Kaboom

After the complex, challenging, touching and definitely mature "Mysterious Skin" (2004) I was really looking forwards to Araki's new film (And let's just pretend that the 2007 Smiley Face doesn't even exist). The trailer makes Kaboom look quirky, subversive and somewhat crazy in a fresh and fun sort of way…. Once again, a misleading trailer! Unfortunately the film itself has really none of that offer, as if Araki, instead of growing up, had been regressing to a film student again, because, that's what this film feels like: a polished and yet pointless student film! And believe me, I've seen many of those in my life! Thomas Dekker is quite likable and he's probably the best thing in the film and yet he's struggling with a story that has no beginning and no end (literally no end!)… and actually, come to think of it, no middle either! The film tries to be anarchic, dark, sexy, funny, rude, aping films like Donnie Darko and even The Rules of Attraction (which was a pretty faulty film anyway). In the end it is just too chaotic and definitely too silly to be taken seriously or to even recommend. There are very few original ideas and the little excitement in there is only given by the music and the editing, but certainly not by the story. Even the few good lines of dialogue in the script remain too isolated and detached be noticed, let alone remembered and they get lost in the ludicrous plot. What is real? Is there a conspiracy? Who are those people dressed like animals? Does any of this really matter? And actually, do we give a toss? In the end it's very hard to care about who does what and why, so basically you'll just end up waiting to see who's going to have sex with whom, (basically everyone seems bed down with just about everyone else in this movie despite their gender differences) and yet, none of the sex never has anything to do with the story. It is completely incidental and purely exploitive. But even if you take it as a sexy film , beyond its average straight/gay/bi soft-core porn clichés, it is all quite unremarkable and gets nowhere close to push any boundary and it thinks it does. In fact it all gets rather repetitive (I lost the count of how many times some character wakes up all of a sudden from some bad dream). This film might have been the director's wet dream, but none of that excitement shows up in the final product. I'll give Araki one last chance then I'll begin to think that "Mysterious Skin" was just a lucky mistake in an otherwise disastrous filmography MoviegeekBlog.wordpress.com

Gregg Araki continues his daring sojourn into the arena that other filmmakers avoid - frank sexual adventures of every kind, characters whose placement in the story is often like window dressing for effect, and yet out of it all comes a fascinating if at time discombobulating tale that appeals to a certain audience - and doesn't mind if the rest of the folks who don't approve of his antics even attend!

The film follows the life of one Smith (Thomas Dekker) and his everyday life in the dorm - hanging out with his arty, sarcastic best friend Stella (Haley Bennett), hooking up with a beautiful free spirit named London (Juno Temple), lusting for his gorgeous but dim surfer roommate Thor (Chris Zylka). Smith parties, sleeps around with both men (Jason Olive, Andy Fischer-Price) and women in various combinations. He's bisexual, is about to turn 19 and is having strange dreams which seem to work their way into his life. There's gay sex, lesbian sex, witchcraft, men in animal masks, murder and some secret organization - it all gets turned upside-down after one fateful, terrifying night when all the signs of Smith's dreams seem to come together in a apocalyptic fusion that involves Smith's father (Michael James Spall), Smith's hedonistic mother (Kelly Lynch), and visits from the Messiah! It is a sci-fi story centered on the sexual awakening of a group of college students.

Dekker somehow carries this film due to his skills as an actor but also his complete involvement in what is obviously Araki's secondary persona. It is a crazy film, rich in color, at many times ludicrous, and at other times very sexy - you know, the way Gregg Araki continues to make these solid little art house movies. It would be silly to fault KABOOM for being shallow or unserious; its whole mode of being is profoundly antiserious, playfully assaulting any form of earnestness other than Smith's emo melancholy.

Grady Harp

Gregg Araki's breakthrough film, 1992's THE LIVING END, was a gay THELMA & LOUISE in the age of AIDS, very cutting edge, and I thought he'd go much further than he did but, then again, big things were also predicted for John Dahl (RED ROCK WEST, THE LAST SEDUCTION) at the time. Oh, well. Anyway, Araki's been on the indie scene ever since and KABOOM takes his "apocalyptic teen angst" series (TOTALLY F***ED UP, THE DOOM GENERATION, NOWHERE, MYSTERIOUS SKIN) on a psychedelic roller coaster ride to a trippy -and inevitable- eve of destruction. It's a stylish (with vivid colors you can eat with a spoon), funny, sexy, college-set CLUELESS-on-acid that morphs into a cross between Sergio Martino's ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK and THE WIZARD OF OZ after a horny, existentialistic film student begins to realize he may be at the center of a global conspiracy with cataclysmic consequences. Fairly indescribable, free-wheeling sci-fi fun that'll leave you with a WTF? feeling. I liked it.

I've watched most of Greg Araki's films, weather online or by accident. In university I was directed to several of his movies, for his wild and outrageous plot-lines, and desolate themes of helplessness. I wouldn't call myself a fan, but I did enjoy the 90's drug escapade "Nowhere"(1997), which was a precursor to many well known stars of the early 2000 era. Araki leads viewers on a non-oriented vision of college life, complete with all the oddball events of his previous films, but ends up as a rather dull entry.

For most of the movie the viewer is listening to our main character (known only as Smith), discuss the trials and tribulations of his young adult life. Bi-sexual, awkward, unfocused, and generally ignorant of other people around him, we are forced into his fantasies, absurd lifestyle, and unrealistic grip on reality. Sounds like fun right? Well, unfortunately you'd be wrong. The events that we witness unbearably forced, despite its unnatural and science-fiction theme. I felt most of the actors were just terribly strained and the unnatural dialogue between characters only draws attention to the situation. I think the actors were just terribly tedious in their delivery, and before long, I found there wasn't as single one that was believable.

As with most drug riddled, and absurdist films, this movie has some interesting happenings. There is everything from serial killers to witchcraft here, and they certainly match Araki's usual plot-lines. Some are pretty amusing, and somewhat surreal, while others simply fall flat and actually take away from the enjoyment of the film. Several of them (if not most) have no significance to anything at all, and they leave you with the feeling that Araki is trying his hardest to stay relevant in his own way. I didn't mind the craziness, in fact, I was expecting it. However, by the end of the film, you find yourself more than confused (which is probably his goal in the first place).

If you're a fan of Araki, you'll probably like this film very much. I didn't really think it had anything to offer besides that "WTF is happening" feeling he brings to movies. An irrelevant event with an abrupt ending.

4/10

I needed to leave a review since the only one up so far was a super negative gay-bashing.

Kaboom is the best Gregg Araki movie I have seen to date. Smiley Face was charming, and Mysterious Skins was just perverted (Mino from Romania should watch that one, he'd love it). It is super stylized in the coolest way, and the presentation is very clean. This movie just has a glossy feel to it that is very impressive. Aside from the color and glitter, the story is very engaging and holds on to you. It is a funny movie, there are scenes that will make you laugh, and some scenes that will give you goosebumps. It is also very eerie at times, the stylistic devices implemented to be chilling are indeed so, and at times it is chilling in a sort of deeper X-Filesy kind of way. Unfortunately, my criticism is that the conclusion of the film is all rushed exposition and not very rewarding at that after the fantastic build up beforehand.

The film deals with sexuality in a very lighthearted way. I find Araki's treatment of sexual taboo's to be refreshing and comical. Not for the ultra-conservative or homophobic crowd.