The Ketchup Effect
At the outset of this movie, we meet three innocent and rather childish girls, Sofie who is 13 years old and her best friends Emma and Amanda, as they start high school. Sofie has rather naive dreams of her coming popularity and she hopes to be the one that Mouse, the coolest guy at school, chooses as his girlfriend. But if she cannot get Mouse, then one of his buddies, Jens or Sebbe would be just as good, since they are kind of cute, too.
Just after starting school, the three girls are invited to a party, and they know that Mouse, Jens and Sebbe will be there. They are overjoyed, but the party does not live up to their expectations: Mouse and his buddies totally ignore them. Sofie manages to drink too much and passes out. While unconscious, Mouse and Jens take a few degrading photographs of her. Sebbe feels disturbed by the situation, but does nothing to stop them.
These pictures are soon circulating all over school. Sofie is labeled School Whore. To make things even worse, Mouse spreads other lies about her and Amanda and Emma are embarrassed to be seen with her. They are afraid their reputations will be damaged and start avoiding her. Amanda strikes up a friendship with Beatrice, a foxy girl who has been on “Kid Stars” and wants to be a model. Sofie is left to her loneliness. It does not help matters that Krister, Sofie’s father, works as the music teacher at her school.
Meanwhile, Sebbe’s conscience is beginning to bother him. He seeks Sofie out and they feel an affinity for each other. Sebbe is tired of being friends with Mouse. He thinks Mouse is just too far out. It looks like Sofie and Sebbe are about to fall in love. but a misunderstanding pulls them apart again.
The situation at school gets worse and worse. Sofie tries to maintain a facade of indifference, but inside, she is going to pieces. One day, Mouse feels her up in the cafeteria at school and her facade crumbles. She jumps him and they fight. This fist fight triggers a series of events that makes Sofie burn all her bridges – at school, with her friends and even with her father. She is disappointed with everyone.
As a final cry for help, she tries to kill herself by jumping out a window. She is not badly hurt by the fall, but it is bad enough that Emma and Amanada realize they have been cowards and terrible friends. They go over to Sofie’s house to try to appologize, but Sofie cannot just forgive them like that. She is not sure that they really mean it – maybe they just want to be her friends in secret. But when Amanada and Emma find the courage to end their friendship with Beatrice, Sofie understands that they are serious.
