The Chumscrubber (2005)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Arie Posin

Writers:

Arie Posin (story)
Zac Stanford (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 August 2005 (Greece)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Meet Generation Rx

Plot:

The Chumscrubber is a darkly satiric story about life crumbling in the midst of a seemingly idyllic suburbia.

Plot Keywords:

Pill | Drug Dealer | Teen | Suburbia | Bedroom

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jamie Bell	...	Dean
Camilla Belle	...	Crystal
Justin Chatwin	...	Billy
Glenn Close	...	Carrie Johnson
Kathi Copeland	...	Parent #1 (as Kathy Copeland)
Rory Culkin	...	Charlie Stiffle
Thomas Curtis	...	Charlie Bratley
Tim DeKay	...	Mr. Peck
David Ellison	...	Student #1 (as David Ellsion)
William Fichtner	...	Mr. Bill Stiffle
Ralph Fiennes	...	Mayor Michael Ebbs
Richard Gleason	...	Parent #2
Caroline Goodall	...	Mrs. Parker
John Heard	...	Officer Lou Bratley
Susan Hegarty	...	Aide to Mayor Ebbs

Also Known As:

Glück in kleinen Dosen (Germany)
Untitled Arie Posin Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, violent content, drug material and some sexuality.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:15 | Australia:MA | Italy:VM14 | Germany:12 | New Zealand:R13 | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-13 | Argentina:16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Calabasas, California, USA

Company:

El Camino Pictures

Goofs:

Factual errors: The "tuba" that Charlie Bratley plays is not a tuba at all but a euphonium. A band student would know that.

Quotes:

Mrs. Johnson: [at Troy's memorial] It's all my fault. I didn't even know him.
Dean Stiffle: Troy wanted to play guitar in a rock band - be famous. He knew he wasn't any good, so he felt stupid for wishing that. He had a crush on a girl since he was thirteen, but he never talked to her, although I think he wished he had. He was so smart, but he kept his ideas to himself - unless you asked him. He liked you. I think he felt sorry for you. He was afraid he was going to end up like his dad. Troy was my friend. He was my best friend.
[...]

Soundtrack:

Run

Austin Movie Show review

Suburbia pops up on the screen, one house at a time, and it's the most beautiful and peaceful neighborhood you've ever seen… until five minutes later when Dean (Jamie Bell) walks into a room and finds his best friend's dead body hanging by a rope. Chumscrubber writer/director Arie Posin's illustration of suburbia and alienation is as heart breaking as it is hilarious. Kids bury emotion under Prozac, Zantacs, Ritalin, and any other "happiness pills" they can find, while their parents drown their sorrows in one glass of wine after another. In this surreal depiction of life in the 'burbs, every individual is completely self-absorbed and numb to the outside world. A child is kidnapped and his parents never even realize it! So why did I laugh so much? Because every moment of Chumscrubber is either painfully shocking or absurdly hilarious. Posin has created a world where people are completely consumed with drugs, appearances, and "top-tier schools," and the brilliance of it is that he actually makes you want to go back and visit again. And the soundtrack (Placebo, Snow Patrol, The Like) kicks ass!!!