THE CHUMSRUBBER Reviewed by Harvey S. Karten
Newmarket
Grade: B+
Directed by: Arie Posin
Written by: Zac Stanford, story by Arie Posin
Cast: Glenn Close, Ralph Fiennes, Lauren Holly, Allison
Janney, Carie-Ann Moss, Rita Wilson, Jamie Bell, Camilla Belle,
Justin Chatwin, Rory Culkin, Thomas Curtis, Lou Taylor Pucci,
William Fichtner, John Heard, Josh Janowicz
Screened at: Review 1, NYC, 8/17/05 Three years back, a critic who is a decent prose stylist but one possessing a narrow range of tunnel vision called for a moratorium on films depicting the Holocaust. He read that there were 170 such pics between the years 1989 and 2002. By analogy, he could say, “Hey, there have been hundreds upon hundred of romantic comedies in the past two decades. How about a moratorium on those types of films?” As Roger Ebert says, judge movies by the how and not the what. In other words, the topic is not significant: the way the cast and crew treat it is what counts. I bring this up in writing about “The Chumscrubber,” which has nothing to do with the Holocaust, because I can picture critics saying, “Haven’t we seen enough about teenage angst, about the failure to communicate, about suburban malaise?” Sure, we’ve seen quite a few, but these themes have hardly outlived their current relevance. How well each movie works is what counts. “The Chumscrubber” is about teenage angst, about the failure to communicate, about suburban malaise, issues dealt with by such notable films as “American Beauty” and “Donnie Darko,” also Gus Van Sant’s more clinical (rather than emotional) “Elephant. First-time director Arie Posin, who directs a screenplay by Zac Stanford, sees these torn-from-the-headlines issues through his own prism, conveying to us in the audience an intense, compelling drama about the secret lives of people living in a Southern California paradise of neat homes and spotless streets. The fictional town of Hillside, governed by Mayor Michael Ebbs (Ralph Fiennes), in private is treated almost like a castrato by his fiancé, Terri Bratley (Rita Wilson)–who is divorced from the town cop, Lou Bratley (John Heard). Among the town’s teens is Dean Stiffle (Jamie Bell), the principal character in the drama, who, upon seeing his best friend Troy (Josh Janowicz) dangling at the end of a rope fails to tell a soul. Troy had been important to his fellow high-schoolers as the supplier of drugs. To convince Troy’s friend, Dean, to sneak into Troy’s digs to find the stash, the school bully, Billy (Justin Chatwin), his angelic-looking but manipulative girlfriend Crystal (Camilla Belle), and sidekick Lee (Lou Taylor Pucci), set out to kidnap the lad’s kid brother, Charley Stiffle (Rory Culkin). By mistake they abduct Charley Bratley (Thomas Curtis), whose mother is so wrapped up in planning her current wedding that she does not know that the boy is missing. Given the homogeneity of suburban communities like this one, residents know and visit with more frequency than folks who are city mice, yet despite their comings and goings, they seem to know virtually nothing about one another that’s of import. Dean’s dad, author and psychiatrist Dr. Bill Stiffle (William Fichtner), believes that he knows his boy, but whenever he thinks he’s having a man-to-man talk with his 17-year-old, he’s actually putting him on the couch, quickly prescribing drugs which turn out to be not so different from the ones that Troy had been running illegally. Troy’s mom (Glenn Close) admits ultimately that she did not really know her son, but not before sending several residents on a guilt trip about Troy’s suicide. The Chumscrubber, who makes an appearance now and then in video-game format, is a young man who carries his head in his hands, the survivor of a nuclear war. His metaphoric use could represent the townspeople, going about their lives like people who are not using their heads: who do not communicate, who are too self-absorbed to take a genuine interest in their young ones, and who couldn’t care less that their teens easily acquire and consume drugs which are issued to them around school grounds. This inventive tale is advantaged by a crackerjack cast, lots of big names who must have taken cuts from their usual pay to perform in this compelling story. Besides the aforementioned, Allison Janney takes on the the guise of Ms. Stiffle, who peddles vitamins which have given her a new lease on life (if you buy her sales pitches) and who is noted for her casseroles. In one priceless scene, her young boy, Charlie, in possession of some of Troy’s drugs, slyly sneaks the white powder around one of his mom’s dishes, leading to an mighty happy memorial service dedicated to Troy. The film is not without shortcomings. The characters are often over the top, depriving the tale of subtlety, as though the production team does not trust the audience to “get” its satiric thrusts. Piano music on the soundtrack is nearly incessant and often intrusive. On the whole, the picture succeeds nicely in developing the characters and putting them through the paces–their actions weaving and overlapping toward a justifiable resolution. Kids grow up too fast; their parents don’t grow up at all. Rated R. 107 minutes © 2005 by Harvey Karten
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