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Thumbsucker (DVD)
by lights84
I came across this film through imbd when I was reading about the film Juno and I scrolled down to the 'similar films' section. The cover of Thumbsucker caught my eye and I thought the plot looked interesting, and I really liked the quirky style of Juno, so I went ahead and ordered a copy through Amazon, hoping that it would be similarly ... enlightening and enjoyable.
The main character in Thumbsucker is a teenager named Justin and, as you may have suspected, one of the plot lines threading through the film is that of Justin's enjoyment of sucking his thumb. In public. And often. This is a problem for his father who thinks it shows his son is not manly enough, and his mother Audrey who worries that her son is not ready to enter the wide world of further education. It does not appear to be a problem for Justin as he doesn't give in to their pressure to kick the habit. It was strange seeing a 17 year old suck his thumb for comfort and that made me confront some of my own ideas about why it is supposedly wrong. I also found Justin's character interesting, and I enjoyed the gentle pace of this film. It was not easy to predict how the various storylines would pan out.
This film is about relationships. Both of Justin's parents go through sort-of mid life crises in this film, with his mother Audrey feeling lost and searching for excitement, obsessing over celebrities for no apparent reason, and his father Mike feeling bitter and resentful because his football career was ruined due to an injury he sustained many years ago. Justin's younger brother Joel is also struggling with his life.
Justin's dentist, Perry - who is played by Keanu Reeves - is a sort of counsellor to Justin, as he knows of his thumbsucking addiction from the state of his teeth and he is a sort of self-professed mystic who offers Justin advice on everything under the sun. The scenes with Perry in them are quite trippy and strange but I liked the way the film showed that Perry rocks Justin's world by choosing to be a part of it. He is direct but also cryptic and these people do exist in real life but they are rarely displayed on screen except as central characters within crazy genius-type contexts (think A Beautiful Mind). So, I thought Reeves was brilliantly cast as he has the enigma and strange nature to pull off a role that is meant to be a weird and unsettling thing in Justin's life, and this relationship is also interesting to watch as it develops and changes.
Justin's behaviour is an obvious problem to his family, however the film shows that he is like any other teenager, rebellious, struggling to find his place in the world and trying and failing to live up to other people's expectations of him. His behaviour goes from bad to worse when he is prescribed Ritalin, which is supposedly meant to calm him down but instead it channels his intelligence into selfishness and pigheadedness through the school's debating team. He excels at debating but it gains him no friends and although his parents are proud of him for his achievements it soon becomes clear that the people who work alongside him no longer like the uber-Justin, and that Ritalin is not good for him. I thought this was a great gentle commentary on the use of Ritalin to 'treat' children who do not fit 'normal' standards of behaviour. While I have no doubt that it does help some children, the high numbers of kids taking the drug in the US suggests something deeper is wrong, not with children but with society's inability to let children be, to let them grow into who they must be and accept them as they are.
This film has been compared to Donnie Darko which I don't understand at all unless you count having unknown actors and a slightly 'different', upsetting feel. The plots and cinematography are entirely different however so I would recommend coming to Thumbsucker with an open mind and without too many preconceptions as that will ruin the film for you. The closest thing I can compare it to is Juno in that it features a lasting storyline about something that might make people uncomfortable, but really shouldn't - Juno's teenage pregnancy and Justin's thumbsucking.
I enjoyed Thumbsucker as a new approach to coming of age films and I think if you try to read too much into it you will be disappointed. This film does not try hard to be anything at all, and I think that is what throws most people when they watch it. We are too used to watching films that have us on the edge of our seats or in tears one minute and howling with laughter the next.
Thumbsucker follows the lives of an ordinary family struggling in America and it makes a few different points, social commentaries if you will, but like Juno does so in a gentle way and does not try to mask them as anything other than what they are. I thought all the actors were superb in this film. What I generally find is that actors who play 'extreme' roles are commended for it but playing 'normal, basic' roles is for some reason seen as easy. I don't believe it is. I think it's easier for example to portray an obviously deranged murderer than it is to portray a troubled spouse or teenager struggling with every day life.
I like the way that this film is not pretentious but also does not attempt to follow ordinary linear narratives, and I also like that it is different without trying to be overly quirky, which in my opinion Donnie Darko was. I give it 5 stars because it really made me think and there is not a bad thing I can say about it, though I admit I still wonder about the characters for time to time as they came across as very realistic to me. To me, that is one of the things that makes it an exceptional film. Thumbsucker can be purchased for just a few pounds online. Give it a go!
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The Hangover Part II
by lyndsey1989
I have been suffering from flu for the best part of two weeks now. After seeing the doctor yesterday for the second time I was told that I have some sort of infection and I have to stay in bed for a week so its fair to say I'm getting a bit bored of resting. Therefore I've decided to take full advantage of my subscription to Now TV and ... work my way through some of the films I want to see.
The Hangover was a brilliant film and as soon as this second instalment came out I knew it was something I really wanted to see however as always I never got round to going to the cinema or even watching the DVD so I was pleased when I saw this was available to watch. This is a film only review.
==Plot==
The film begins with Stu talking to the rest of his friends about his upcoming wedding in Thailand. Whilst he is excited and looking forward to the nuptials his friends are not quite as happy, especially Phil who doesn't see why they should travel for 5 days (actually 16 hours) just to watch Stu get married.
However, the gang are all going and it doesn't take long for Alan, Dougs brother in law to get wind of the fact he hasn't yet been invited. Alan was part of the first bachelor party/wedding and therefore feels he should be there to witness Stu's special day too.
The wedding party heads off to Thailand, and Stu is convinced that this time the bachelor party will not be anything at all like the one held a few years previously for Doug, infact he feels that he would be better off not having one. However, his soon to be wife Lauren convinces him that one beer won't hurt and of course she's right, isn't she?
==Opinion==
I had mixed expectations of this film. Whilst I loved the first instalment in the series I had heard that this second offering was nowhere near as good and didn't have much fresh content in it. Therefore to be honest I didn't expect too much from the film.
The characters are all very loveable and I think even if you haven't seen the first film in the series it is easy to get to know these characters and it is simple to get to know them and become fond of them all. Despite being a group of young men in a bachelor party they are all very different - whilst Stu is sensible and desperate to just get married without a hitch, Phil wants them to have the time of their lives, Doug wants to have fun but also wants Stu's wedding to go with ease and Alan, well he's just Alan.
Alan is hard to describe. He is an outstanding character and without a doubt my favourite. He is in his 30s but suffers from behavioural conditions which means he still lives with his parents and his mother treats him like a baby which is unecessary as Alan knows a lot more about the world than everyone believes. He is a very amusing character and the film definitely would not be nowhere near as good without him.
The plot is fun and interesting and it flows well. After hearing other peoples opinions of the film where they suggested that it was far too similar to the first I was skeptical. However, although the general plot was the same I still really enjoyed watching it and seeing what sort of trouble the guys would end up in this time.
The acting in the film was first class and I enjoyed watching the men over their week in Thailand.
The series is a comedy and it is more than fair to say that this film lived up to the comedy genre very well. It was hilarious but in all honesty after the first film not much shocked me. There were plenty of laughs and I found the plot flowed very quickly.
I think this film works well as a standalone film - you do not have to see the first film in order to understand this one. It is not as good as the first film and it is quite similar but I did really enjoy watching it and I would definitely buy the DVD.
==Additional Information==
The film was released in 2011.
It is rated an 18.
It runs for 102 minutes.
It was directed by Todd Phillips.
It stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong and Mike Tyson.
==Summary==
A fun follow up.
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