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Thumbsucker - Finally saw it!
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Author:  MovieDude [ Mon Aug 01, 2005 2:56 am ]
Post subject:  Thumbsucker - Finally saw it!
http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony/thumbsucker.html

What do you guys think of this one? I saw some of the crews a looong time ago, maybe two summers ago or something. I had actually mostly forgotten about this one, but I think it looks promising.
Author:  MovieDude [ Mon Aug 01, 2005 3:31 am ]
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Hey, actually this should probably be moved to Independent Films, any chance a mod could?
Author:  dolcevita [ Mon Aug 01, 2005 2:03 pm ]
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Hmmm. I can't watch the trailer from here. How is it? I haven't heard much about this film at all. What's it about?
Author:  andaroo1 [ Mon Aug 01, 2005 10:51 pm ]
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Not sure... but there seem to be a lot of famous people in it.
Author:  MovieDude [ Wed Sep 14, 2005 12:41 am ]
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I updated the link with the trailer on Apple. Anyways, there is a plot synopsis online, but I stopped reading pretty early on as it's essentially a play-by-play of the movie rather then a simple idea of what the film is about. If you don't mind plot spoilers, here it is:

It's not easy growing up, no matter what age you are...

Justin Cobb (Lou Pucci) still sucks his thumb at 17. He wants to stop and knows that his thumbsucking is disrupting his family, his love life and his identity. The only thing that changes his behavior is hypnosis therapy administered by his "guru" orthodontist. But while Justin felt this would solve all his problems and he would finally be "normal," his troubles were really just beginning. Thumbsucking was only a symptom of a deep-seated fear: that he and his father aren't good enough for his mother, and that she would leave them. Thumbsucking was the only way to soothe this fear. Once that is gone Justin spirals into manic behavior, is diagnosed with ADHD and put on Ritalin, which becomes a substitute for his thumb. When the high of the prescription drugs and a newfound success at school crash, Justin turns to pot and sex to replace his thumb.

His father Mike (Vincent D'Onofrio) is himself shadowed by the sad twists of youth: a broken college football career apparently sidelined by a knee injury. In many ways Mike feels like a teenager, yet he finds himself in his early 40s with his eldest son still sucking his thumb as he's heading to college and his wife seeming to drift away. Mike hides his fears and disappointments with tough behavior - but that trick is running dry. He is growing out of the lies and denials that got him from college to the present. Did he ever really want to be a jock? Is that a false self that he has hidden in for all these years and doesn’t know how to evolve out of?

His wife Audrey (Tilda Swinton) wonders how she could possibly be "grown up" with a son going to college. She seems to be asking "How did I get here?" and "Is this all there is?" In her early 40s, she is, like Justin, struggling to find out who she is and to accept her shortcomings. As a mother she knows that she doesn't have all the answers to Justin's troubles, and that she is sometimes too busy dealing with her own doubts to help him. Audrey hides from these realities through an obsession with a TV heartthrob, Matt Schraam (Benjamin Bratt), whose TV character seems to have all the neat answers, but his real drug addicted self reveals messier truths to both her and Justin.

Little brother Joel (Chase Offerle) is mostly oblivious to the family's dynamics, and thinks his troubled older brother is embarrassing. Joel provides comic relief with his lack of doubt in a family full of questions, yet his strong-mindedness may be misunderstood.

Justin turns to others outside his family to help. His New Age orthodontist, Perry Lyman (Keanu Reeves), seems to mirror Justin's ups and downs. They both try on different personas that hide their doubts and fears. Perry transforms into an EST/FORUM-style high achiever before winding up a washed-up mess who stops looking for disguises and easy answers, finding a strange kind of happiness in the process.

At school, Mr. Geary (Vince Vaughn), Justin's debate coach, initially tries to help. His alternately dominating and cripplingly insecure behavior is revealed as he attempts to live his life through his students. Striving to act as a peer to Justin, Mr. Geary eventually finds that he can no longer control him when Justin reaps great success, and their relationship crumbles. Justin's heart belongs to another pretender, Rebecca (Kelli Garner) who masks her insecurities about sex and relationships behind a cool demeanor. She seems adult beyond her years, but Justin learns the hard way that she is not able to face her fears.

"Thumbsucker" is an honest and funny look at the struggles of people who feel deeply flawed, both those in youth and middle age. They yearn to be anything but their real selves with their real fears and doubts. Instead, they want to be "normal." They look for magic answers to fix themselves – only to realize that they can't be someone else, that "normal" does not exist, and that their flaws are what make them human and loveable.

Actually, Thumbsucker has been getting mostly good reviews. It's at 73% on RottenTomatoes at the moment with 11 positive and 4 negative, which is pretty good all thing considered. It opens this Friday in at least New York and LA, and with any luck will hit Portland soon afterwards as it was filmed there. *crosses fingers*
Author:  MovieDude [ Thu Sep 15, 2005 3:23 am ]
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Wow, the reviews have been good, but check out MetaCritic: http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/thumbsucker Of the nine reviews (and these are the ones by major critics), eight are very positive, with the only weak one still giving it a C+.
Author:  MovieDude [ Wed Sep 28, 2005 10:41 am ]
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YES! This one is finally coming to Portland on Friday! Now if only my weekend wasn't so busy. My school paper got a two person invite to a Bruce Campbell book reading/signing Friday, Serenity comes out, there's a HUGE house party Friday night, and I was gonna hang out all night Saturday with a big group of people. I still will also need to see A History of Violence badly... Ah well, maybe Saturday afternoon...
Author:  andaroo1 [ Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:53 pm ]
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MovieDude wrote:
YES! This one is finally coming to Portland on Friday! Now if only my weekend wasn't so busy. My school paper got a two person invite to a Bruce Campbell book reading/signing Friday, Serenity comes out, there's a HUGE house party Friday night, and I was gonna hang out all night Saturday with a big group of people. I still will also need to see A History of Violence badly... Ah well, maybe Saturday afternoon...

Skip Serenity and go see Thumbsucker instead. Easy.
Author:  kypade [ Wed Sep 28, 2005 9:01 pm ]
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skip the Bruce signing.
Author:  MovieDude [ Thu Sep 29, 2005 2:32 am ]
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Kypade wrote:
skip the Bruce signing.


But man, it's Bruce Campbell! One of my favorite actors (not the same thing as one of the best) working today, he's an insanely cool guy based on his last book, If Chins Could Kill, and from everything I've seen from him. Plus I have a three foot by five foot Army of Darkness poster in my room that would look so damn cool with his signature on it.
Author:  MovieDude [ Sat Oct 08, 2005 5:00 pm ]
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Well, I finally saw this one, and was really impressed with it. It's not a movie without it's flaws, but I really appreciated how the movie deftly balanced off beat humor with a fascinating portrayal of how growing up odd and normal can be. Although the movie was mostly filmed in Washington County which isn't really my part of town, I did recognize a few locations like the Washington Square Mall. Even if it isn't exactly a display of the film's strengths, I've always found that being able to spot places you go to in films can be quite interesting. However, it wasn't nearly as compelling as the lead character, Justin Cobb (Lou Pucci in a strong, subtle performance), journeys through many situations. With a habit of sucking his thumb up until the age of 17, he goes through many trials looking for magic answers to solve all of his problems. The way in which one subtly comes to terms with this is what makes the film so insightful. Everyone is flawed, and it's the flaws that people have which make us who we are. Peppered by strong supporting work all around, Thumbsucker is a clever, plausible, and insightful look at teenage and family life. A-
Author:  Maximus [ Sun Oct 09, 2005 11:34 am ]
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Sounds good.

I'll go see it during the week.
Author:  Bradley Witherberry [ Sat Oct 15, 2005 7:53 am ]
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MovieDude wrote:
*crosses fingers*

Shouldn't a that been *crosses thumbs*?

BTW - I loved this movie - here's my review from the other forum:

Quote:
Frankly, I'm amazed they even allow a movie like Thumbsucker to be made. I thought that in today's world, this sort of subject matter is supposed to remain unspoken - but NO! -->>> Here it all is, laid bare.

The movie is anchored by the stellar performance of the actor portraying the title character - Lou Pucci. His performance is awesome.

He is supported by an eclectic troupe of name-brand actors, including the incomparable Tilda Swinton as "Mom" and uber-weirdly Vincent D'Onofrio in surely his first role as "Dad". Not cool, enough for ya? What about Vince Vaughn as his "Debating Coach" and Keanu Reeves as his "Hippy Orthodontist"? Or Benjamin Bratt as the "Recovering Celebrity"?

The movie makes such a well-argued case for thumbsucking, that surprisingly (even to me), I have chosen to return to it. And no more closet thumbsucking for this reviewer!! From now on, it's gonna be loud and proud, baby!!!

Easily on my list of this year's top ten, and only the second movie I have ever rated:

6 out of 5.
Author:  dolcevita [ Sat Oct 15, 2005 12:26 pm ]
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Haha! Well, was it just`kooky bradley? Because Moviedude makes it sound like thumbsucking is still an oddity, just an accepted part of ones shortcomings and strengths that make his unique. I'm getting a different vibe from you. That the movie was more in-your-face, whilst moviedude seems to say it was very soft spoken.

Its good to hear you both liked it though.
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