Suburban Gothic

source: Suburban Gothic

It doesn't squarely fit comedy/horror or any other label, but it's fun (and a little dark) with some interesting characters and laugh-out-loud moments. Matthew Gray Gubler is great as the man-child and Ray Wise is perfect as his father. There are a few scenes sprinkled through the film that look oddly "cheap". Perhaps late pickups or second unit production. They're kinda distracting but don't ruin the film.

I really appreciate the opportunity to waste an hour of my life watching this uncomfortable attempt - and I do mean attempt at quirky paranormal comedy. We didn't finish it, so no spoilers here. But only Ms. Dennings seems to have the slightest idea what movie this is trying to be. I'll be honest, I never watched Two Broke Girls, but Wandavision got me looking for other places to catch her. She really is good here. But she has a sense of the absurd. Our Hero is played with zero charisma by that guy from that show. Here he plays (and I mean that in the loosest possible definition) a bedraggled every man. But there's more smirk than depth or reason to feel any sense of compassion. I blame the script, the direction, the actors, and the editor. It's appalling. Not like that guy will ever escape the typecasting his 15 years on his hit show have given him. But apparently playing a series of ticks and affectations with nobody inside is the best use of his time. Save yours and skip this train wreck.

The idiotic character played by Matthew Gray Gubler takes stupidity to a new level, playing a college graduate who refuses to take a job unless it has him starting from the top, and the result has him being forced to move back into his parents basement. The bad news is that his parents, Barbara Niven and Raymond Wise, are just as idiotic as he is, and as it turns out, everybody in this town turns out to be idiots to. Not one likeable person, either bigoted or just plain stupid, and even the one smart character, a Gothic looking bartender (Kat Jennings) is overloaded with cynicism and vocal fry which is a deadly combination because she's the type of character who can't stop talking, with tactless things coming out of her mouth from the start. So Gray Gubler has some sort of paranormal ability and this creates some situations that end up being more gross than funny. Cameos by veteran celebrities can't help when the script is so bad, tactless and generally unwatchable.

With so many good people cast in this movie you would hope that they would have something good to work with. Unfortunately the dialogue and effects, along with bad editing, make this nowhere near the movie it could have been. All the themes are just so on the nose and the antagonists lack any nuance. We are expected to root for the protagonist 'just because' even though he comes across as a snarky Dick from the start of the film. It's a blunt mess really. Overall there are some glimpses of good ideas and humour, but so much is masked by the broadness of the writing and the unlikability of the characters.

Overall, I love the comedy. Every character was funny. Especially the lead. His comedic timing was perfect. Good premise. I would like to see a part 2. Good job.

Matthew Gray Gubler is perfect in this. Ray Wise is at his best. Kat Dennings is underutilized, though. She has great comedic timing and presence and is not given enough of it to perform. The editing could have been tighter, giving it more flow. But I like that this movie is exactly what it wants to be and is unapologetic about it. If you like quirky movies, this is for you. If you like your horror straight, best to skip this one.

Kat Dennings will probably always be an underrated actress until she gets the "it" role she needs. Until then she will do bad movies like this, but she has enough star power to get people to see it. All that aside, the main character is so irritating I wanted to punch him in the face every time he opened his mouth, except one scene. "Ok, I'll look into his work. What's your favorite movie of his?" "Running out of Bullets" "I'll watch that one first." Also, John Waters is Jesus Christ, so it's a must watch. But overall it was a pretty lame movie.

I enjoyed the camera work and color, the story was fun but had a deeper meaning too. I loved that it was kinda comedy/horror but it was just fun spookiness rather than horror. I will definitely watch it whenever Halloween comes around. I enjoyed the movie, but I feel that there was a lot of sexual jokes and swearing. Which is fine, but in my opinion they should have used less sex jokes and saying "*" every other sentence.

I love the understatement of the whole thing. It's almost as if the writers are turning Goth on its head. The suburban banality is what keeps you hooked in. The deadpan irony and the gags are terrific, the dialogue is laugh-a-minute, thanks to awesome writing and marvellous delivery from the actors. Sound track is great, the set-ups are fun. It's absolutely my sort of movie. I love the comedy of it. There's enough drama to carry the story apart from the Gothic element and the characters are believable. I like the pacing. It's also clever because it deals with a very contemporary issue of unemployed youngsters not leaving home, but in an original way. I'd love to know what premise the writers started with. The oxymoron of Suburban Gothic is the key to it. I mean, no crypts? No black eyeliner? And we get jump scares too.