S.F.W. (1994)

Director:

Jefery Levy

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

20 January 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Fate made them hostages. The media made them stars.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Teenager | Brother Sister Relationship | Profanity In Title | FBI Agent | Sex

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)

Also Known As:

So Fucking What? (USA) (long title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:MA | Denmark:16 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:16 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

A&M Films

Trivia:

Assuming Bill Murray's character married Andie MacDowell's character from Groundhog Day (1993), we meet Phil and Rita Connors in the elevator.

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

Barbara 'Babs' Wyler: [shouts] Everything matters!
[fires bullets at Spab and Wendy]

Soundtrack:

Speedball

Vicious assault on the media

S.F.W.

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Dolby Stereo

A feckless young man (Stephen Dorff) becomes an unlikely celebrity after surviving a televised hostage ordeal in his local convenience store, but he's unable to reconcile the tragedy of the siege - in which his best friend (Jack Noseworthy) was killed - with the exaggerated version of events peddled by a ratings-hungry media.

Jefery Levy's cult-movie wannabe pairs Dorff alongside relative newcomer Reese Witherspoon in a vicious assault on the contemporary media, depicted here as a soulless entity concerned solely with ratings and money (yeah, so what else is new?). The message is obvious, but Levy and co-scriptwriter Danny Rubin (GROUNDHOG DAY) revel in their own daring: Dorff and Witherspoon play ordinary characters who emerge from an extraordinary situation and are forced to confront their unexpected (and unwanted) fame. However, Levy's unflattering view of modern journalism (symbolized by John Roarke as a variety of thinly-disguised real-life TV celebrities who feed off other people's misery, and Gary Coleman in a fleeting, self-deprecating cameo) seems a little distorted and misleading, though clearly filtered through the lead character's personal viewpoint. Dorff himself is terrific, as always, playing a charismatic and foul-mouthed Everyman, scornful of the manner in which his personal misfortune has been manipulated to feed the expectations of a mindless, sensation-hungry audience. But there are moments when the screeching soundtrack fades abruptly to silence and Levy concentrates on Dorff's haunted face as he recalls key events - good and bad - from the siege, and the friendships that were forged and destroyed under extreme duress. The movie doesn't say anything new, but the execution is invigorating.

Look out for an early appearance by Tobey Maguire as a young stoner who thinks he's died and gone to heaven when he and his buddy (Dana Allan Young) encounter their idol Dorff on an empty street (a truly hilarious sequence). Steve Antin cameos as a news reporter named after his character in the equally odd INSIDE MONKEY ZETTERLAND, helmed by Levy in 1992.