For the
sake of not having to write the same intro a million
different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that
this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull
process of full film reviews and instead opts to break
things down based on what I thought going in, what happened
while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.
Thanks for reading!
The
Breakdown - KABOOM
The Impression:
From the posters only, it seemed about several things:
drugs, sex, and college. Pretty much the structural basis
for every Gregg Araki movie ever made. In one way or
another.
The Reality:
It’s hard to make just exactly what Gregg Araki is trying to
say in his new film KABOOM. On the surface the film
seems to be an over-the-top send up of the proto-typical
Hollywood college film, in which lots of drugs are done,
lots of sex is had, and the details of plot and so forth are
left to the snootier types. In Gregg Araki’s college world
though, everyone, everyone is having sex with everyone,
people are disappearing, there might just be a worldwide
conspiracy, and a certain partner in loving also has witch
powers. In needing to spice things up a bit, perhaps Gregg
Araki is trying to say something about the bland state of
Hollywood fare in relation to college. Better yet, maybe
this is just the way Araki sees the world. His college
experience wasn’t frat parties and cafeteria food. It was
drug induced visions and the looming threat of nuclear
detonation. Whatever the hard content behind the film, it’s
as enjoyable as it is forgettable, a cotton candy wisp of a
film that does nothing but punch the sensory overload
buttons with a non-stop parade of attractive naked people
and acid-penned dialogue. When the neon-pink credits start
blasting across the screen, I challenge you to figure out,
hell remember, what you just saw.
The Lesson:
Gregg Araki loves sex, drugs and violence. The man just
can’t help it.
- Noah Sanders
-
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