Igby Goes Down (2002)

As Good As It Gets

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

There was nothing remotely redeeming about this self-absorbed flick. The disjointed plot which went in all directions at once and the mostly ho-hum performances meant I was barely able to watch this movie through to the end. In general the dialogue was verging on meaningless (and not in a quirky entertaining kind of way in which the writers were presumably hoping for). Many hipster elements also appeared to be just thrown in for colour and (failed) effect. Igby Goes Down suffered from a lack of flow and thoughtfulness and failed to provide the viewer with a cohesive point of view or an original and compelling story line. This film could have been saved from receiving one star from me if it could have evoked in me an ounce of sympathy for the protagonist played by Kieran Culkin. However, mainly due to his acting and partly due to an unfortunate script, my overall impression of Igby was one of nauseating boredom and incomprehension.

Sometimes I find films about eccentric rich families a bit too precious by half. Yes these might be goofy people with strange or unconventional habits, but unless we see some vulnerability, some sense that these characters are not soulless, and that they have some likable qualities, it is hard to muster any interest in their lives. Enough decency and empathy exist in the movie, and enough pain has been experienced that one feels that the behavior in the movie is not implausible or that of nitwits who have never known pain in their lives.This film is about some wealthy, eccentric folks in New York City, including one sensitive, smart boy named Igby (Kieran Culkin) and how he deals with some of the craziness that goes on around him, and in which he becomes involved.I liked this movie. The script was, as mentioned, acerbic without being glib. There is some amazing acting. Susan Sarandon just gets better with age, in this case embodying a woman whose self-absorption is seemingly boundless. Bill Pullman is exceptional as her ex-husband, haunted by the ghosts of mental illness. Ryan Phillippe plays a blue-blood named Oliver who is the half-brother of Igby. He knows he's a blue blood, is proud of it, but still may have a bit more sense than his half-brother who Kieran Culkin plays very well. He conveys the sensitivity, the passions, and the confusion which Igby feels regarding his place in his family and in society. Claire Danes excels as a woman named Sookie who he meets at a party in the Hamptons in whom Igby becomes interested. Jeff Goldblum gets a fun role as a high-rolling real-estate developer (think a more laconic Donald Trump) and he plays it to the hilt. Finally, Amanda Peet is exceptional as a troubled woman named Rachel who Igby also becomes interested in.The script is exceptionally good. It retains its acidity without veering into preciousness. First time director Burr Steers also wrote the script and deserves much credit for coaxing such a great number of excellent performances. New York features in such a lovely manner that it should practically get billing in this film.Ultimately, this is a lovely modern story whose heart might not want to fess up to being decidedly old-fashioned. This is a story about family, about friendship, about the demons that haunt people, and about how humans respond in sometimes mystifying ways.

This film did not give me anything but boredom. It is dysfunctional, dispassionate, heartless and cold. if there are people who talk like that in real life I never want to meet them. I was not shocked or amused in any way.The only time I was moved to anything was a slight smile when DH beat up Igby. Everything else was utterly boring, like the boring lives they lead and the boring way they talk and that hypocritical moralistic Hollywood twist of oh I love my mother even though she is a bitch from hell (xcuse me to all bitches). That actually made me angry.There is no character development in any way, I did not connect to anyone (well maybe Bill Pullman...;-)). It is one short sequence of dispassionate dialog after the other, supposed to be witty (I guess). I THINK it is meant to be sarcastic and dry, I just did not get it (my bad I conclude in all humility).All those good actors...man. I could sometimes glimpse a funny and deep film in there somewhere, but the execution just left an empty, depressing work.I was not entertained or enlightened at all. Badly done.

After seeing this movie, by total accident with a friend of mine, and we were literally BLOWN AWAY by it, i have to say that i thought of Zach Braff's "Garden State" and thinking - these are the two movies that define our generation. These are the films that represent the smart people/youths of today's social overview. One of the normal kid and the other of he slightly intellectual, rebellious type, but ultimately, these are the two films that define the post grunge generation (referred to as "Generation Y").These two movies are what "My Own Private Idaho", "Drugstore Cowboy", "Fight Club", "Singles", "Se7en", "Arizona Dream" and many more were to the 90's - showing most importantly that the "youths of today" aren't all hopeless. There are still those smart kids. Thank god.Oh, and by the way - post-grunge-smart kids still worship Soundgarden, Nirvana, Alice In Chains and all 90's music. Grunge ain't dead. It's a state of mind.