Movie Review: The Chumscruber
The Chumscrubber (2005)
Starring: Jamie Bell, Glenn Close, Ralph Fiennes, Lauren Holly, Jason Isaacs, Allison Janney, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Rita Wilson.
It was another one of those nights: Mr. Spice and I wanted nothing but to sit on our asses and take in a good movie. So we skidaddled on over to our local video store, bright-eyed and eager to take in a fine film. After strolling the ailes, we had our choices narrowed down to three: Match Point, Shopgirl, and The Chumscrubber. When it was discovered that a copy of Shopgirl wasn't actually available for rent, it came down to a coin toss between the other two.
So we ended up with this film: "Dean Stiffle discovers the body of his best friend, Troy, and doesn't bother telling any of the parents in his postcard-perfect California neighborhood. He knows that these families prefer to go about their lives by ignoring reality entirely. But when this scandal hits home, will they take notice, or will they continue along their merry, self-medicated way?"
Did the coin steer us wrong? I'm actually not totally sure yet. This is one of those films that you watch and afterwards think, "um...what was that? Did I like that?" With such a fine cast assembled for this project, I almost feel like I should lean towards the positive just on a matter of principle.
But it's hard to totally advocate a film that seems to take itself far too seriously for a "satiric black comedy". It screams, "Hey, look how convoluted and artistic I am!" Sure, I chortled once or twice, but I certainly wasn't finding a point to the whole thing. Especially when I can't figure out if the narrator is the voice of the suicide victim or a character from a video game and/or animated cartoon show with no head. Then there's all that stuff about dolphins...
Confused? Well, go check it out and you MIGHT get some clarity. Or else, you could probably go ahead and skip this one.
2 out of 5