As a fan of Richard Linklater's homage to the 70s "Dazed and Confused" (like many people, apparently), seeing his name attached to this piece was the sole reason I went to see it. Like "Dazed", I expected a rambling '24-hours-in-the-life-of' movie with a strong cast of virtual nobodies (at the time). And while this did occur (the movie starts and ends merely for the sake of having a beginning and an end), it falls, WHAM! Flat on its pretentious face!
How come? I mean, "Dazed" was cute and stupid at the same time, funny and outrageous, senseless and meandering. "SubUrbia" on the other hand, plays out like a godawful after-school special - it seems everybody has a token problem. There's drugs! Bullies! Angst! Suicide! Fitting in! I kept waiting for a Nancy Reagan cameo, bleating about society's ills and telling Giovanni Ribisi that life would be 'cooler' if he didn't cuss so much. And f---, does he cuss. I never thought anyone could outwhine Bill Paxton in "Aliens", but Gio here takes the cake and crams it down his gullet. His cronies fare no better, considering a talented cast including Parker Posey and Steve Zahn (coasting through this one in full "Reality Bites" cutesy-cynic mode).
Linklater obviously had experience to draw from in creating "Dazed". "SubUrbia" may be a slice-of-life, but not his. Not by a long-shot. The movie seems based on second-hand experiences, like someone telling you "this is what your life is like". Truth be told, no one knows what your life is like, what you go through growing up except you.
'Nuff said. I'm starting to sound like an after-school special myself.
How come? I mean, "Dazed" was cute and stupid at the same time, funny and outrageous, senseless and meandering. "SubUrbia" on the other hand, plays out like a godawful after-school special - it seems everybody has a token problem. There's drugs! Bullies! Angst! Suicide! Fitting in! I kept waiting for a Nancy Reagan cameo, bleating about society's ills and telling Giovanni Ribisi that life would be 'cooler' if he didn't cuss so much. And f---, does he cuss. I never thought anyone could outwhine Bill Paxton in "Aliens", but Gio here takes the cake and crams it down his gullet. His cronies fare no better, considering a talented cast including Parker Posey and Steve Zahn (coasting through this one in full "Reality Bites" cutesy-cynic mode).
Linklater obviously had experience to draw from in creating "Dazed". "SubUrbia" may be a slice-of-life, but not his. Not by a long-shot. The movie seems based on second-hand experiences, like someone telling you "this is what your life is like". Truth be told, no one knows what your life is like, what you go through growing up except you.
'Nuff said. I'm starting to sound like an after-school special myself.