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When I first heard about Alpha Dog, it was described to me this way: “You know, the Justin Timberlake movie.” And each time I heard people discussing the movie after that, it was pretty much the same. Despite the fact that it is based on a true and fairly recent story that seems like it could be quite interesting, Alpha Dog has received most of its buzz for being “The Justin Timberlake Movie.” So before I go any further, I’ll answer the question that’s on everybody’s mind: Yes.

Yes, he does a good job. Yes, he is convincing. Yes, you do almost forget you’re watching someone who’s mostly known for being in a boy band…oh yeah, and a solo career. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Justin Timberlake might even have a future on the big screen. There, I said it.

Timberlake is actually the center of the show. He plays the part of Frankie, a goofball pothead who is also best friends with Johnny Truelove (played by Emile Hirsch), one of the bigger, small-time drug dealers in the eastern part of Southern California. Johnny Truelove is the ringleader of a group of young men with too much time on their hands. They use drugs, party all the time, sleep around, and beat up everybody who can’t pay Johnny the money they owe him for the drugs he’s given them. With the huge exception of the fact that they are constantly harming themselves through their drug use and other risky behavior, Truelove’s group is relatively harmless - that is until Jake Mazursky, a young man who used to be friends with them all, can’t pay Johnny back.

Jake owes Johnny a little over a thousand dollars, and he’s got quite an anger problem to go along with his debt. The real trouble starts when Jake is not only unable to pay, but he also decides that he no longer respects Johnny, and the two become entangled in an all-out war. At first it’s only personal—breaking into houses, ruining jobs, etc.—but then Johnny takes it to the next level. He kidnaps Jake’s younger brother Zack (Anton Yelchin) and holds him ransom until Jake is willing to pay up.

If this kidnapping plan sounds stupid, it is. Basically everybody in the movie knows that it was a dumb idea, but it was done on a whim, and now Johnny and his friends have to figure out what to do with the boy. They realize they’re in big trouble if they get caught, and they don’t know how to handle it. While they try to figure out their next move, they leave Zack in Frankie’s care. The movie continues as Zack and Frankie develop a friendship and have a good time together while decisions about Zack’s fate are being made. Frankie lets Zack tag along as he parties with his friends, and Zack comes to treat Frankie like the older brother he wishes Jake were. Ultimately, though, 15-year-old Zack is not Frankie’s brother; he’s his hostage.

Overall, Alpha Dog tells a very interesting story, but it is hard to watch. After awhile, the constant profanity, partying, and drug use by the kids in the movie gets a little tedious. They seem to travel all around Southern California attending party after party and managing not to worry too much about the fact that they have a hostage in tow. Everywhere they go, there are witnesses, but all anyone seems to care about is having fun and getting high. Even the parents depicted in the movie, with the exception of Zack’s mother (convincingly played by Sharon Stone), use drugs and pretty much let their kids run wild. Instead of being driven by a plot that develops and intensifies, the movie simply moves from party to party. I almost think following the story in the newspapers as it developed would have been a more emotionally gripping way to follow it. Yes, the guys in the group that kidnaps Zack, especially Frankie, grow to like the young boy and wonder what they are going to do with him and how they are going to get out of the situation…but then they go to another party, engage in more illegal and sexual activities, and forget about it for awhile. Even Zack himself is having too good of a time to care much about what is happening to him. It is only at the end of the film that things really get intense, but that’s after another couple parties!

As far as lasting impact is concerned, I left the movie struck by how empty the lives of the kids in the film were. These kids had already taken so many dangerous steps to try to find fulfillment—drugs, sex, violence—that it was relatively easy for them to end up going too far. That’s a powerful message, but unfortunately it doesn’t hit home as hard as it could. I’m sure it’s quite eye-opening for any parents who will watch, but frankly I doubt if teens will pick up on it. Rather, the partying lifestyle is depicted in such a way as to glorify it as a natural “benefit” of the criminal, slacker lifestyle. For younger audiences, that might be the most powerful message of all. When even the kid who is being kidnapped doesn’t want to go home, I doubt many kids watching this will be able to connect the dots and realize everybody has it all very wrong.

Timberlake may do a great job in this film, and I’m willing to bet he’ll be in other movies. But when it comes to Alpha Dog, just take my word for it: instead of running to the theater, wait for “The Next Justin Timberlake Movie.”