Gummo

Like his screenplay for the infamous 1995 cult hit Kids, Harmony Korine's first feature is utterly phony, a privileged kid's condescending notion of squalor and moral turpitude. Set in Xenia, Ohio, a city permanently suffering the aftermath of a tornado that tore it to pieces more than two decades previously, it's a monotonous series of anecdotes designed--Korine's protestations to the contrary notwithstanding--to shock and repel. Two dead-eyed kids spend the entire film killing stray cats. Somebody removes a picture from a wall and dozens of insects scamper from behind it, to the consternation of nobody. The cat killers shoot a comatose old lady in the foot with a BB gun to see whether she's still cognizant of her existence, then turn off her respirator, killing her. Etc., etc., etc. There's no point, no story, no character development--just meaningless sensationalism masquerading as social realism. Not recommended. (M. D'Angelo)