Floundering (1994)

In this scathing and subversive social comedy, life in post riot Los Angeles is dissected under the sardonic eye of John Boyz, an unemployed thirty nothing flounderer on Venice Beach who is... See full summary »

Director:

Peter McCarthy

Writers:

Jo Harvey Allen (additional dialogue), John Cusack (additional dialogue),

Stars:

James Le Gros, Shaka, Zander Schloss

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Le Gros	...	John (as James LeGros)
Shaka	...	Shaman
Zander Schloss	...	Catatonic Man
John Cusack	...	JC
Nina Siemaszko	...	Gal
Jeremy Piven	...	Guy
Dolores Deluce	...	Breadstore Clerk (as Dolores Delucé)
Eddie Baytos	...	Paper Thief
Maritza Rivera	...	Elle
Yolanda García	...	Yolanda (as Yolanda Garcia)
Ángel García	...	Pepe (as Angel Garcia)
Tom Cortese	...	Drug Dealer
Therman Statom	...	Drug Buyer
Margaret McNally	...	Westsider
Anna Wacks	...	Westside Kid

Storyline

In this scathing and subversive social comedy, life in post riot Los Angeles is dissected under the sardonic eye of John Boyz, an unemployed thirty nothing flounderer on Venice Beach who is trying to figure out what to do with his life. John can't be bothered with apathy, but no matter how much he wants to help people, he is too immobilized to do anything useful. Haunted by chronic insomnia and impending sense of doom, all he can do is watch, and John is an avid observer. Through his voyeuristic binoculars, he struggles to make sense of all the alienation and disaffection he sees in his neighborhood. In his journal he meticulously chronicles the mundane down to steadfast march of ants across his kitchen counter. John is desperately trying to keep one meaningless day from blending into next. He compulsively watches homemade videos of LA riots looking for a clue. But everywhere around him the city's social fabric is coming apart at the seams, and now it is John Boys's own threadbare ...

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Plot Keywords:

los angeles california | venice california | independent film

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language, sexuality and drug use, and for some violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

January 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Haltlos

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Front Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

John: V.D.? Who the fuck wants V.D.?

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Soundtracks

"My Home Is a Burnin'"
Performed by Robert Lucas
Composed by Robert Lucas

User Reviews

Slight, but entertaining and with an (future) A-list cast

James LeGros stars as John Boyz in this interesting little indie-flick with some interesting themes, perhaps a little more than it can tackle, but with a great cast of (future) stars. No matter how casual LeGros moves about in his slacker L.A. dreamworld, the film is fast-paced and moves quickly from one scene to another, with hardly any scene lasting more than a couple of minutes. The limited number of votes on the IMDb is surprising, considering the number of stars in this film, including John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, Billy Bob Thornton, Ethan Hawke.

Truly one of the highlights is when Billy Bob Thornton sells James LeGros a gun, son of a gun Thornton! He steals it, definitely.

The philosophy is not very lasting. The conservation with his father talking about sending the army into America's inner cities after the L.A. riots, since they control the country already. 'I think that's called fascism, dad.' And then the topic it's dropped and the film contains some more of these quasi-philosophical intakes, not very strong. And you don't wanna see James Le Gros dancing when he's drunk.

The whole thing is primitively filmed, it almost feels like a home movie, with the low key and somewhat amateurish score, but as a whole a slight but still quite an engrossing film.

Camera Obscura --- 7/10