Crazy Eyes

Co-writer/director Adam Sherman (through the voice of his stand-in, star Lukas Haas) says at the outset that his comi-tragic L.A. story is mostly true and autobiographical, a kind of brave admission, considering that Zach (Haas)—a young divorced alcoholic with (inexplicably) lots of money—has a listless routine of bicoastal sexual conquests and pub crawls/fights with pals, and is only engaged by custodial visits with his young son. Then Zach meets Rebecca (Madeline Zima), aka “Crazy Eyes,” a Bohemian bar-hopper who, pleading other boyfriends/relationships and alibis, refuses to have sex with Zach, even as she regularly sleeps naked by his side. Zach finds her fascinating (yet still grabs a one-night stand when he can) while doing everything short of date rape—they joke about it—to achieve carnal knowledge of Rebecca. Will their relationship evolve if/when they go all the way? Despite upscale environments, the tone here is not unlike the lowlife addiction-fiction of Charles Bukowski and Hubert Selby, Jr. Against all odds, bits of humanity occasionally surface in self-loathing and oft-loathsome anti-hero Zach, though they will be too few for some viewers' tastes. A strong optional purchase. (C. Cassady)