Danny Boyle's 127 Hours - he felt she was the one to direct an adaptation of Palo Alto, a book of short stories about his home town.

I haven't read them and haven't a clue as to which of the film's characters Franco really is. But as they are all angst-ridden California teens who try too much too soon it doesn't matter. Like a lot of UK "yoof", doing drugs, binge-drinking and having casual sex is what Palo teens do outside of school. And troubled, volatile Fred (Nat Wolff) does it more and drags his reluctant, but curious friend Teddy (Jack Kilmer, son of Val) into trouble. Then there's class virgin April (Emma Roberts, daughter of Eric, niece of Julia) who has a crush on her soccer coach, who likes teens more than he should and who Franco plays.

As a public information film for naive parents Palo Alto works a treat. But I'm beyond the age when watching young folk get high to relieve boredom is interesting, and the proliferation of celebrity offspring made me feel even older.