Hatrack River Forum: The Chumscrubber

This is topic The Chumscrubber in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
http://www.hatrack.com/ubb/main/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=040905

Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :

Has anyone else seen this movie? I had never heard of it until it was recommended by Netflix based on other movies I'd liked.

It was actually a very good movie with an amazing cast. It was strange, and I can see why it didn't (I assume) get much of a release. It's listed as a Comedy/Drama, but it's not particularly funny per se. It's more high satire about life in suburbia. The "comedy" would be funny, except the characters seem too real to be laughed at politely.

The plot was interesting. The acting was excellent. The characters were believable. But the film had a surreal quality to it in that what was going on and what was being said was perfectly clear, but it wasn't at all clear (to me at least) how the director expected you to feel about it. I still haven't decided if that is a weakness or a strength of the film. It bothered me a bit at first, but once I got into the story I ended up liking the movie very much. I still think it would be completely out of place on a comedy shelf, in much the same way Donnie Darko would be out of place in the "Sci-Fi" or "Thriller" sections.

It's a very hard movie to "sell", and I'm not really trying to do that here, though I'd recommend it to anyone for whom this post sounds intriguing rather than off-putting. I'd love to talk about it with someone else who's seen it, though. Anyone?

Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :

So I'm guessing the answer is "no".

So, second question: Anyone think this sounds like a movie they'd like to see? Of so, watch it and post here when you do. [Smile]

Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :

Never seen it, but it sounds interesting, and has quite the cast...

<adds to Netflix queue>

Edit:

quote:
It's more high satire about life in suburbia. The "comedy" would be funny, except the characters seem too real to be laughed at politely.

Now I definitely need to see it. This is definitely my kind of movie - except I'm nowhere near polite enough not to laugh uproariously.

[ January 23, 2006, 07:52 PM: Message edited by: erosomniac ]

Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :

It looks interesting. I'll try to remember to pick it up next time I'm renting movies. That might not be for a while, though.

--Mel

Posted by MyrddinFyre (Member # 2576) on :

I'd read the cover at Blockbuster before, I think it sounds really interesting. Some day I'll see it and report back [Smile]

Posted by Swampjedi (Member # 7374) on :

This title sounds like something out of SpongeBob. [Big Grin]

Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :

i had to open this thread because i just saw this movie on the shelf at the video store tonight while i was renting The Brother's Grimm. funny, because i'd never of heard of it before today.

Posted by Audeo (Member # 5130) on :

I saw the previews for it on apple/quicktime back when it was coming out, and it looked just a little too esoteric for me to enjoy.

Posted by littlemissattitude (Member # 4514) on :

Well, the reviewers didn't like it much, or anyway the ones I read. But I haven't ever let bad reviews stop me from seeing a film. And your description, KarlEd, makes it sound interesting. So, I'll probably be looking for this one when I go rent next time.

Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Swampjedi:
This title sounds like something out of SpongeBob.

Yeah, I was looking for a ChumBucket thread for this to be a dobie of...