REVIEW:
Dark, funny, and very awkward, this movie is rich. It is artistic and poetic, but not in a roll your eyes, pretentious kind of way. Instead, this is the kind of black comedy that most people can relate to, whether they want to admit to it or not. You understand what characters are thinking, and their motivations are throughout the movie, and often times, these ideas that they strive for are not exactly flattering.
The movie is about a family of four, living in a small, wealthy Connecticut town during the seventies. The four members of the family each have their own problems. There’s Ben, the father (Kevin Kline,) who is having an affair with the neighbor and has so much nervous energy that he seems to never be able to stop talking, even when being told to do so by multiple women who are trying to find him attractive. Then there’s his son, Paul (Tobey Maguire,) who wants nothing more than to sleep with the girl at school who he has been crushing on for a while now (Libbets, played by Katie Holmes.)
There’s also Ben’s wife, Elena (Joan Allen,) who is suspicious of her husband’s affair, but also has temptations to tap into her bad side, herself. There’s a scene where she steals from a store, just because, for the thrill of trying to get away with something, and the embarrassment of getting caught. This scene comes shortly after she watches her daughter ride a bike down the street, carefree, and reminisces about how long it’s been since she has been on a bike herself (or done anything exciting or dangerous, or even fun.
Finally, there is that daughter, Wendy (Christina Ricci,) who is dark and disturbed by the society around her (in disbelief over the way her family doesn’t seem to care about President Nixon turning out to be a crook,) and longs for what she can’t get. Wendy has relationships with both of the boys next door, the two children of the woman who is having an affair with Ben (Janey, played by Sigourney Weaver.)
There’s a lot packed into this movie, and some very interesting stories here, all mixed in together. Paul’s story, where there’s a roommate who always seems to steal the girl he’s crushing on, and how Paul tries to sabotage this roommate, might be the most interesting of them all. But the affair story is pretty compelling too. Especially when Janey leaves Ben at her house in his underwear and drives off to go to some errands, without ever telling Ben that she is leaving.
The second half of the movie is better than the first, as the second half becomes about one crazy night, during a huge ice storm, when everyone foolishly decides to go out. There are the parents going to a party, Paul traveling into the city to go to Libbets’ house, and even Wendy going over to the house of the boys next door. Not a one of these characters is playing it safe, and that especially includes the oldest of the two neighbor boys (Mikey, played by Elijah Wood,) who appears to have a death wish, as he bounces on a frozen diving board over an empty pool or goes sliding on his back down a street, with no worry about cars that might be on the road.
These characters are all compelling, and a problem with the movie might be that there are just too many of them; Too many to explore and not enough time to give each of them proper attention. Mikey, for example, and his love of molecules and open spaces is touched on (this is where the poetry aspect comes in,) but never fully explored. Still, as far as unusual situations and black comedy go, this movie is definitely a winner.