Igby Goes Down

A film with no soul. Every line in this movie sounds like it was uttered by haughty, sophisticated, extremely well-bred morons. It's prep taken far too far. In other words, I didn't like it because I don't want to believe these people exist any more than I want to believe religious fundamentalists exist. Kieran Culkin reminds me of a cuter, younger Tobey Maguire. Same mannerisms, same baby face. The film is loaded with top actors, some of them even playing against type (although Claire Danes does indulge in one of her trademark chin-quivering scenes). But who cares? It's all ridiculous -- son hates mother, with fewer reasons we can discern as the film progresses, while getting kicked out of all the schools she labors to put him in, seemingly only as an act of rebellion. This is a great example of a youth angst film that's the complete opposite of Garden State. The latter was sweet and charming because you felt empathy for the main characters. In this film, you feel nothing but contempt for these poor little rich kids.

year: 2002
length: 97 min.
rating: 2.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0280760/combined