HAPPINESS RATING: 4.5 / 10 --> This movie sucks
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Writer-director Todd Solondz' third full-length feature made plenty of "Best of 1998" lists, but made only one list of mine this year, and that's the one at the unfortunate end of the cinematic totem pole. His second film was the critically acclaimed Sundance sensation WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE, but I believe that it is the title to his first movie, that essentially describes this year's film, FEAR, ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION.
PLOT: Vignettes of several dysfunctional people all linked together through the lives of three diametric sisters. One sister is a very successful novelist. The other is a housewife, whose husband hides an extremely dark secret about himself, and the third is a 30-something loser, who still has no clue as to what she wants to do with her life. Their parents are also part of the package, as the film serpentines its way through the troubles, perversions and sexual dichotomy of many of its happily-challenged subjects.
CRITIQUE: This is a bad movie. Crap served surreptitiously on an independent tray of arty pretension and highbrow entertainment. Some of its problems: It's too long and runs at a snails pace. It's uninteresting and unentertaining. It's not funny and contains very little human drama. But even worse than that, it pretends to be something terribly insightful and revealing, when really it's just boring and obviously shocking. It's pretentious and might actually by enjoyed by those who like figuring out the "true meaning" of a film or its characters' intentions, but for all the rest of us, who like to go to a movie theatre, order some nachos, and enjoy ourselves, this one is a lost cause. I'm trying to think of one redeemable quality in this film, but I just can't figure one out. There's a regular husband-guy ("Mr. Rogers on acid" as per the Arrow's comments) who lives a double as a pedophile. Hmmmm....yes, yes, how utterly insightful and shocking. *Yawn* Ironic as it all may be, I didn't care for the characters, their lives, or this film.
So is this film a satire or a true reflection of the lives of many of our contemporaries living amongst us today? The truth is that I just don't know. The film was very uneven in that sense, and had plenty of scenes featuring real-life dramatic situations, while others, clearly indicated its "tongue and cheekness". The point is that I couldn't figure it out, cared even less, and I just didn't appreciate any of the tragic characters or anything that the film had to say. Am I too much of a simpleton, and am I missing the "bigger picture" of what Mr. Solondz is attempting to tell us in his oh-so subtle and annoying depression-fest? Perhaps.
The bottom line is that as a great movie lover, I generally tend to find something nice to say about most films. In that sense, this movie did offer some true and realistic performances by its cast, especially Dylan Baker, who was excellent as the husband with the secret, and Jane Adams as the pathetic loser sister. But other than that, please don't see this movie unless you also enjoyed other self-indulgent indie pieces such as THE DOOM GENERATION (3/10) and FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS (5.5/10). And another thing, a few scenes of masturbation in a film, mixed with plenty of shots of cum flying around do not an insightful, real and good indie movie make. We must always remember that a film must be interesting or insightful, or at the very least, entertaining. This movie struck out on all three counts. Where are the Tarantinos and Kevin Smiths when you need 'em?
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars: Director Todd Solondz had a small cameo in AS GOOD AS IT GETS (7.5/10) as a passenger on a bus. Solondz was born in Newark, NJ, and grew up in the suburbs. At New York University Film School, he made three award-winning short films. This film was dumped by Universal's October Films, and picked up by the production company Good Machine. Camryn Manheim (the overweight woman in this film) received a master's degree in drama in 1987 from New York University. The mother in this film, actress Louise Lasser, was married to writer/director Woody Allen from 1966-69, and starred in four of his films, including the amazing BANANAS (8/10). Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has been in 20 films since 1991. He graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. You might remember actress Cynthia Stevenson as the relentless character of Doris, Norm's secretary, on the popular TV sitcom "Cheers". Two members from TV's "Saturday Night Live" cast list make cameos in this picture. Jon Lovitz from SNL past, and Molly Shannon from SNL present.
Review Date: January 9, 1999
Director: Todd Solondz
Writer: Todd Solondz
Producers: Ted Hope and Christine Vachon
Actors: Dylan Baker as Bill Maplewood
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Allen
Jane Adams as Joy Jordan
Lara Flynn Boyle as Helen Jordan
Cynthia Stevenson as Trish Maplewood
Genre: Dramedy
Year of Release: 1998
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(c) 1999 Berge Garabedian
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