Review of Storytelling (2001) by Cory B — 20 Jan 2009

Continuing on my Todd Solondz arc (which I am enjoying greatly) comes Storytelling, a tale fractured into two uneven halves called 'fiction' and 'non-fiction' (as well as a never-to-be-seen third half (half?) with James Van Der Beek realizing he's gay).

This fractured gimmick was pointless; it was like seeing a Todd Solondz short film, then seeing a feature film that should have been longer. It was good though; like seeing two movies in one. 'Fiction' stars the cute-as-hell Selma Blair as a grad student in love with an undergrad with cerebral palsy.

It hooks you right away, and keeps you hooked (especially when her fiction writing professor comes into the picture a little bit more than you'd expect). If you've done any research about the film, you know this is that 'red-box' movie, which was added in to avoid an NC-17 rating.

The dialogue from that scene will NOT leave my head, and it's beginning to affect my everyday autonomic functions. If you love Selma Blair in any way (as a 40-year-old playing a 20-year-old acting like a 12-year-old; or what have you), then you'll like this.

Sitting in on the writing class is excrutiating; lots if big words are thrown around, and I think it's putting down the narrative of the actual film in some way, but it's complicated. Expecting to get more from the extremely developed characters, the 'Fiction' story ends quickly, segueing in to the completely non-related 'Non-Fiction' part.

We have Paul Giamatti playing a struggling documentarian who stumbles upon a rich Jersey jew family containing John Goodman and Julie Haggerty. Goodman plays fat, mean dad very well, like always, and Haggerty plays her usual high-strung Airplane!/What About Bob?-type crazy woman.

Giamatti's character's film centers specifically on their son, Scooby, a directionless teen who likes shrooms and lets his friends use him. You'll see. The family also has a young, devilishly smart and annoying son who continually puts down the family maid, making her clean up grape juice after hearing news of her grandson's execution in her native El Salvador.

A series of unfortunate events occurs in the family, much to the delight of the documentarian looking for pulse in his seemingly pointless film. His editing friend, played by Franka Potente of Run Lola Run, is, well, Franka Potente, and that was awesome.

Everything comes crashing down and ends with a laughable but painful climax, Solondz-style. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but after seeing Happiness, I know it could have been better.