Directed by:
Burr SteersScreenplay:
Burr SteersCinematography:
Wedigo von SchultzendorffComposer:
Uwe Fahrenkrog-PetersenCast:
Kieran Culkin, Claire Danes, Jeff Goldblum, Jared Harris, Amanda Peet, Ryan Phillippe, Susan Sarandon, Rory Culkin, Celia Weston, Eric Bogosian, Cynthia Nixon (more)Plots(1)
Igby Slocumb (Kieran Culkin), a rebellious and sarcastic seventeen-year-old boy, is at war with the stifling world of "old money" privilege he was born in to. With a schizophrenic father (Bill Pullman), a self-absorbed, distant mother (Susan Sarandon), and a shark-like young republican big brother (Ryan Phillippe), Igby figures there must be a better life out there - and sets about finding it. Happily flunking out of yet another prep school, Igby is sent off to a military academy in the dreaded Midwest. With the aid of his mother's pilfered credit card, he goes on the lam. His darkly comedic voyage eventually lands him in New York, where he hides out at his godfather's (Jeff Goldblum) weekend pied-a-terre. There he encounters a deviant cast of characters, including his godfather's trophy choreographer girlfriend (Amanda Peet) and the terminally bored Sookie Sapperstein (Claire Danes). In his quest to free himself from the oppressive dysfunction of his family, Igby's struggles veer from the comic to the tragic in an ultimately noble attempt to keep himself from "going down." (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (2)
It's just terribly rewarding to watch antisocial bastards messing with others, which is why I enjoy Igby, even if it pisses me off in equal measure. It's actually quite counterproductive for a screenwriter to try to convince the viewer that poor Igby just can’t catch a break when every now and then they pull him out of the lion's den with some horrible deus ex machina. Our hero's adventures lose a lot of their impact as we realize we're watching another one of the countless sociopathic teenagers who don't know what they want. Which I still wouldn't have a problem with if the film wasn't trying to reflect and parody certain social conditions. It pisses me off that the film has no applicability, and it would still piss me off even if it did.
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A fresh and European-sounding story about a boy who somewhat stopped being able to handle life. More than a decade after its creation, I still don't understand how it's possible that it didn't translate into a rocket start to Hollywood heights for Kieran Culkin. This new take on The Graduate can appeal to every age group, and without the unnecessary indulgence of Burr Steers' friend Quentin Tarantino and without talking about vegetarians and the art of rolling joints, Igby could have sunk its teeth in deep. Thanks in part to Claire Danes finally blossoming.
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