S.F.W. (1994)

An alienated and misanthropic teenager gains sudden and unwanted celebrity status after he's taken hostage by terrorists where his indifference to their threats to kill him makes news headlines.

Director:

Jefery Levy

Writers:

Andrew Wellman (novel), Danny Rubin (screenplay),

Stars:

Stephen Dorff, Reese Witherspoon, Jake Busey

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stephen Dorff	...	Cliff Spab
Reese Witherspoon	...	Wendy Pfister
Jake Busey	...	Morrow Streeter
Joey Lauren Adams	...	Monica Dice
Pamela Gidley	...	Janet Streeter
David Barry Gray	...	Scott Spab
Jack Noseworthy	...	Joe Dice
Richard Portnow	...	Gerald Parsley
Edward Wiley	...	Mr. Spab
Lela Ivey	...	Mrs. Spab
Natasha Gregson Wagner	...	Kristen
Annie McEnroe	...	Dolly
Virgil Frye	...	Earl
Francesca P. Roberts	...	Kim Martin
Soon-Tek Oh	...	Milt Morris (as Soon Teck Oh)

Storyline

Cliff Spab is a guy who doesn't really care about anything. He gets held hostage at a store for 36 days by terrorists, who demand that the entire thing be broadcast on national television. Cliff ends up taking a bullet for fellow hostage Wendy - making him a national hero. The two are the sole survivors of the ordeal, and soon become prisoners of the media. Cliff escapes it all, only to find himself being pushed further away from Wendy when he needs her most.

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Plot Keywords:

hostage | celebrity | television | teenager | media | 

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Taglines:

Fate made them hostages. The media made them stars.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive strong language, scenes of brutal violence, constant drug and alcohol use and some sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 January 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

So Fucking What?

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Gross:

$63,649 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

A&M Films, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Propaganda Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Jefery Levy wanted to include material from Nirvana, particularly the song "All Apologies", on the S.F.W. soundtrack. Though the music was never obtained, Levy said an early cut of S.F.W. was screened for singer Kurt Cobain who "responded" to the film. Later, following Cobain's death, Levy said that he found the parallels between S.F.W. and Cobain's life to be quite eerie.

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Goofs

During the last flashback, Spab is seen pulling out an Uzi that he had never acquired.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Cliff Spab: Wendy?
Wendy Pfister: Spab?
Cliff Spab: Wendy.
Wendy Pfister: Spab.
Cliff Spab: Wendy.
Wendy Pfister: Spab.
Cliff Spab: So are we gettin' married or what?
Wendy Pfister: Hey, guy. You fucking know it.

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Crazy Credits

The GWAR video seen in the movie follows the credits in its entirety.

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Connections

References Groundhog Day (1993)

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Soundtracks

"All Systems Go"
Written by Nikki Bernard
Courtesy of Capitol/OGM Production Music

User Reviews

Cool!

I'm not trying to say that this movie is the greatest movie ever made, but I feel that it is too bad that more people do not know about S.F.W. It's a bit hard to believe the plot, but since when have movie plots played within the guidelines of normal society. Stephen Dorff gives an amazing performance as Cliff Spab. This was the first movie I ever saw him in, and seeing S.F.W. really made me think he is destined for big things. I liked how the story shifted from past to present constantly. This way, you had to wait until the end of the movie to find out what happened at the beginning. Makes it all the more intriguing. I love this movie, and most people would too if they gave it half a chance.