Film
Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in Chicago, plus articles, trailers and more
- Home
- Box Office
- Listings
- Trailers
- Features
Bookmark this page- Edition:
Igby Goes Down (2002)
Director: Burr Steers
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
This uneven black comedy, in which a poor little rich boy struggles towards manhood, makes more sense once you know writer/director Steers played the snippy nightclub doorkeeper in Whit Stillman's The Last Days of Disco. Despite tantalising rumours, there's been nothing new from US cinema's finest living screenwriter in the last five years. Still, this may tide admirers over until the real thing comes along. It's pure Stillman territory, i.e. the fanciest corners of Manhattan. Traversing the not so mean streets is 17-year-old Jason 'Igby' Slocumb Jr (Culkin). Very much the black sheep of his over-achieving, neurotic family, Igby runs away from military academy in search of offbeat adventures and romance. Yes, it's The Catcher in the Rye all over again - with generous helpings of Rushmore, The Graduate, Bret Easton Ellis and The Ice Storm. Igby never reaches those heights, mainly because Steers lacks the ear for sharp dialogue needed to carry off his characters' tricky banter. His directorial contributions, meanwhile, veer erratically from the fresh and bold to the tired and unexceptional, though he does elicit some terrific performances.Author: NY
Cast & crew
Director: Burr Steers
Producer: Lisa Tornell, Marco Weber
Cast: Kieran Culkin, Claire Danes, Jeff Goldblum, Jared Harris, Amanda Peet, Ryan Phillippe, Bill Pullman, Susan Sarandon, Rory Culkin, Eric Bogosian, Gore Vidal full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Duration: 98 mins
Features
Gray's anatomy
James Gray wants to push buttons—again.
The next big thing?
Gigantic Releasing tries to rethink indie distribution…without movie theaters.
Red Diva: Lyubov Orlova, First Lady of Soviet Cinema
So you think you can dance, comrade?
Puppet master
Coraline director Henry Selick takes stop-motion animation into 3-D.
Socratic method
Laurent Cantet's approach on the set matches the message of his film.
Wander woman
Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy puts a Bush-era spin on the road movie.
Oscars
Read our interviews with the nominees, our reviews of the nominated films and more.
What do you think?
Post your review now