Music-video director Mike Mills's feature-length debut, 'Thumbsucker', is an offbeat, unique film about the trials and tribulations of a relatively normal family living in Oregon. The black comedy stars Lou Pucci as Justin Cobb, a 17-year-old who still sucks his thumb, infuriating his tough father, Mike (Vincent D'Onofrio), a .. Read more
| Starring | Lou Taylor Pucci, Tilda Swinton, Vincent D'Onofrio, Kelli Garner |
|---|---|
| Director | Mike Mills |
| Genres | Comedy, Drama |
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Music-video director Mike Mills's feature-length debut, 'Thumbsucker', is an offbeat, unique film about the trials and tribulations of a relatively normal family living in Oregon. The black comedy stars Lou Pucci as Justin Cobb, a 17-year-old who still sucks his thumb, infuriating his tough father, Mike (Vincent D'Onofrio), a high-school football star who never made it to the pros because of a knee injury. Justin's mother, Audrey (Tilda Swinton), is a nurse who is developing an odd crush on TV actor Matt Schramm (Benjamin Bratt). Meanwhile, Justin becomes more interested in Rebecca (Kelli Garner) than arguing with his peers as a member of Mr. Geary's (Vince Vaughn) debate team. To rid Justin of his thumbsucking habit as well as other weird things that begin happening after his Zen-like orthodontist, Perry Lyman (Keanu Reeves), hypnotises him he is put on medication to combat attention deficit disorder, which further complicates his life and his relationships with friends, family, and teachers. Pucci is magnificent in the title role, capturing just the right nuances in his portrayal of a troubled teenager. The rest of the cast is excellent as well, especially D'Onofrio as a father unable to show his emotions, Vaughn as a cool teacher, and Reeves as a wacked-out dentist. The Polyphonic Spree composed songs for the film, which is based on a novel by Walter Kirn.
| Starring | Lou Taylor Pucci, Tilda Swinton, Vincent D'Onofrio, Kelli Garner, Keanu Reeves, Vince Vaughn, Benjamin Bratt |
|---|---|
| Director | Mike Mills |
| Studio | SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 32 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Comedy, Drama |
| Language | English |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | English |
| Released | DVD: 20 Mar 2006 Production year: 2005 |
| Format | DVD |
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I am quite surprised at the main write up for this film, firstly because the film is placed in the'comedy' genre, which I do not think it is, and secondly it refers to a 'tough father'. The father in the film is struggling with his own feelings and while he has difficulty expressing himself and supporting his son because of this, he is not particularly harsh or 'tough'.
The film is a gentle story of everyday people. It is a peek into a family's life. It illustrates great insight into how people develop their own philosophy on life and cope with living.
There are no explosions or monsters so it will not suit eveyone.
Went into this with no expectations and was pleasently surprised by its charm, humour and acting. Pucci gives one of the best teen performances I've seen in a while as the titular hero and he's supported very well by a starry cast who never try to steal the film but deliver memorable characters.
It has been compared to Napoleon Dynamite but in my view this is far superior since it maintains it's tone throughout and, crucially, never gets self-conciously off-beat.
Highly recommended.
New comedy Thumbsucker is released in the UK today, and with a strong cast that includes Tilda Swinton, Vince Vaughn and Keanu Reeves, it is sure to prove popular with cinemagoers. The film tells the story of a teenager, Justin Cobb, who has Attention Deficit Disorder, and can't help but suck his thumb. He is put on prescription drugs to try and help him yet nothing but chaos ensues. The lead role is played by Lou Taylor Pucci, who won Best Actor awards at the Berlin and Sundance film festivals. Read more