A bigby disappointment (Igby Goes Down (DVD))

Member Name: jacquelina

Product:	Igby Goes Down (DVD)
Date:	22/07/03 (84 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some funny moments

Disadvantages: Shallow

This review started as a response to Ickkates excellent review of this film, but as my comment was getting rather lengthy I thought I may as well write a review myself.

Igby goes down charts a few months in the life of a cynical, bored and smart-mouthed American teenager Igby (Kieran Culkins), born into a dysfunctional family - mentally ill father (Bill Pullman), cold and calculating brother (Ryan Phillipe) and unpleasant, also mentally unstable mother (Susan Sarandon). Igby manages to escape to his Godfathers Manhattan loft for the summer, where he becomes entangled with his Godfather's drug addicted dancer girlfriend (Amanda Peet), and a fellow world weary teen Suki (Claire Danes).

Overall, I felt dissapointed with this film. The opener, which is also the finale of the film, seemed to have been directly lifted from the plot of American Beauty, as did the following tense dinner scene, where forced politeness degenerated into plate-flying and abuse. For the rest of the film I kept getting flashbacks of other movies - there was even a scene where Claire Danes doesnt laugh at anything and just says 'that's funny', which I remember clearly from an episode of Friends.

The film didnt seem to have much plot, or story / character development. A lot of the scenes seemed to drag on, or add little to the film itself.

With the exception of the wonderful Bill Pullman, I found it difficult to empathise or sympathise with any of the characters, despite the excellent cast. Pullmans acting skills were displayed to great effect in his nervous breakdown in the shower scene, which the young Igby witnesses. But the rest of the actors left me cold. Claire Danes was annoying, Culkin didn't do much for me, Goldblum good but a little hammy, Sarandon over the top, and Ryan Phillipe was not very believable. Amanda Peet, who I have not seen in any other films, was interesting to watch. If the film had focussed a bit more on the individua
l charac
ters and the reasons behind their various personalities and dysfunctionalities, it may have been a bit more satisfying and made me more interested watching these people live their lives.

As it was, at the end of this film, I felt nothing apart from a bit jaded. Don't get me wrong, I love a dysfunctional American family as much as the next person, but I felt this film added nothing new to the genre, which itself, I feel, is in danger of becoming a bit stale.

Summary: