Reviews

It seems no matter what I see her in, Christina Ricci seems full of promise but fails to deliver. Sure she can cry and scream, but Prozac Nation sees Ricci totally out of her depth, perhaps I'm being too harsh.... okay, I'm shifting the blame to the director. Jessica Lange is outrageous and almost reaches Faye Dunaway heights of megadramatisation. Unfortunately I think Lange peaked with Frances and it was all downhill from there. There was every chance of this film being slick and witty while tackling depression head on. What we get instead is poorly acted hysteria dressed up with a stereotypical try hard eighties veneer. I really had no sense of the films eighties backdrop, since I was unsatisfied with the lame attempt at making believe it was the eighties just because ms Ricci wears a madonna inspired dress to her "lost my virginity" celebration. Cmon everyone, you are ALL better than this. The filmmakers should hang their heads in shame, and as a result of disappointment, Elizabeth Wurtzel could probably make a bundle if she sued for "irrepairable emotional damages" as a result of the finished product. go on lizzie, sue! I would

All those wanting a glimpse of Tom Welling mancandy....forget it. This film is laughably bad, sure, there's some great cgi fog, but that's about it. Selma Blair is thoroughly unconvincing as the local radio girl, the actress playing elizabeth could sure use some acting lessons. If you are unfortunate enough to have rented this film, don't watch the end, you'll only end up kicking yourself for wasting your money. Schlock schlock schlock. Some interesting moments of cinematography, a lot of the special effects had a distinct seventies feel, other than that , not a lot going on in this film. Hopefully none of the extras with lines will ever work in film again. A waste of everyone's time and money. bad bad bad. bottom line, who's going to be scared of mist?

The best thing about this film is Kerry Fox. Even though the story centers around the homecoming of the homecoming of former fat kid Sweet William (Chris Leavins) it is Fox who shines throughout the film. At times visually stunning, the art direction unfortunately does not distract the viewer from the fact that the character of Sweet William comes across as unlikeable, despite attempts to garner the audience's sympathies. The character of Sweet William's grandmother is touchingly portrayed and there are some tender scenes involving her. I liked it and hated it. Oh, I forgot to mention... is Violet a boy or a girl? I couldn't tell.

Poor John Waters, he of "Play School" fame and favourite of the late seventies early eighties Australian film set, where is your career heading? With little to work with in terms of character Waters maintains a detached sense of delivery throughout the film while projecting a sense of embarrassment for the poor level of acting provided by his supporting cast. The standouts in his supporting cast are surprisingly the women, Rose McKenna is fun as the spoiled society lady and Jules McCutcheon (?) an absolute hoot as one of Water's character's former flames. Nunzio LaBianca (Aussie park boyz) is solid as the bad guy. There's a nightclub, a crap dj, stolen diamonds, a bouncer rookie, bikies and girls galore. While only a short film, from memory it ran for only seventy or so minutes, everyone seems to do the best they can. Everyone that is but whoever is responsible for that LUDICROUS makeup. I'm sure like most Aussie films the budget was tight, but when you can see wounds moving around the faces of the actors and in some cases actually peeling off it's a little hard to take seriously. Perhaps some professional training? The script is fun and tight, sure some of the gags are totally cheesy and clichéd but that's where the actors have all their fun. Low budget yes, but a lot of fun nonetheless.