Gummo

source: Gummo

In adverts, the perfect family lives in a perfect house with a perfect garden and perfect neighbours. They drive the perfect car, use perfect shampoo, toothpaste, hair conditioner etc etc. The constant smile on their faces indicate that they lead the perfect life. One that everyone should aspire to. Gummo is about as believable as these adverts, albeit the polar opposite, and insults our intelligence in the same way. A 21 year old kid with a camera is still a 21 year old kid. This shines through in the scene where the director "acts" on a couch next to a black midget. Banal, meaningless tripe. Lord, take me down....

Your first viewing of "Gummo" is something that is impossible to forget, for better or for worse. If you are like me and not a major connoiseur of the Art-House variety of independent films, this movie will seem strange and outlandish to say the least. It is both exhilirating and nauseating at once. It is thought-provoking yet repulsive. And it is NOT for the easily offended. I have such mixed feelings for this movie that I cannot say much more than that. The film is basically a collage of vignettes--most of them appalling, some of them outlandishly funny because of their overall absurdity, that take place in Xenia, Ohio--a town that was devastated by a tornado many years back. A town that seems to be continually rocked by tragedy, because its inhabitants have never been made whole again. It is depressing in many ways, and is often just horrifying and sickening. But, if you want something different and as far off the Hollywood track as possible, give this one a try.

I'm sick and tired of critics and others putting down people for enjoying this film as if they were in fact caught in some game of self deception. Surprise!!! This film does not follow a traditional narrative structure. If you can get past this, perhaps you might enjoy the film afterall. Those expecting a plot, don't. It is that simple. This is a post-modernist poem which paints a portrait of poverty, moral bankruptcy and ignorance. It also offers an untraditional representation of aesthetics. Then again, maybe it doesn't... . Put your own meaning into the film; don't take my word for it.

And I mean that as in, they're both total CRAP. Gummo is so hideously awful that I can't even begin to describe how much I hate it. This movie should not exist. It made me want to die.

No plot, none. Just follow these characters through their unenviable lives. Killing cats is a real pursuit, I was involved in a "feline conspiracy" when I was 8. Small town in Colorado, and the denizens executed the stray cats. Like rats. I can't tell you this is real, but it does remind you that there is another world out there. Throw it away, digest it, ignore it. Most people do. Or think a little, consider it, and then forget it. Either way, the Slayer scene made the whole thing better. Remember when you judge this film, you're saying a lot about some people that the world is passing by (maybe for good reason).

A stark rumination on American Life and pop-culture as experienced by a huge number of people throughout rural America, entwined in a whimsical, almost slapstick, vaudevillian free-for-all of madness and farce. It's totally insane. It creates it's own lexicon, which in and of itself is incredibly rewarding.

Cocka Doodledooooooodoodledoo! And then what?? 2 kids killing cats to sell to a Chinese restaurant then getting high on glue with the proceeds, retards being pimped, chairs being beaten up and a bunch of imbred unpleasant hick rednecks talking mass sadism and imbreeding in a film that could have been written better by a 2 year old. Gummo fails on all accounts as a badly constructed misconstrewn series of events detailing the lives of low lives, I know I can walk round downtown Glasgow to look at the people frolicking there without having to sit and suffer this drivel. It's supposed to be a sign of our times movie but does so in a way that infuriates rather than makes us sit up and take note as it tries in vain to shock but is rather a spoilt childs way of getting attention rather than geting us with any serious clout. A catchy opening tune a good film does not make and certainly could not resurrect this DUD. Avoid at all costs.

I first rented this movie several months ago. I watched it with one of the most humorous people I know, so it definitely lightened the mood. I really don't even know how to comment on it. It's absolutely amazing. Watching Harmony Korine's little commentary on the DVD helped me to gain some insight to his logic (I guess that word could be used?) behind it. Though the movie had some very disturbing scenes (those cats! AH!), I still applaud him for trying out something pretty bizarre and new. I definitely cannot deny that I spent a lot of time quoting some of the most hysterical lines I've ever heard. To this day, I still chant the whole "He got beat by his own son" jingle from time to time.

Three words: this movie sucked. Now I'm used to independent film. I love films that take great leaps in form, and experiment with method. However, I ended up taking this film back to the video store and telling them there was something terribly wrong with it. It had Gummo on it. If you're in for a really bad film with no visible direction or purpose, then grab Gummo. If you want a *good* film, that actually challenges you, look for something like Clerks, The Mystery of Rampo, Trainspotting, or The Pillow Book. All in all, I give this film a big fat zero.