Twister

I must be really missing something. I watched this movie and saw a meandering voyeuristic doting on what appear to be spoiled pseudo-intelligent rich brats, their mentally comatose father, his grand-daughter, and their hired keeper. The players are all virtually perfect in their roles, but are wasted in this looney home movie with no point. The boyfriend Chris at first appears fairly normal, but later he seems caught up in their uninhibited self-indulgence. I don't even want to think about the helicopter!

The only really sympathetic character in the picture is the patriarch of this strange brood, ably played by Harry Dean Stanton. His attempt to passively transfer from the asylum into a somewhat normal life is thwarted by the harridan he tries to partner up with. We see and applaud his withdrawal from the mayhem.

Look for a bit role filled by a young Tim Robbins.

I used to work at the company that originally put out this film, Vestron Pictures. Vestron had the same problem that a lot of small independent film companies had, they didn't have a lot of money to put into the production values of their films. Not that money alone will buy you a good film. Look at Kevin Costner's Waterworld, for instance.

Sometimes, if you have a talented person in-house doing the acquisitions or development, you can create your own new talent. But at Vestron, there wasn't such a person and they always skimped in some crucial area. In this case, it was on the director and the writer. Which makes it pretty hard to have a decent movie, even with the great ensemble cast this film has.

I think the basic premise of this movie was "Let's put a bunch of quirky characters in a room and see if anything interesting happens." It's an intriguing idea, but not worth your time watching.

Most Vestron films ended up having a very distinctive look and feel to them. My wife and I developed the ability to spot this quality even in non-Vestron films. Many times, we were even able to spot that quality from watching only the trailer or TV ad. We'd sit there, watching the trailer or ad, and afterwards, we'd turn to each, and almost in sync, we'd say, "Now that's a Vestron movie!" This is a Vestron movie.

First-time director Michael Almereyda's innovative comedy is set in a sprawling mansion in the middle of Kansas where Harry Dean Stanton is raising a family of lunatics. Among them are newcomer Suzy Amis as his daughter who has a tenuous grasp on reality and Crispin Glover as his abundantly confused son. If you're a fan of offbeat, unhinged cinema I recommend you track this one down. Featuring Dylan McDermott and Jenny Wright.

This is a great film with an amazing cast. Crispen Glover is at his freakiest . His guitar solo is amazing. Also watch out for a cameo by William Burroughs. Truly a cult classic. This is on my top ten list. Don't miss this twisted film.

A root canal without anesthesia is more amusing. This movie is disturbing and pointless. There is absolutely nothing believable about any of these characters or the plot line. What in God's name were these people thinking when they agreed to star in this movie? The acting in this movie is so incredibly bad - even from actors who are usually pretty damn good. "The In-Laws" is a funny movie. "The Birdcage" is a hilarious movie. "The Big Lebowski" is a humorous movie. This movie is just dumb. I cannot even begin to fathom the kind of sick mind it takes to write the "novel" that this movie is based on. I honestly cannot think of even one nice thing to say about this movie. It just doesn't make any sense. People please - I beg of you - do not see this movie. You will regret it for the rest of your life. This movie is not the worst ever made, but it is definitely right up there on the top of the list.