Film

Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in Chicago, plus articles, trailers and more

 

Weirdsville (2007)

Director: Allan Moyle

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Imagine if the stoner character played by Steve Zahn from Soderbergh’s ‘Out of Sight’ landed his own spin-off movie and it ran a bit like ‘The Big Lebowski’ minus the acerbic tone, labyrinthine plot and cine-literate script. You may end up with something like ‘Weirdsville’, a knowingly dishevelled US indie caper-comedy from the director who turned Christian Slater into a rebellious pirate DJ in ‘Pump Up the Volume’. Dexter (Scott Speedman) and Royce (Wes Bentley) are a pair of dim-witted junkies who owe money to an eccentric local kingpin who has threatened to cut off their thumbs if they don’t pay. Their foolish attempts to acquire the cash lead to all manner of madcap nonsense involving preppy Satan worshipers, dwarf battle re-enactors and a new-age internet entrepreneur with an icicle lodged in his brain. While the film is not without charm and the odd inspired line (‘Marshall McLuhan? Isn’t he the guy that started the Sex Pistols?’) the paper-thin characters make it feel less like a rounded feature and more like a TV pilot with the promise of more adventures to come.

Author: David Jenkins

Time Out London Issue 1943: November 14-20 2007


  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Features

Chicago International Film Festival preview

Chicago International Film Festival preview

Mark Ruffalo cons us into liking The Brothers Bloom, plus early tips on films and surviving the fest.

Chain gang

Miranda July's "video chain letters" for women filmmakers get some respect at the Siskel.

Mister nice guy

Greg Kinnear brings his affability to a flawed hero.

Radical visions

British filmmaker Derek Jarman gets a much-deserved reconsideration at the Siskel Film Center.

Toronto International Film Festival

The Wrestler aside, the least-hyped films at Toronto were the most exciting.

Summer school

Six lessons we learned at the multiplex this summer.

Head trip

Fall preview: Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York is one of the most mind-bending films of the season.