Year: 2005
Directed By: Arie Posin
Written By: Arie Posin
RYAN’S REVIEW
If you are asking yourself “what the hell is The Chumscrubber?” then I will join you. I find myself wondering that exact same thing sometimes when I grab a neighboring movie off the rack. This movie has survived on our shelf for years since it came out on DVD and I’m remembering why all over again now that we are watching it. This movie was recommended to us by a friend in college and we were both caught off guard when we really liked it. I can sometimes be too snobbish when it comes to movies and I rarely give these kind of B movies the time of day. There are things I don’t like about this movie but enough things that I can relate to and appreciate that I felt compelled to own it after seeing it.
I have never been a fan of abusing prescription pills. They will eat away at your brain and steal your soul. Most of my experiences with them in the past have been bad and I have personally watched people get lost in the haze created by that crap. I wish this movie had been about a different drug because I can understand and relate to the escape drugs offer during the vulnerable teenage years, but I think pills are too dangerous. What I’m saying is if the movie had been about a simple recreational party drug I would feel more comfortable. Prescription pills, the ones in this movie anyway, are the kind of drug that affect your emotions and change who you are. They aren’t to be toyed with or taken for granted because you can’t control them. You might think you can but before you know it they are controlling you and you don’t even realize it.
I like the message this movie sends about the dangers of irresponsible parenting though. This Alpha Dog-like scenario is only possible because of the inattention of the parents. The kids even continually tell their parents that they have kidnapped this kid but they don’t take them seriously and the situation progresses. This movie highlights a serious problem in our society today because far too many parents fail to understand or pay any attention to their children. I have mentioned before that I like to learn whatever I can from anything that I can and this movie teaches me valuable lessons about parenting. If you fail to pay attention to your kids there are dangerous consequences, but it takes more than just attention. You have to make a concentrated effort to understand them and support them. These are challenges I face in the future with two girls, and I’m glad I have movies like this to remind me how important it is that I do things right. As difficult as it might be, as parents we have to remember to put our children first. It’s easy to get absorbed in out own problems, we are all human, but when that happens it is our children who suffer. Our children are growing, they are developing their personalities and establishing identities of their own. If we as parents ignore who they are becoming then we are equally as responsible when they turn out to have made the completely wrong choices and turned into monsters. We can’t trust them to make the right choices because they don’t know things as we do. Some children are better than others in making their own decisions, but when it comes to that it’s all about knowing your child again. Understanding them well enough to know what they can and can’t handle can allow us to use the appropriate discretion when raising them, and those decisions have to be handled carefully in a well thought out manner. Parenting is no joke, it’s hard as hell and you can’t afford to screw it up because the consequences are too great. Let’s take a lesson from The Chumscrubber, when we fail to do our part and start ignoring them, our children start getting high on pills, committing suicide, or kidnapping and stabbing each other.
I usually write an entire paragraph all about the cast of every movie but I’m really not in the mood to do that right now. This movie has a big ensemble cast that is worth mention but I don’t want to go into all of them, there are bigger names and smaller names but they all do their job well. I must mention Glenn Close not only because she is awesome but because I am a big fan of her work both on The Shield and Damages. I have never heard of Arie Posin and he seems to be a one hit wonder but he made a great movie too many people didn’t see. I have always felt that movies were better and more personal when the director also wrote the script. This is a good example of what I have in mind when I say that.
Now that we near the end of this movie that we haven’t watched in so long I am not only reminded of why we bought it but I am proud to own it. It has truly been too long since I have seen this movie and I will have to make it a point not to wait so long before seeing it again. This is a great movie that gives the viewer a lot to think about. I think you should definitely check this movie out because it is worth your time.
AMBER’S REVIEW
I agree with everything Ryan said above. This film really is a hit at suburban American parents. They aren’t paying attention to what their children are doing, they are just too consumed with their own lives.
This movie revolves around the selling of drugs to high school kids. Most of the kids are taking prescription drugs.The ironic thing is, while the kids are the ones abusing the drugs, the adults in the film are probably the ones that should actually be taking the medications. They are all fucked up in their own way. I want to learn from this movie. I do not want to fall through the cracks and be absent-minded when it comes to my daughters, like the parents in this film.
I know Ryan mentioned Glenn Close being in this film, so I thought I would go on and mention some of the other cast-members. Jamie Bell is the main character, the one the story really revolves around. You may have seen him in King Kong (the newer one, obviously) and Billy Elliot. Camilla Belle plays the cute, popular high school girl. You may have seen her in 10,000 BC or When A Stranger Calls. William Fichtner is also in this film and plays the psychiatrist parent of Jamie Bell. He is a very well-known guy and has been in films like The Dark Knight, Armageddon, and Crash. The last one I will mention is John Heard, who plays Officer Bratley. If you don’t know, he was the dad in Home Alone. Need I say more?
This film is well worth your time, and isn’t known by that many people. If you do watch it, feel free to chime in down in the comments and let us know what you think about it.
NEXT MOVIE: Cinderella Man (2005)
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