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Nowhere
(directed by Gregg Araki, 1997)
Nowhere is the third and final part of Gregg Araki's "Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy." The second part was a 1995 movie, which I loved, called The Doom Generation. I have not seen the very first part, yet -- Totally F**ked Up. Another film by Araki that I've seen is Mysterious Skin, an intriguing film about aliens, child molestation and a gay prostitute. There are several more Araki creations which I still need to check out.
This one, Nowhere, was unfortunately somewhat of a let down, but not without some interesting qualities. While The Doom Generation, a radical dark comedy road movie through Hell (starring Rose McGowan at her best), focused mainly on a small group of characters, Nowhere is an all out blowout of people, many played by well known celebrities (Christina Applegate, Scott Caan, Ryan Phillipe, Heather Graham, Denise Richards, Mena Suvari, Beverly D'Angelo, etc.) Most are cameos -- but the weird thing is that they seemed like more than cameos. That's because there's not really any good character development in this film. Bizarre scenes with people come and go, as if in some violent porno movie. The film deals with teens from the mid-90's who are all experimenting with drugs and free love. The lead character is played by the amazing James Duval, a very welcomed addition since he was also one of the leads in The Doom Generation. He spends quite a bit of time in this movie totally naked and/or being stalked by aliens or trying to get his girlfriend (Rachel True) to stay attached to him -- and nobody else. Except for a girl called Egg (Sarah Lassez), who gets raped by a sexy star from Baywatch, James Duval's character, Dark, is really the only person in the movie that you'll care for.
Like The Doom Generation, this movie is also filled with all kinds of crazy quotes spoken by the counter culture teens -- "Blood is cool!" "Dogs eating people is cool!" "I'd rather have my ball hairs burned off with an acetylene torch!" "Hey Jana, isn't that your muff diving little sister over there with her disgusting boscoe-flavored girlfriend?" "Lucifer, you are so dumb you should donate your brain to a monkey science fair." "This party's about as much fun as an ingrown butt hair." "Isn't sex the best tension release there is? It's like a really good sweaty game of racquetball. Except you get to come at the end."
I am not sure how, as a trilogy, this movie ties in with The Doom Generation, except that they both had James Duval and Rose McGowan and the people speak pretty much the same language. I suspect there is some larger point being made -- one that I think has to do with the youth of America being lost and damaged. But sadly, since I still haven't seen the first film and I haven't given much thought and analysis to the whole thing, I can't say for certain what's really going on and what it all means. I just know that I have seen a lot of gay guys, aliens, drag queens, angry teens, bisexuals and a lot of stuff that is shown on the characters' own TV screens. Nowhere shows a lot of John Ritter playing a TV religious guru trying to get people to call a 1-800 number and be saved through Moses.
All I really know is that I liked The Doom Generation more than this. Perhaps that deserves its own review. Perhaps after I see Totally F**ked Up I can sit down and write something for all of you guys who are so eager to hear what I have to say. In short and brutally honest -- Nowhere is a complete mess of a movie and it's actually more sweeter and sappier than The Doom Generation, which disappoints me. I will probably watch this one again... but in no hurry. The sad thing is I feel like I need to watch it again because I wasn't totally there with it the first time... and that's the movie's fault. Not mine.
(directed by Gregg Araki, 1997)
Nowhere is the third and final part of Gregg Araki's "Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy." The second part was a 1995 movie, which I loved, called The Doom Generation. I have not seen the very first part, yet -- Totally F**ked Up. Another film by Araki that I've seen is Mysterious Skin, an intriguing film about aliens, child molestation and a gay prostitute. There are several more Araki creations which I still need to check out.
This one, Nowhere, was unfortunately somewhat of a let down, but not without some interesting qualities. While The Doom Generation, a radical dark comedy road movie through Hell (starring Rose McGowan at her best), focused mainly on a small group of characters, Nowhere is an all out blowout of people, many played by well known celebrities (Christina Applegate, Scott Caan, Ryan Phillipe, Heather Graham, Denise Richards, Mena Suvari, Beverly D'Angelo, etc.) Most are cameos -- but the weird thing is that they seemed like more than cameos. That's because there's not really any good character development in this film. Bizarre scenes with people come and go, as if in some violent porno movie. The film deals with teens from the mid-90's who are all experimenting with drugs and free love. The lead character is played by the amazing James Duval, a very welcomed addition since he was also one of the leads in The Doom Generation. He spends quite a bit of time in this movie totally naked and/or being stalked by aliens or trying to get his girlfriend (Rachel True) to stay attached to him -- and nobody else. Except for a girl called Egg (Sarah Lassez), who gets raped by a sexy star from Baywatch, James Duval's character, Dark, is really the only person in the movie that you'll care for.
Like The Doom Generation, this movie is also filled with all kinds of crazy quotes spoken by the counter culture teens -- "Blood is cool!" "Dogs eating people is cool!" "I'd rather have my ball hairs burned off with an acetylene torch!" "Hey Jana, isn't that your muff diving little sister over there with her disgusting boscoe-flavored girlfriend?" "Lucifer, you are so dumb you should donate your brain to a monkey science fair." "This party's about as much fun as an ingrown butt hair." "Isn't sex the best tension release there is? It's like a really good sweaty game of racquetball. Except you get to come at the end."
I am not sure how, as a trilogy, this movie ties in with The Doom Generation, except that they both had James Duval and Rose McGowan and the people speak pretty much the same language. I suspect there is some larger point being made -- one that I think has to do with the youth of America being lost and damaged. But sadly, since I still haven't seen the first film and I haven't given much thought and analysis to the whole thing, I can't say for certain what's really going on and what it all means. I just know that I have seen a lot of gay guys, aliens, drag queens, angry teens, bisexuals and a lot of stuff that is shown on the characters' own TV screens. Nowhere shows a lot of John Ritter playing a TV religious guru trying to get people to call a 1-800 number and be saved through Moses.
All I really know is that I liked The Doom Generation more than this. Perhaps that deserves its own review. Perhaps after I see Totally F**ked Up I can sit down and write something for all of you guys who are so eager to hear what I have to say. In short and brutally honest -- Nowhere is a complete mess of a movie and it's actually more sweeter and sappier than The Doom Generation, which disappoints me. I will probably watch this one again... but in no hurry. The sad thing is I feel like I need to watch it again because I wasn't totally there with it the first time... and that's the movie's fault. Not mine.