Economy Size Geek

Thumbsucker (2005)

We saw a trailer - it had
Vincent D’Onofrio in it. I like him a lot. It seemed very indie - and the sound track has Polyphonic Spree and Elliot Smith.

I’ll admit right up front that my fiance was a heck of a lot more excited about the film than I was. I’m not sure what it was about the trailer that she liked so much and I didn’t.

This is sort of that classic indie style film - meaning it is very much a character/dialogue driven film. Nuts and bolts it’s about a kid who sucks his thumb. He tries to get that sorted out and find a better life. If this was a main stream film it would be a case of boy has problem, boy meets girl, boy over comes problem, and boy gets girl - roll credits.

That’s not the case here. I wish I could explain it - without ruining the film. But I can draw parallels which will hopefully help you figure out if this film is for you.

There is this book called “Catcher In The Rye”. It’s famous. I had to read it in High School. (I think I inherited my copy from my brother - every curse word in the novel was carefully highlighted - that seemed like his handy work). In the event that you haven’t read it - it’s about a couple of days in the life of this 16 year old boy. He doesn’t really like his life - or anything for that matter. He’s pretty pissed off at the world as a whole. Apparently normal teens love this novel because they can deeply relate to his cynisism and outlook on the world.

I hated it. I spent the entire novel thinking - “Dude - suck it up and sort your shit out - it’s not that difficult if you take five seconds off from complaining and do something”. What does this have to do with Thubmsucker - quiet a lot really. The main character has some of the same problems. It’s a lot more complicated because he ends up taking drugs (which actually help) and then smoking pot (which makes him feel better after the ridilin he was on) and then….

Well that’s really the thing. I felt like the whole movie is a slice of life without the summation that I really wanted after plodding through a film that only lasted 96 minutes but felt like 3 hours.

The main actor has seriously greasy hair and looks like he just stepped out of Seattle in 1992. The supporting cast is awesome. D’Onofiro plays the distant father. Who I swear I kept feeling like he was a step father because he was so mysterious. And there is a small scene when he accidentally switches into his character from Law & Order - he’s all twichy and odd - which is a bit out of character for an ex-footbal player.

The other two to mention are Keanu Reeves & Vince Vaughn. I have seriously mixed feeling about Reeves. If things weren’t bad enough for him before - I saw the “Keanu Reeves Breafast Sausage” skit on Robot Chicken and now I think of it every time I see him. He turns in an ok performance as a new age dentist - who at first has all the answers and later is just there to remind you Kenu Reeves is in the film.

Vince Vaughn does an awesome job of being a Debate Team teacher. What can I say - I’m not sure he’s really doing that much acting. It comes across as an impersentaiton of a high school teacher more than anything. But I will say that he was probably my favorite about the movie.

Bottom Line: It wasn’t for me - the pacing sucked, and I guess I’m just not that cynical. If you are a disaffected teenage - rush out there and get this right now - other wise - go watch something that doesn’t feel so much like homework.