Gummo

Rating:
Summary: Gummo is Dummo
Review: This movie is really weak, I am not sure what the point of it is. I have watched it two times through and it is sad that I am admitting that. The movie has no beginning and no end, only a middle. I also think that half of the acting isn't acting at all, but real people. The characters are totally droll, however I think that was the point. But since these characters are so out there why should a viewer care. It plays more like a HBO America Undercover special, that doesn't make sense.

Then there is the boy with the bunny ears, a black dwarf, a boy who looks like a troll and about 14 million stray cats.

I mean there are parts of the movie where I found myself laughing at loud because it was so silly. And when this movie was over I felt like a bus had ran over me and then backed up just to run me down again.

I haven't seen "Kids" yet, but if it is anything like this, I think I will pass. It is sort of strange, because I was told that I was going to like "Gummo". But hey if you have an odd sense of humor and want to lose about 90 minutes that you will never get back, go for it.

Rating:
Summary: If you're perfect, you won't "get" this movie...
Review: At times, Gummo is absolutely hilarious. At other times, it can be somewhat disturbing. At all times, it keeps you riveted to the screen, peering into the lives of an assorted cast of motley characters who don't appear to be acting at all. (some are actors, some aren't)

At first glance, Gummo seems to be about "white trash"....but if you look closely, you'll find yourself saying, I know people like this. And they're not terrible people. They're just people. They can't always afford a nice house, or nice clothes. They have drug addictions. They fight. They swear. They love their families. They argue with their families. They commit crimes. They're thoughtful. They're bullies. They hang out with friends. They feel out of place. They get bored. They try to entertain themselves. Sometimes they're nice. Sometimes they're not. Sometimes they don't do the right thing. Sometimes they think they've done the right thing...and just don't know any better.

Just like you. Just like me.

This movie may be set far away from where you live, but we all know these characters. Gummo is subtle, yet it makes a big impact. If you look closely and you'll see...it's not about "white trash." It's about all of us.

Rating:
Summary: A respectable pseudo-documentary
Review: As you'll see if you read a couple of the following reviews, this film is of that class that inspires pithy reviewers to use language like "utterly astounding", "stupefyingly beautiful", "truly visionary" and so forth. You'll find few adjectives without a corresponding adverb. So I'll try to avoid that: I thought Gummo was interesting and well-done, but not ecstatic, blissful, mind-numbing, or any of that. I guess I liked it well enough to read some 50 or 60 of the reviews, which is saying something; in fact I liked it well enough to join the fracas and review it myself (first time ever, although I am a junkie for other people's reviews).

My father is from rural Ohio, not so far from Xenia, and I believe that there are many people living like the characters from Gummo in the rural midwest and other semi-isolated areas across our great nation. But not all of them live that way, mind you, though they may share similar accents and even similar degrees of squalor. Not all poor whites living in squalor also kill cats, bathe in black water or visit such meager houses of mentally handicapped ill repute. The director (Harmony Korine) chose to focus on the disturbing, gothic and picturesque elements of that slice of the U.S., with great success. The film is unnerving, particularly if you like cats, and more so if you are aware that while not necessarily an accurate, representative depiction of poor whites (or black jewish gay midgets, for that matter) and rednecks, neither is the movie a complete descent into its creators' most filthy fantasies.

Frankly, what most irritates me about some of the reviews that follow is that many use their space as a forum to rant about how "utterly terrifying" and disturbing redneck culture is, and to rail against the conservatives who would "undoubtedly" scoff at this film. Politically I am on the conservative side myself, and I don't imagine that Al Gore numbers Gummo among the videos in his happy and profanity-free collection. Please, don't confuse our taste in films with our political leanings; you will inevitably flounder, sooner or later. What I meant to say before waxing self-righteous is this: Gummo awakens some sense of the humanity of those who many of us are wont to call rednecks and white trash, without falsely glorifying those individuals in the slightest (on the contrary, I'm afraid). Sure, the burly fellow who loses the arm-wrestle and conquers the chair seems a bit unpleasant, but I would be pleased to know most of the other denizens of Gummo-land (come on now, it's not really Xenia, and YES THEY ARE ACTING: don't you know any better? did you believe in the Blair Witch, too?). Especially that lovely creature in the bunny ears. He was "wholly euphoric", I might even say.

In summary (have I violated the word-limit yet?): rent this, it's not a waste of time; it's colorful, coherent and very enjoyable despite the oft-cited lack of plot. And if you liked it, there's a TRUE documentary -- I think it's called Vernon, Florida? Vernon Some-state, anyhow -- that's in the same vein. Check it out.

Rating:
Summary: Great look, great feel, great movie.
Review: Gummo, I heard about this movie from friends. They told me that it was different from other films. They were right, it gives that feeling that someone is just video taping everyday people, not actors but people. The movie has some funny points and some odd points, but all good though. I recomend this movie to all movie lovers that are looking for something that isn't sugar coated.

Rating:
Summary: REALITY AT ITS SCARIEST, BUT MOST HONEST
Review: This movie isn't one you sit down with the family to watch for entertainment while eating popcorn. It doens't have a plot - it's not supposed to! Reality doesn't have a plot. This film shows what kids and adults do in their spare time in a small town while there's nothing else to do. It's scary at times and definetely depressing. The cinematography is amazing - all the still shots and the flashes of little horrific scenes are great. Some people say it's stupid and boring and plotless and so on and so on, but those are the people who are afraid to admit that what they just saw is reality. And it's depressing.

Rating:
Summary: Please give me a time machine...
Review: so I can get back the time wasted on this "film." Now, I enjoyed Kids somewhat. So I decided to watch Gummo. Holy Jesus! I sat there for the duration of the film just wondering what exactly was going on. I was literally depressed by the time I finished watching the movie. There is no plot. There isn't anything! This movie is absolutely horrible.

Rating:
Summary: Not for people who are scared of reality.
Review: Just like I said. If you are easily shocked and appauled by real life people then this movie is definately not for you. Also if you are one of those viewers who needs a definate plot, a beginning & ending and or someone or thing to relate to, just to get into a film then this is not for you. While this is a rather disturbing film, it is also a very important one. A couple of fat thumbs up to brilliant movie makers like Harmony Korine who go against the grain of "normal" and "accepted" films. This movie was shot with a very documentary type of feel. You actually can't even tell who is acting and who isn't. Either watch this movie with an open mind or sing along with Leonard Maltin.

Rating:
Summary: Gummo was not filmed in Xenia, Ohio!!
Review: Gummo was not filmed in Xenia, Ohio. It was filmed in Nashville, Tennessee.

Rating:
Summary: You'll never eat spaghetti again!
Review: Harmony Korine has his detractors, but the world's better off with him in it. This is his directorial debut (he wrote KIDS which was directed by Larry Clark) and as you can tell if you watch it, he also wrote it and probably did all the casting of the real townies himself. "Gummo" doesn't have a plot, and the so-called story doesn't really flow in a conventional way. He's got a different sense of humor: rednecks beating the crap out of a chair (my favorite scene), a toe-less albino discussing what she looks for in a man, a kid lifting "weights" to Madonna while his mother tap-dances, deaf people arguing loudly in a bowling alley, the prostitute, the infamous bathtime gross-out scene (bacon? on the wall?), Harmony's cameo as a drunk gay boy pouring his heart out to a black midget, and many more lovely scenes. But it's not all funny. Some of it is quite disturbing and profound in a sick, sad way. It's not for the faint of heart or cat owners. One of my friends thought it was the stupidest movie he'd ever seen- then again, he thought "Shakespeare In Love" was a masterpiece. The technique he used in filming was great, and some of my favorite parts are either the still photos or the slow-motion segments. The soundtrack is also killer. "Gummo" stands alone, and proudly so. You'll never see anything quite like it. PS: you'll love the outfits the characters wear, Chloe herself picked them out!

Rating:
Summary: Perfect
Review: A film that works on so many levels it will take several viewings to absorb it all. Korine takes the backdrop of a real place, Xenia, Ohio, and real events that would change it forever, the worst tornado the area would ever see, and creates an existential world of unforgettable characters in a pre-apoca lyptic series of brilliant scenes. Not for those who do not wish to think. Not for those that allegory is lost on. A brilliant film from a brilliant man. Shows that Kids was just commercial hype. Also, read A Crackup at the Race Riots by Mr. Korine!