The Chumscrubber (C- or 2/4 stars)
'The Chumscrubber' (a dramatic satire directed by Arie Posin) explores the darkness that lurks beneath the seemingly squeaky clean, sun-drenched, picket-fenced streets of suburbia. In tone, it both looks & feels like a sort of surreal, demented Desperate Housewives, and more so, like a Donnie Darko or Blue Velvet. The story is set the fictional Southern California town of Hillside, where no one really cares about anyone but themselves; where the adults are 'a bit off', oblivious to their emotional surroundings, & where the teens {even pre-teens} are all on either prescribed or illegal drugs.
Things kick-off with the suicide of Troy (Josh Janowicz), a high-schooler whose closest acquaintance is the relatively friendless, Dean (Jamie Bell). Dean's father, Dr. Bill Stiffle (William Fichtner), author & pop psychologist of the everything-is-connected bestseller 'The Happy Accident', is somewhat concerned that Dean doesn't appear to be grieving Troy's untimely death. His mother (Allison Janney), who sells vitamins through a marketing program, is a bit worried too and, thusly, Dean is put on the drug, Viloprex. But Dean has been taking that already; having acquired it from drug-dealer, Troy.
All the while, Dean's fellow high-schoolers, Billy (Justin Chatwin) & Lee are apparent heirs to Troy's prescription-drug-dealing business and, they want Dean to break into Troy's home to get his leftover stash. When he refuses, they plot to kidnap Dean's little brother, Charlie (Rory Culkin), & hold him 'til Dean complies. The plan goes awry when they kidnap the wrong Charlie (Thomas Curtis), a meek boy whose mother, Terri (Rita Wilson), is so distracted with her upcoming wedding to the town's mayor (Ralph Fiennes), that she does not even realize that her Charlie is missing.
With her wedding scheduled as Hillside's main social event of the season - just opposite a planned memorial for Troy - Troy's bereaved, grieving mom (Glenn Close) wanders from neighborhood home to home, assuring everyone in an eerie tone that she does not blame anyone for her son's suicide {really, she seems to have lost her grip on reality}. Neither parents nor the police believe Dean's story about the kidnapping, and so, he embarks on his own rescue mission. Ensuing are shocking developments, and the realization by a few - mostly the Glenn Close character - that no one REALLY knows anyone.
This movie takes a tried-&-true cynical view of suburban America. It highlights disaffected teen-parent alienation, hell-ish characters, and it provides a satirical, darkly farcical plot that has loonier & loonier plot revelations/twists as it goes. The whole thing, despite some good performances that pop here & there, just put an off-putting, sour taste in my mouth. To boot, some performances are so bad to the extent that they overshoot the satirical/farcical elements of the script. Rita Wilson, who I believe to be a stellar writer, singer & person, comes off the worst as far as trying to balance a dramatic performance with some of the more ludicrous satirical elements; it's just a wholly misjudged performance that comes across laughably over-the-top.
At only 18 yrs. old, Jamie Bell {brilliant in 2000's Billy Elliot} comes out unscathed, here. Bell carries the movie as the numb, inwardly tortured teen who is still astute enough to know the right thing to do, and how to cope with his issues. I also loved Glenn Close here as the traumatized Stepford-like wife & mom. No surprise that the best scene in the film is btw. her & Bell. Now, there ARE isolated moments where a joke lands, or a visual rivets, or the satire is incisive. But overall, I couldn't sympathize with these people. The tone of the film felt uneven. And I don't think that the director/co-writer gives us anything 'new' to the genre. 'The Chumscrubber' is just a touch too messy, smarmy, uninspired & faulty in showcasing its self-absorbed characters.
Things kick-off with the suicide of Troy (Josh Janowicz), a high-schooler whose closest acquaintance is the relatively friendless, Dean (Jamie Bell). Dean's father, Dr. Bill Stiffle (William Fichtner), author & pop psychologist of the everything-is-connected bestseller 'The Happy Accident', is somewhat concerned that Dean doesn't appear to be grieving Troy's untimely death. His mother (Allison Janney), who sells vitamins through a marketing program, is a bit worried too and, thusly, Dean is put on the drug, Viloprex. But Dean has been taking that already; having acquired it from drug-dealer, Troy.
All the while, Dean's fellow high-schoolers, Billy (Justin Chatwin) & Lee are apparent heirs to Troy's prescription-drug-dealing business and, they want Dean to break into Troy's home to get his leftover stash. When he refuses, they plot to kidnap Dean's little brother, Charlie (Rory Culkin), & hold him 'til Dean complies. The plan goes awry when they kidnap the wrong Charlie (Thomas Curtis), a meek boy whose mother, Terri (Rita Wilson), is so distracted with her upcoming wedding to the town's mayor (Ralph Fiennes), that she does not even realize that her Charlie is missing.
With her wedding scheduled as Hillside's main social event of the season - just opposite a planned memorial for Troy - Troy's bereaved, grieving mom (Glenn Close) wanders from neighborhood home to home, assuring everyone in an eerie tone that she does not blame anyone for her son's suicide {really, she seems to have lost her grip on reality}. Neither parents nor the police believe Dean's story about the kidnapping, and so, he embarks on his own rescue mission. Ensuing are shocking developments, and the realization by a few - mostly the Glenn Close character - that no one REALLY knows anyone.
This movie takes a tried-&-true cynical view of suburban America. It highlights disaffected teen-parent alienation, hell-ish characters, and it provides a satirical, darkly farcical plot that has loonier & loonier plot revelations/twists as it goes. The whole thing, despite some good performances that pop here & there, just put an off-putting, sour taste in my mouth. To boot, some performances are so bad to the extent that they overshoot the satirical/farcical elements of the script. Rita Wilson, who I believe to be a stellar writer, singer & person, comes off the worst as far as trying to balance a dramatic performance with some of the more ludicrous satirical elements; it's just a wholly misjudged performance that comes across laughably over-the-top.
At only 18 yrs. old, Jamie Bell {brilliant in 2000's Billy Elliot} comes out unscathed, here. Bell carries the movie as the numb, inwardly tortured teen who is still astute enough to know the right thing to do, and how to cope with his issues. I also loved Glenn Close here as the traumatized Stepford-like wife & mom. No surprise that the best scene in the film is btw. her & Bell. Now, there ARE isolated moments where a joke lands, or a visual rivets, or the satire is incisive. But overall, I couldn't sympathize with these people. The tone of the film felt uneven. And I don't think that the director/co-writer gives us anything 'new' to the genre. 'The Chumscrubber' is just a touch too messy, smarmy, uninspired & faulty in showcasing its self-absorbed characters.