Hillside may look like a postcard from the frontlines of the American Dream, but teenage recluse Dean (Bell) knows better.
When Troy (Dean’s best friend and drug dealer) hangs himself, the community’s carefully maintained psychotherapeutic balance is thrown into disarray.
At school, in an effort to get their hands on Troy’s gear, Billy (Chatwin) and Crystal (Belle) come up with a cunning plan. They decide to abduct Dean’s younger brother Charlie (Culkin) and hold him ransom until Troy’s stash is handed over.
Unsurprisingly things don’t go exactly to plan however, and the master criminals manage to kidnap Charlie Bratley (the son of the local chief of police) rather than Charlie Stiffle. Oops.
They say:
BBC: “The lofty ideals Posin aims for are out of his reach and he's left to scrabble desperately for a story to plug in the gaps.”
Total Film: “Posin's film battles in vain to find a consistent tone. But a fine cast and a smart script ensure it's far better than its terrible title suggests.”
Rolling Stone: “Director Arie Posin drags down a name cast who will need to scrub their reps clean of this tripe.”
We say:
First things first, it should be noted that The Chumscrubber is possibly the worst title for a film we have ever heard and certainly the most idiotic of 2007.
It’s no wonder then that Americans didn’t flock to see it on its cinematic release back in 2005, despite a starry cast that includes Ralph Fiennes, Glenn Close and Jamie “Billy Elliot” Bell.
Now, after sitting on a shelf here for the last two years, Icon have finally decided not to bother thinking up a new title or spending more cash on reediting for a specific audience, but to bury the film by releasing it along side Ocean’s Thirteen instead.
For what it’s worth the Chumscrubber is, according to the press notes, “A totemic pop culture presence that prowls his own post apocalyptic landscape peopled with subhuman demons and freaks”. So there you go.
Despite aspiring to Donnie Darko cool, Arie Posin’s indie effort would be better described as “Desperate Housewives without the laughs”, flitting from farce to drama at random with a plot that is nearly as skinny as its lead actress (Belle).
The central premise of the film – that a loving parent would forget her young son for three days because her mind’s on other things – is frankly bonkers, much like Ralph (Mile High Club) Fiennes’ surreal turn as the town mayor.
Despite being fairly abysmal in its own right the recent Alpha Dog - featuring LA drug dealers, the kidnap of a minor, and an all star cast – told a similar tale with far more flair and credibility.
CAST
Jamie Bell
Glenn Close
Ralph Fiennes
Carrie Ann Moss
Jason Patrick
DIRECTOR
Arie Posin
TIME
108 mins
POSTED...
Wed 6 Jun 2007 at 5:46am
