Igby Goes Down (DVD)

This movie was Burr Steers’ first as a director, and he also wrote the screenplay. If the name Burr Steers is familiar to you - he has acted himself (“Pulp Fiction”; “The last days of disco”) and for those of you who like the trivia, he is the nephew of Gore Vidal, as well as being the nephew of Jackie Onassis. Steers admits that, to some extent, “Igby goes down” is autobiographical. His brother died of AIDS (not that that’s a central theme to the movie or anything) and troubled family life and teenage angst feature prominently. ...

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 ...

This film wins the prize for the most ill representative film title and poster. The first impression they give is that this is one of those 'hilarious' slapstick teen comedies that'll leave you rolling in the aisles, or if you're like me, avoiding it like the plague. But first impressions can be misleading, and in the case of 'Igby Goes Down' they most definitely are. The film is a wry mix of subtle humour and drama that represent a more sympathetic depiction of the Holden Caulfield character from 'Catcher in the Rye'. Igby (Kieran Culkin) is the product of two wealthy and wildly different parents who move in the upper echelons ...