Igby Goes Down (Burr Steers, 2002)



Igby Goes Down, the first film for director Burr Steers (who has yet to make a second in the intervening five years, which should tell you something), commits the cardinal sin of being a comedy that's not funny. It wants to be funny, but never quite gets there. It has some arresting scenes and some relatively witty one-liners coupled with some excellent performances, but the movie never comes together; it just kind of sits there like a failed souffle.



Igby (Kieran Culkin) is a cynical kid from New York City who has a pretty hard time fitting in. His mother (Susan Sarandon) is a drugged-out harridan, his father (Bill Pullman) is insane, his mother's new boyfriend (Jeff Goldblum) is trying too hard to be his friend, and his brother (Ryan Phillippe) is, in Igby's words, a young republican. Then, at a party, he meets two older women, Rachel (Amanda Peet) and Sookie (Claire Danes), and oh, here comes the beginning of teen angst. Which one does he have more feelings for? Etc.



The performances, in short, carry the movie. The wonderful, and woefully underrated, Jared Harris (b. Monkey), as Rachel's roommate, steals every scene he's in. This is the first time I've seen Susan Sarandon in a movie where I haven't loathed her in twenty-five years. Goldblum gives his best performance since The Fly, and Phillippe finally shows that the praise justifiably heaped on him after Cruel Intentions wasn't all wasted. That Danes is excellent should surprise no one at this point. That leaves Pullman, who doesn't get enough screen time to make much of an impression, and Peet, who's just kind of there (which is surprising, she's normally quite good).



Unfortunately, those performances sit atop a rather large mound of nothing. The script has all the wit, verve, and style of a Perez Hilton special on VH1 (and for those of you who may be misinterpreting that metaphor, let me spell it out for you: I hate Perez Hilton with the burning heat of a thousand suns). The plot is nonexistent, but there's not enough coherence for the movie to be character-driven, even despite the fantastic performances. There's no pacing to speak of, nothing remarkable about the direction, camerawork, or sound, etc. It's not thoroughly awful, but it's definitely not one for repeat viewing. **