Just how dark a movie is "Igby Goes Down"?
Well, the opening scene of this "tragi-comedy" features two characters sardonically commenting as their mother takes her last breath. And things don't get more lighthearted as the story progresses.
Which is not meant to deter potential audiences from seeing the movie. But, if you like your films light-and-bright, chances are this one won't be your cup of tea.
Others, though, might be taken with its mordant sense of humor and its winning performances, including Kieran Culkin, who stars as the title character, one Jason Slocumb Jr. — or "Igby" to nearly everyone.
This teenage malcontent has washed out of nearly every prep school on the East Coast, which is why his domineering mother, Mimi (Susan Sarandon), has sent him to military school. So he runs away to New York in search of thrills.
There, he meets several would-be mother and father figures, including drug-addled dancer Rachel (Amanda Peet), softhearted college student Sookie (Claire Danes) and Igby's godfather (Jeff Goldblum), a clueless real-estate magnate.
And just when he thinks he's found happiness, his mother and brother (Ryan Phillippe) show up.
It's an impressive debut for
writer/director Burt Steers, who covers some of the same ground as 1998's "Rushmore" and this year's "Tadpole" but manages to put another spin on it.
The film still might not have worked without Culkin, who makes sympathetic what would have been an otherwise unlikable character.
The supporting cast is quite good as well, especially Danes (making a comeback after some recent disappointments) and Sarandon, who avoids making her character too much of a stereotype.
"Igby Goes Down" is rated R for frequent use of strong, sexually related profanity and crude sexual slang, simulated drug use (marijuana, heroin and prescription drug abuse), violence (beatings), simulated sex, brief male and female nudity, and brief gore. Running time: 98 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com