Teen movies are pumped out every year like a vending machine. In these typical flicks, the character’s names have changed, but they’re basically the same people. You’ve got your idiot, leader and outcast as a template to form any teen movie, like baking cookies. The most striking element of individuality in Mike Mill’s Thumbsucker is the attempt at fleshing out the characters and revealing them to be human, not a cartoon. While standard ten fare continues displaying caricatures to get a cheap laugh, writer/director Mills lets his characters create their own comedy.
Thumbsucker- as the title can attest-is a film revolving around Justin Cobb, (Lou Pucci) a teenage boy who is unable to stop sucking his thumb. Some people curl their hair, others bite their nails, but Justin finds infantile comfort in his thumb. His father Mike Cobb, played by Vincent D’Onofrio, is an ex-athlete who prides himself in his masculinity and continues to be ashamed of his thumb-sucking, effeminate son. Embarrassed of his condition, Justin seeks to rid himself of the thumb-sucking vice. This leads him to Perry Lyman, (Keanu Reeves) a dentist having a peculiar interest in new age hypnotherapy. Desperate for a cure, Justin agrees to receive a treatment during a teeth cleaning by the amateur hypnotist-dentist.
The hypnosis backfires, with Justin finding his thumb delicious as ever. Eventually he decides to see a psychiatrist, where he is instantly prescribed Ritalin. Taking the pills for the first time, Justin sits nervously with his mother, Audrey, played by Tilda Swinton. Her demeanor suggests that she may have made a mistake supporting the idea a medicating. At this point in the film, the quirky comedy of the first half is transplanted into a more pointed direction. It becomes a social critique of the perils in mass-medicating our kids.
Justin’s personality changes immediately, evident in his mood swings and newfound aggression. However, to counteract the anti-social behavior, Justin’s attention increases dramatically, shown in a vignette through which he reads the entirety of Moby Dick in one sitting.
Audrey knows now that the psychiatrist’s advice was misguided. She drifts away from the family, due to her overbearing husband and the verbal abuse suffered from her son. Family is replaced by the drug rehab clinic where Audrey works, where she cares for Matt Schramm, a famous television star played by Benjamin Bratt. Soon Justin, with his mind deranged on drugs, suspects his mother of having an affair with Schramm. After suggesting the idea to Mike, he subsequently breaks down and shows his previously unseen vulnerability. These scenes show the bond that finally forms between the father and son. They both realize that they are flawed and equally fragile to life’s unexpected crushing blows.
Mike and Audrey Cobb are given considerable depth, marking a clear detour from the usual teen clichés. Parents are normally portrayed as either tough disciplinarians, aloof to their kid’s needs, or simply fools. D’Onofrio and Swinton are able to encapsulate two people at a moment of transition, unable to voice each other’s confusion. Pucci proves to be an exellent find, in a role which the director auditioned over 100 actors. He represents every awkward high school student, confused as to who they and their friends are. Justin’s constantly cracking voice had me squiring in my seat because it forces you to remember those days when everything you did seemed humiliating.
Surprisingly, Keanu Reeves is a riot as the new age dentist. This should be a hint to Keanu that he should stick to playing quirky supporting roles. While the Bill and Ted voice is still intact after all these years, it works to his advantage as the clueless doctor. By the end, Justin returns to Perry only to see him unshaven and chain-smoking with a look of hopeless despair. The new age façade is gone, as is his spirit, which was ruined by a prank perpetrated by an angry Justin. He sums up the main point of the movie, which is that there is no standard definition of normal. After all the pills and therapy, we’re all still crazy.
Mills does a fantastic job with his feature debut, providing some interesting angles but not letting them stand in the way of the narrative. He gets top performances from all of his actors and really finds his stride about a third of the way in, when the character’s complexities start to show.
"Thumbsucker" opens September 16, 2005 and is rated R. Drama. Directed by Mike Mills. Written by Mike Mills, Walter Kern (novel). Starring Keanu Reeves, Tilda Swinton, Vince Vaughn, Lou Pucci, Vincent DOnofrio, Kelli Garner, Benjamin Bratt.
