Igby Goes Down (2002)

Plan: Igby (Kieran Culkin) suffers from what I have dubbed poor little rich kid syndrome, only he just runs away instead of becoming a drug addict. His mom, Mimi (Susan Sarandon), and his brother, Oliver (Ryan Phillippe try to reel him in to get him back to school and because Mimi is dying. He runs away to his godfather/sponsor's (Jeff Goldblum) mistress, Rachel (Amanda Peet). Also, he hooks up with Sookie (Claire Danes).

I suppose I could have bi-passed that whole explanation if I just said it was a lot like The Catcher in the Rye. Nevertheless, I think that even if you didn't like that book, you can still enjoy this movie.

To be honest, I find myself very torn while watching the film. On one occasion, I focused on the drama. I cried. On another, I focused on the comedy. I laughed a lot more.

And I think that is a testament to the high quality of the film. It is dramedy, but not in the way I have mentioned before. The drama and the comedy neither begin nor end. They overlap in every moment of the film. It all depends on your point of view.

Which must be that writer/director Burr Steers is "deeply and importantly talented", right? Well, for a directorial and screenplay debut, it shows promise beyond mention. It has all the elements of genius: great nuance and intelligent style. But, (and there's always a catch, isn't there?) he went on to pen How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, which was formulaic drivel. It could just be that he isn't meant for romantic comedies. So much the better.

But this character he has created in Igby is the stuff young careers are made of. He has cast Culkin in a stroke of the fortuitous for both of them, as Culkin shines in this role, bringing the necessary power to the film.

This film is the sort that I love to see because it is the sort that actors simply do. Do you know what I mean? You know when you watch some smaller indie pic, and, out of nowhere, you catch some big name star in a small role? It's like that. It is one of those few times when you see stars actually drop the character they project to the world and act. They put something out there. Some part of themselves, I suspect.

In that light, this is the best I have ever seen Goldblum, Sarandon, Phillippe, or Danes. Especially Goldblum and Sarandon. Wow. Just wow. I didn't think Goldblum could do things like this.

You must see this. Must. Okay, there's some nudity/sexuality/drug abuse/language issues. I don't really care. Unlike so many movies that claim they are representative of real life, I believe this one actually come close. That's too good to ignore.