Review of Igby Goes Down (2002) by Blancoa. — 13 Sep 2002

I had a very mixed reaction to this movie. The acting is pretty amazing, especially Susan Sarandon's performance. Jeff Goldbum is in rare form as well. Oh, and Bill Pullman, in a brief but powerful role, is terrific.

The story as a whole, however, didn't do it for me. From the jump, it seemed as if the filmmakers were trying to be as extreme and "edgy" as possible while forsaking the story and adequate characterization.

I got a little tired of the protagonist's whiny predicament. It's tough to sympathize with snobby rich kids who despise their mothers, sleep with their godparent's mistresses, and get kicked out of every posh secondary school on the east coast.

Definitely irritating more than anything else. Many individual situtations were terrific, but nothing bound the story together for me. Worth seeing, though, I suppose.