S.F.W

Way, way ahead of it's time (similarly themed films made years after were Natural Born Killers, Mad City, Truman Show), this is, quite simply, a life-altering, mind-altering film which zeroes in on and then embodies the zeitgeist of the nineties. See this film, take a look at the world surround you (especially western popular culture), and think about it. It's also pretty f***in' funny.

One of those uber nineties movies that critiqued the media and tried to be edgy. These movies look somewhat ridiculous today. (Though the Chase with Charlie Sheen at least managed to be funny). Part of the problem is that the underlying philosophy is a value free world weariness which when put on film comes across as spoiled, stupid, and self indulgent laziness. And since movies are essentially THEE dominant form of media, criticizing media's omnipresence or vanity comes across as blithely self deluded. That said the cast does the best with what they have.... which generally rounds out to putting as much emphasis on their turn to curse as possible. The plot..... if it can be called that makes very very little sense if you stop to think about for more than half a second. The central event of movie is never so much explained as much as it brought back in choppy flashbacks in order to remind the audience about why were following these characters. Better time could be spent watching a smarter film on the topic. I suggest Network.

All that being said, I can't completely hate a movie with this great of a soundtrack. The fact that almost a minute of screen time is given over to the band Gwar makes it at least retain some value. I've also noticed that music from the 50's - 70's is thrown into movies at all different times. But the only time you hear 90s music is in 90's era movies. It's almost as though Gen X in their nihilism forgot to leave any lasting mark on culture.

I'm not trying to say that this movie is the greatest movie ever made, but I feel that it is too bad that more people do not know about S.F.W. It's a bit hard to believe the plot, but since when have movie plots played within the guidelines of normal society. Stephen Dorff gives an amazing performance as Cliff Spab. This was the first movie I ever saw him in, and seeing S.F.W. really made me think he is destined for big things. I liked how the story shifted from past to present constantly. This way, you had to wait until the end of the movie to find out what happened at the beginning. Makes it all the more intriguing. I love this movie, and most people would too if they gave it half a chance.

The plot is cliched. In fact I could have sworn I have seen it many many times before. It is almost "Mad City" except it is better. It is the story of a hostage who has been aired for 36 straight days and has become a celebrity. His most famous quote is S.F.W. or So F***ing What. The worst thing that I could see about the movie was its language, and if the bleeps were not there on the parts that were supposed to be on television, I would swear that this had the most F-words and any other swearing than even Goodfellas. But, it did not bother me.

This movie stresses me, and it should. It is about what the media was when the movie came out. Instead of the mind-controlling media that it is currently, see "Mad City," it used to be fickle, and still is a little, and change with the public. One day the media could hate the pres and the next it could love him for the same action. This is instead of trying to force everybody to hate the pres.

The movie is a little confusing because of the editing. It starts with day 36 of the crisis, and then moves forward. We only see the crisis in flashbacks. You never learn what the terrorists are about, and it does not really matter. What does matter is that they held Spab and Wendy hostage for 36 days and aired every minute on TV.

This is pure Gen-X stuff. But, it is good for everybody else if you can get past the language. It actually has something to say about society and how everybody is sheep. They all follow everybody else without knowing why. They change at the drop of a hat. And they all want a piece of the leader.

This is not really a comedy, and not really an action or drama. It is non-conformist which is good. Watch this movie, and you will automatically mull it over. Then, watch it again. You won't see everything the first time around. This is a high-rate film, but a it has low points. 8/10

A young man becomes famous due to a horrific situation. Now he has to live with the fame and the memories that it brings. There seem to be too many characters, that are developed only to be left with without discussion after their scene. Stephen Dorff does a great job, which is important, since the movie is mostly watching him walk around and deal with the stresses of his fame. The flashbacks seem to do a good job of show his traumatic stress disorder.

The sound track is great, with a special appearance by GWAR.

See it or not. As the main character says "So F**king What?"