Review of Gummo (1997) by Grëg W — 21 Jan 2010

Once I saw chloe sevigny in Kids, I had to check out other movies she was in. this is one that really has to be watched with an open mind. its severely bizarre and very hard to understand. it deals with a town that is dealing with the aftermath of a tornado and all their very odd goings-on.

mostly the story revolves around two different groups of people though. first of all, there's solomon and tummler, who patrol the town searching for dead cats to get paid by the local grocery store owner.

on their adventure, they come across a rival cat collector, a dead women on a life support machine, and cheap prostitutes, among other bizarre and odd things. the other group of friends consist of darby and dot, who are sisters(?).

they experiment with trying to make their breasts bigger, encounter a child molester, and do other random things. in the midst of all this, there is a random boy who walks the town, aptly named Bunny Boy, who is possibly a mute, as he has no dialogue and really has no purpose in being in the movie really.

this movie has an overall dark and bizarre tone to it, and in some ways is just very creepy and confusing. but somehow it works. harmony korine has the talent of making off-color, twisted dramas that, while appealing to a very small audience, can really be seen as accomplishments in the independent community.

I can't recommend this to anyone who enjoys mainstream flicks or happy, funny movies, though. this is one for the underground independent movie lover. but then again, they may not enjoy it either.

I suppose I could say this is more of an art film than anything else. watch if you can find it, because copies are very scarce.