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Reviews
SubUrbia (1996)
For Mature Audiences Only
Based on plot, cast, score and director, it would be easy to mistake this for a teen flick. Based on the comments posted here, many viewers did just that, and got angry when the movie didn't meet their expectations. That's a shame, because beneath the pop trappings is a mature, thoughtful character study.
SubUrbia the movie gets to the paradox at the heart of suburbia the place: growing up in utopia can be hell. The story revolves around the return of a kid who 'made it', but the central conflict is the one between the Pakistani convenience store manager/student who works tirelessly to achieve his dream of a suburban life, and the and the angry man-boy who wants to throw it all away. For each, the other represents a threat to their world-view, and each responds by demonizing the other: foreign interloper and spoiled brat. But both characterizations are wrong. The Pakistani isn't trying to displace anyone. He's trying to make a place for himself beside them. The kids aren't acting out of willful childishness or greed. They're striving for something they can't even define, but without which they will whither and die.
SubUrbia offers no simple answers, nor does it retreat into the pseudo-profundity of pretending there are no answers. What are we doing here? What gives our lives value? These aren't questions that can be settled in the space of two hours, and Suburbia has the good sense not to try.
Absolute Power (1997)
What a waste!
Over the years, I've come to expect more and more of Clint Eastwood's directoral efforts, and I've never been disappointed, until now. A stellar cast is wasted in this mess of a thriller.
It's been said before, but it bears repeating: If you want to send a message, call Western Union.
The Twilight of the Golds (1996)
Joe Bob, Where art though? - Spoilers
At the film's core is a fascinating question -- What if people could know beforehand that their child would be born gay? As the movie progresses, it looks at the question from different points of view, raising further questions as it goes: Are there some things we aren't meant to know? How deep does homophobia run? Is it cruel to bring a child into this world knowing he'll always be subjected to prejudice and hate?
So why do I keep feeling like this movie should have been reviewed by Joe Bob Briggs? Maybe it's because the characters are as one-dimensional as b-movie heroes -- the doting mother, the strict patriarch, the sensitive artist, the thick-headed husband. Maybe it's because the script is as clunky as any drive-in special. But mostly, I think, because of one of Joe Bob's favorite words: gratuitous.
So...
Gratuitous bad auditions scene. Gratuitous use of Rosie O'Donnell. Gratuitous shower scene (Ok, that one I enjoyed.) Gratuitous Jewish patriarch. Gratuitous 'half-naked guys in gym' scene. Gratuitous male bonding. Gratuitous homophobic neanderthal.
Still, the film isn't completely without charm. Brendon Fraser is excellent, casting and Faye Dunaway as a Jewish mother was priceless. I just wish they'd given it a different title, something like: 'Prenatal Testing: A Promise Or A Threat?' Then, at least, I would have known what to expect.