The Chumscrubber (2005)

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

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Nov. 27

1:20 AM

MAX

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:

Continuity: When Dean is trashing his room, he whips the chair away from the desk. When the camera cuts back to the desk, the chair is still there.

Quotes:

Crystal Falls: [Billy is playing Charlie's tuba] What are you doing?
Billy: I was thinking of going out for marching band. It seems to be what all the chicks are into, you know?
Crystal Falls: Yeah, Charlie nailed me all night long.
[Billy throws down the tuba, destroying it]
Crystal Falls: Oh my god, Billy - why would you do that?
Billy: Because I'm a stupid bastard?

Soundtrack:

Pure Morning

Not just another teen movie

I just saw this at Sundance, and I sincerely hope this film ends up with distributor and a good marketing campaign, because it is worthy of a wider audience. What was particularly interesting was listening to the director's comments after the film. He pointed out that his biggest challenge in working with this extremely talented ensemble cast was making sure everyone was on the same page in terms of mood. "It's not exactly a drama and it's not exactly a comedy," he said. "We didn't want them playing for laughs, although there are some comedic moments, obviously." Now, usually when movies can't figure out their tone, it's a kiss of death. But this film succeeded because of, not despite, it's delving into the gray area between drama and comedy. The result was a movie about teens that didn't play like a "teen movie," at all. It doesn't exploit and it doesn't play down to any sort of perceived teen audience. Part of that was due to the excellent cast. Jamie Bell was sensational. The adults were equally solid, particularly Glenn Close. I'm interested in seeing how this film is marketed. Some comments I've seen have been critical of the title, but it makes perfect sense once you know the story. All in all, this is one of those movies that obviously started with a great story — full of dramatic tension and social satire — and built from there. All too rare these days.