Film

So ridiculous as to inspire lovability, Stuck proves, above all, that rubbernecking need not be confined to the highway. The scenario, straight out of the tabloids (and, apparently, real life) beggars belief: Brandi (Suvari), a sympathetic nurse on her way up to a promotion, accidentally hits a homeless guy with her car after a night of clubbing on ecstasy. Stupefyingly, Tom (The Crying Game’s Rea, long past hangdog) survives the hit, despite being stuck head-first through the windshield like a gruesome hood ornament. Ignoring his gurgles, panicked Brandi parks in her garage and hopes the situation will simply resolve itself.

How could this possibly work as drama? Actually, it can’t. But as a bizarre kind of comedy and indictment of “whatever” culture, Stuck taps into slick watchableness. (“Why are you doing this to me?” is the key line; crucially, it’s delivered by Brandi.) Credit must chiefly go to director Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator), a B-movie veteran attuned to each of Tom’s cringe-inducing squirms and escape attempts. When Gordon adds the inept drug-dealer boyfriend (Hornsby) to the mix, Stuck dilutes itself, like a skit gone on too long. But until then, as a rigorous cartoon of life-and-death proportions, it represents a welcome, dark variation on taking out the trash.