The Anarchist Cookbook (2002)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Jordan Susman

Writer:

Jordan Susman (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Anarchy in the Soufflé

Plot:

A dramedy that centers on a self-procalimed anarchist and his like-minded friends. |

Plot Keywords:

Republican | Neo Nazi | Animal Rights | Drugs | Explosive

Cast

Devon Gummersall	...	Puck
Dylan Bruno	...	Johnny Black
Richard Jackson	...	Campus Security Guard
Gina Philips	...	Karla
Johnny Whitworth	...	Sweeney
Katharine Towne	...	Jody
Steve Van Wormer	...	Double D
Sandi Schultz	...	Moon Child
John Savage	...	Johnny Red
Sabine Singh	...	Gin
Amy Greenspun	...	News Reporter
Scarlett McAlister	...	Caroline
Bo Barron	...	Cool Teen
Marcus Moziek	...	Golden Chick Dude
Todd Terry	...	Judge William Haversford

Also Known As:

The Anarchist (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, sexuality and drug content.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Dallas, Texas, USA

Company:

Freedonia Productions

Trivia:

The college the group takes a tour of in the beginning is the Collin County Community College in Plano.

Quotes:

Johnny Red: The book's not the problem. The problem is the kind of people that look to it for answers.

Movie Connections:

References Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Soundtrack:

Thanks For Nothing

Well thought out, and thought provoking

I worry about movies that use narration over the film once it's started, and The Anarchist Cookbook did just that. However, once it established the setting and helped the audience come up to speed, the film flowed along nicely (meandering at points but puntucated in the "right spots" with flurries of activity) all the while making good use of real-sounding dialog (in parts it echoed actual conversations I've had). I'm not convinced this film is that impressively written, but it presents situations which challenge the characters and the audience to weigh their feelings on some pretty difficult issues in life: not just Anarchy and Nihilism, but friendship, responsiblity and developing as a person.

While most characters as archetypes are joyfully over the top, Johnny Red: the hippie throw-back, Karla: the earnest slut, and Double D: the loveable doofus, you can identify with them because of the situations they find themselves in. In many of the scenes you end up wondering, "Oh crap, what would I do then?"

This Anarchist Cookbook is a well thought out film. All too often you'll find films which leave something hanging, resolve it, then find something new to leave hanging only to resolve later and repeat the process. Then there's films which leave everything hanging and tie (or attempt to tie) it all together at the end. Watching the Anarchist's Cookbook I saw things left hanging all the time, I had to wonder if something mattered at all, and the movie tied up loose ends at it's own pace all throughout. It started out simple (with narration is about as simple as you can start - they even employ the dictionary a couple times) and braided itself together, occasionally ripping itself apart a bit, only to weave back together later. Throughout the whole film, things are being resolved, left open, and brought back up. There are revelations of varying degrees in every scene that left me wondering, where are they going to go after this - like life, this film is quite willing to keep moving, with or without you coming along. Not that you can't catch up later.

There's an incredibly fun scene in a coffee shop: the pacing of this particular scene is one of the flurry moments I mentioned. It's a well filmed scene (you didn't think the mess on a coffee bar could make for some interesting footage?), it's well timed, and the actors really show their chemistry. At that point the main character, Puck, his best friend Double D, and the audience could use a jovial moment - what's more jovial then running amuck behind the espresso bar?

The movie can't really be called a comedy (though it is very funny) and it can't really be called a drama (but there is plenty of that). Even in the serious moments, as the characters make choices that would, in many other films be the "one big choice" of the film. The Anarchist's Cookbook seems doesn't seem terribly concerned about making one big statement, instead, after establishing the characters, pushes them into a situation and tests their reaction. Sometimes it's their lack of reaction that makes the point

Go see this film. You'll leave wondering why it can be so easy to follow, so hard to lead, so easy to lose sight of what you believe in, and so worth it to find it again.