Kaboom

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.

That's how 'Kaboom' is billed on the DVD. I watched it, premiered on Film 4 last night.

Initially I rather liked it, the striking design, the casual attitudes to almost everything and the dialogue. Especially the catty one-liners. I'm not familiar with this director and on the strength of this one movie, I'm not in a particular hurry to explore further, however.

I realise that it's intended to be a surreal cult film and where it falls to pieces is where it starts to mess with your head, as it's just non-sensical and frankly, silly. I also realise that I'm not in the probable intended audience, age-wise. People running around in pig- headed masks just don't grab me, I'm afraid.

The liberal, mixed sex scenes were both interesting and fun and the attitude that good sex is just that, refreshing. Most of the young cast play their parts well, especially Thomas Dekker, Haley Bennett and Juno Temple. I did watch it all and there were many good points and I enjoyed much of it, but ultimately, it's just too way out there.

This film is about a young man in college, who encounters a series of sexual encounters together with weird events.

"Kaboom" is quite different from the other Gregg Araki films I have seen, in that it has paranormal elements and feels more eerie, but still has the sexual subplots to give the it the director's signature. At times feels like a thriller, and at times it is the director's signature story of sexual awakening. Despite the blurred distinction between the two, "Kaboom" is still weirdly engaging. The leads are great, they can act and they look good too, providing loads of eye candies. Thomas Dekker is certainly a person to look out for in future films. And have you wondered why the film is called "Kaboom"? Watch the film until the last scene and you will understand!

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.

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