Floundering (1994) User Reviews

Better than its reputation

[DennisLittrell · 7/10 · 11 February 2002]

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon.)

This sixties time-warped retro kind of "power to the people" nineties flick is mostly a procession of set pieces, some of which are not bad. The bit at the gun store with Billy Bob Thornton was superb. The crack philosophers scene was also very good. And the way "What's So Funny ‛Bout Peace, Love and Understanding?" was sung so badly was just perfectola. (Actually that's "What's So Bad about Peace, Love and Understanding?" but whatever...)

And the way that big silver fish popped those gold fish...gulp!

I think some of the negative comments about this movie ought to be greeted with a "Whoa, dudes--get a sense of humor." Or, "Don't be offended, man, it's only a movie." Or maybe, "Uh, the soundtrack is awesome, dude." (Oh, god, people really did talk like that!) The dream sequences fooled me at least twice. They were funny. Funniest line: when the trash lady pulls her rifle out of her cart and says "Vive la Revolution!" Second funniest line: "What kind of music do you want to hear?" "The farm report."

Okay, this was no masterpiece, and any episodic movie sans plot is not going to rival The Godfather here at IMDb. And James LeGros ain't no Marlon Brando. And if you've ever been to Venice Beach...well, you know it's a freak show. But I think director and screen writer Peter McCarthy did a nice job of bringing that slacker street scene to life. I think the big mistake was to headline actors like Steve Buscemi, John Cusack, Ethan Hawke, and Billy Bob Thornton when they only had cameos. That should have been made clear up front. And there was more than a touch of the kind of sixties moral pretension that we've all grown a little tired of. But bottom line for me, this was a funny movie.

I liked it, but. . .

[DuChamp-3 · 6/10 · 17 August 1999]

Floundering is a film I could really relate with when I was fresh out of college, lost and feeling overwhelmed. It is well acted. Direction is passable, though not real important. It's well written if you don't mind breaking the cardinal rule of not having an interior monologue Voiced-over the whole movie by the protagonist. It's THAT kind of movie - where the most interesting action takes place in the characters' head and fantasies. It was also written in Los Angeles immediately following the Riots - which dates the film to anyone who has no memories of the event or climate of the time. (Merryl Fence = Daryl Gates. . . ) This is a character-driven film about a guy in a very confused, bad head-space. And it's good. . .until the end where the Elvis Costello kicks in and the theme of the film is kicked into your teeth with lots of bad singing. For anyone who has been 24 and depressed in the 90's, I'd recommend.

1990's Artifact Devolves Into Poli-Cor, But Has Its Moments

[norton833 · 5/10 · 31 December 2008]

WARNING: BIG SPOILERS.

Floundering is an obvious attempt by its director to both make his mark on the then-burgeoning Indie scene and make a Big Statement about the World, using Los Angeles as its synecdoche. It alternates between clever, brilliant, cloying, oppressively politically correct and/or strident, and painfully sophomoric. It is fun to watch, though ultimately as much as a train wreck than anything else.

The film concerns a character named apparently named John Boy, who drifts through a series of bizarre events, Candide-style, and makes wry philosophical observations about life and the state of the political world (LA in particular, and by extension, the USA) along the way. John is an interesting, flawed character, and his interactions with the people around him reveal both the craziness of the world and John's own flaws and foibles (his narcissism, for a start). There are clever little moments, dream sequences, odd little bits that seem improvised, all in this weird mix.

At about ¾ of the way through, I still felt I was watching a pretty good, if strongly flawed, movie. But then things take a turn toward hackneyed Hollywood cliché, and probably in an attempt at parody, but, if so, it's carried out so ineptly that it's impossible to tell. Additionally, the political views of the film seem to devolve until a combination of grumblings of "revolution" and a bone-stupid subplot involving perhaps the most thinly-disguised character in film history, "Merril Fence" (for those too young to remember 1992, he's supposed to be Daryl Gates…nudge, nudge, wink, wink) pretty much swallows the film whole and craps it out, and what's left is…crap.

The film is loaded, by the way with (a) some surprising cameos (John Cusack, Ethan Hawke), (b) lots of "before-they-were-famous" appearances (Viggo Morgensen, Billy Bob Thornton), and, for obvious reasons of tribute, the film is absolutely loaded with (c) references with Alex Cox's 1980's cult masterpiece, Repo Man, from which it also borrows some of its attitude, the rest of which it cops from Spike Lee's early films and Richard Linklater's Slacker.

Floundering ends with a one-two punch of feel-good poli-cor schmaltz, followed by absolutely the worst rendition of an New Wave pop song from the 80's you have ever heard, or will ever hear, by what one can only hope is an ad hoc folk duo, whom are suddenly joined by pretty much the entire cast of the movie. They might have well have just raised a white flag reading "WTF?". Still not as bad as Troll 2.

If you think you might be crazy, this is your film

[mikeaycock · 16 August 2000]

This movie saved me from suicide.

This is not a feel good movie for people who already feel good or people who feel bad and want to stay that way. It is for people who feel that something is wrong, about the world, about themselves, about life as they know it. They want to fix what's wrong but they don't have the energy, the knowledge or the power to do it.

Nobody wants to be the main character, Jon, but if you were ever a unemployed college graduate, who smokes. drinks, fornicates, and thinks too much, you know how he feels and have had at least one day like his. The only difference is he snaps. Most of us dont snap because we are afraid of what we might do. What the movie shows is the results would probably be more ridiculous than terrifying.

Don't Be Fooled By Cast

[withnail-4 · 2/10 · 29 April 2000]

If you rent this one hoping to see Steve Buscemi, John Cusack or Ethan Hawke, don't bother. None of them has more than 2 minutes on screen. On the other hand, the main character, who is in every scene, is played by a terribly uninteresting, amateurish performer. He comes off as shallow, which means death for this movie, since 1. the movie revolves around this one character, and 2. the character is suppose to be a thoughtful "outsider" type. The movie suffers from many of the usual independant film problems: unconvincing sets, bad acting(takes that shouldn't have gotten near the final cut)without the edge that makes indies worth while(the ending is actually more syrupy than the average Hollywood flic.

Riddled with early 90s cliches

[LawnBoy-4 · 2/10 · 3 November 2000]

Oy.

Ever watched a film that was so gratuitous in its depiction of a certain year/era that it came across as laughable? Welcome to "Floundering"!

I can almost see the wheels turning in the head of the writer of this script as he watched the L.A. riots go down. "Hey! I can capitalize on this by churning out a disaffected script designed to play/capitalize on all of society's current ills while taking a cue from the (MUCH better) 'Slacker'!".

Look, I'm all for films with messages (twisted or otherwise, ala "Repo Man", "The Last Big Thing"), but this film failed miserably, thanks to its continuous depiction of the L.A. Riots as more of a form of voyeuristic entertainment than that of a true tragedy. In fact, the riots obviously BENEFITED the writer and director because it gave them a subject for a film!

Finally, the scene in which our "hero" shoots the outrageously exaggerated police chief allows the makers of this film to reach new lows. Again, the thought process: "Lesse here! Guy is troubled by all of the violence taking place in society and by the widespread insensitivity and hate running rampant. The cure? Kill somebody else, all in the name of 'snapping'!".

Rent something more substantive. May I recommend a VCR tape head cleaner?

It's become a part of my life

[clujo · 10/10 · 13 November 1999]

I have watched that movie so many times and it has made me think a lot about my own life. This is the first movie that ever had such an impact on me, I never thaught a movie could be this personal and touching, I guess I thaught only a book could do this. I wanna say thanks to Peter McCarthy for making that film ! and James LeGros for doing such a great job with it.

Wow. What a bad movie.

[geoff-29 · 1/10 · 21 April 1999]

You walk into the video store, instantly forgetting the movies you wanted to see. You stroll through the aisles aimlessly, until spotting at a dusty jacket that proclaims: Steve Buscemi! John Cusack! Ethan Hawke! Kim Wayans!

Do yourself a favor: Slowly walk away. This is a truly awful movie. It's hard to describe just how awful it is. "One hundred minutes of frustration" comes close. It makes "My Dinner With Andre" look like "Die Hard". James LeGros is at his vacuous worst as the main character, and those stars on the cover have a combined 45 seconds of on-screen time.

Just trying to warn you that this movie should be in the "Rent At Your Own Risk" section

Worth watching , rare find

[davidmiannotti · 8/10 · 27 September 2006]

This is a little movie with big things to say. There are some genuinely funny, thought provoking, and disturbing moments in this film. I was surprised to see it rated so low. Certainly not intended to be an academy award candidate nonetheless this film shines in its own way. Floundering takes you on a strange and comical trip that at times poignantly illuminates the absurd realities of modern life. This film takes on many issues through the "floundering" character of Le Gros; recycling, violence,sexuality, drug abuse, wealth disparity, family loss,mental health, and human fraternity to name a few. Look for some great cameos from the likes of Steve Buscemi, Billy Bob Thornton, and Kim Wayans.

Bleeding-heart mess

[chas77 · 2/10 · 23 February 1999]

For die-hard, slacker, bleeding-heart liberals only. Like what one of the other reviewers said, everyone agrees that racism, greed, etc. are wrong. This film belts the viewer over the head with such heavy-handed, preachy messages for so long, I defy you not to stumble out of your living room without a sizable migraine headache once the film finally ends. Speaking of endings, this one, with the entire cast and crew singing "What's so bad about peace, love and understanding?" was incredibly idiotic. Good L.A. locations (Venice, etc.) are wasted in this incredibly unrealistic look at a bad day in the life of a slacker you never end up caring about it.

Uneven, but interesting Gen X black comedy.

[Infofreak · 14 October 2002]

Peter McCarthy writer/director of 'Floundering' had a hand in both 'Repo Man' and 'Tapeheads' and that may give you a little bit of an idea where this odd little movie is coming from, but not much. It really is very difficult to categorize. It's an almost stream of consciousness Gen X black comedy that often feels and looks like it's semi improvised. Several sequences completely fall flat, but then it'll bounce back with something genuinely original or inspired. James LeGros ('Drugstore Cowboy', 'Living In Oblivion') stars as a sensitive but confused slacker type who wrestles with his social conscience. The movie shows him going through a crisis period where his whole life falls apart. The movie features an impressive supporting cast of name actors (Buscemi, Cusack, Hawke, Billy Bob Thornton), musicians, weirdos and Alex Cox regulars Sy Richardson and Biff Yeager, even Cox himself appears in a brief cameo. The movies jumps between social realism and surrealism, quirky comedy and darker, more depressing material. It can often be quite frustrating to watch but it's still one of the most interesting and unusual indie movies to come out of the 1990s. Recommended for Alex Cox fans in particular, and fans of the offbeat in general.

An Epic movie that blew me away

[tikitina68 · 9/10 · 17 March 2005]

In a time when the majority of us forget what happened yesterday, this movie will preserve a cancer on our country, and a moment in time that was indeed depressing and sad. This is one of the most real movies I've ever seen. The soundtrack is incredible, along with everyone who played in it. It isn't just a history lesson, it's a lesson in humanity and the fact is that this occurrence has forever changed the future makes it a truly awesome film. This movie is not for your typical small-minded, Hollywood fluff viewer. I would suggest anyone with a progressive bent for music and movies, and anyone who has stepped off the beaten path- see this movie. One more thing, considering this movie is from 1994, and today it's 2005 and that I own this movie and only got here because I was looking for information on one of the artists because I watched it again yesterday....it's a great film.

More films should try to be like this!

[readams · 8/10 · 28 January 2000]

FLOUNDERING has the kind of insight and genuinely profound and engaged thinking that most "serious" Hollywood films only wish they had. As a whole work, it goes a little astray when it gets caught up in the need to have a traditional "plot" - the last third isn't nearly as good as the first - but its honest humour and sensitivity far outweigh its shortcomings. The cameos work, especially Steve Buscemi's, and add to the movie's appeal. I bought this movie on video so I could watch it again and again, whenever I need to remember that films really CAN be thoughtful, creative and original.

The movie flounders

[Scoopy · 26 October 1998]

How can good intentions go so awry?

The movie has the right things to say. It attacks greed, racism, corporate indifference, and shallow relationships, and it features cameos by such interesting people as Steve Buscemi. John Cusack, and Billy Bob Thornton.

Unfortunately, it lacks one thing one usually looks for in a comedy, namely humor. It just isn't very funny.

Our hero has a really bad hair day. His girl is with another guy when he shows up early for a date. His brother breaks out of rehab, gets wasted and now thinks our hero is the devil. His bank accounts are possessed by the IRS. His unemployment runs out. His idealistic high school teacher has become a racist greedhead. He is pursued in a drive-by shooting.

He O.D.'s. He is sodomized after he passes out. ....Well, you get the point.

There are two ways to attack a hateful target. One is to use the sharp eye of satire, the other is to say "hey, that stinks". This movie does the latter. It uses the Beavis and Butthead level of analytical depth.

Unfortunately, everyone knows that racism stinks, and they go to movies to be entertained. Viewers may agree with the ideas in this one, and so they may feel good when he strikes back, but not many people will be entertained by it.

Sophomoric.

The Crystal Ship

[lordwhorfin · 10/10 · 9 February 2000]

"Everyone thinks racism is wrong."

Really?

"Sophomoric."

But aren't we all sophomores when we flounder?

Well then, I suppose this movie needn't have been made.

These judgements come from other comments on this film.

They will not be borne out in mine.

A truly remarkable coming-of-silliness take on coming-of-age films, this movie will p**s off those who dislike surrealism. This film, detailing the miserable turns that James Le Gros's life in LA takes, is NOT needle-tip satire. Like "Kicked in the Head", this film treats its audience as insiders to the joke.

As such, it treats viewers as intelligent, and alert to the weird angles at which the the plot zips off into a new scenario. My particular pleasure in this film comes from Peter McCarthy's ability to run the show without making the film seem choppy.

Far from vacuous, Le Gros is poignant and low key. His 'Cezanne' was one of the high marks in "The Myth of Fingerprints", and this film gives a good introduction to his style.

The objections to this film seem largely based on its perceived political sentiments; a shallow reading leads to a shallow conclusion.

If you liked "Tape Heads", "Kicked in the Head", "The Doom Generation" (or anything by Greg Araki), and "The Myth of Fingerprints", then likely this film is for you.

People who tire easily should seek their pleasures elsewhere.

A West Coast "Clerks" for the unemployed in the 90's

[somehope · 8/10 · 23 November 2008]

A perfect slacker film that is re-watchable without missing a beat anytime. This film has several plots as James LeGros' ("Living in Obilivion's" could-be-Brad Pitt clone) John Boyz deals with life in L.A.after the last (and hopefully, for everybody, the LAST) riot there.

It's kind of like Richard Linklater's "Slacker" and "Waking Life" except it focuses on Boyz in his hood. (There's even a joke about that.) There are cameos galore -- Steve Buscemi, Ethan Hawke, John Cuscak, some of the old "In Living Color" cast, etc. -- and since it was filmed in the L.A. area it contains actual footage (stock and directed) of the area during the infamous 90's wake-up call. My bet: just follow John around: he'll offend you; he'll do weird things with his mind (with or without drugs); and God knows he'll make you say WTF?, but his ride his never boring once you get to know him. So ride along with him, and wish him well as he fades out into the sunset, because if anybody can be John Boyz, it is us.

floundering is a good movie

[yuki_doll · 14 June 2003]

floundering is a good movie i don't care if it is "indie" or isn't cool enough to be indie. steve buscemi, john cusack or ethan hawke are fine in the movie and serve their purpose well.

~The movie suffers from many of the usual independant film problems: unconvincing sets, bad acting...~ HA do you know why independant movies are like that because they have no big budgets to work with. If you want those problems fixed go rent a james cameron movie and dont waste your time, so people like me who appreciate movies like this can rent it.

As for the character being in every scene, last time i checked the main character is usually in the movie or story quite a bit. how would a main character being in every scene mean death for a movie.

the movie is a few days in the life of a highly stressed neurotic guy who is fed up with the way things are going not a shallow guy. the back of the box usually sums up the movie for you, i suggest you start reading the back of the boxes before you rent anymore.

Not plot driven, not character driven, but not bad

[Paxviri · 8/10 · 28 August 2006]

Most people want their films to be either plot driven or character driven. This film doesn't develop full round characters, and nothing really happens except a lot of thinking; in fact, much of the screen time is spend in imagined scenarios that don't really happen.

How does this movie function then? It functions on a purely philosophical basis. Different characters represent different world views (i.e., Cusack represents spirituality; Thornton represents a sort of unfettered individualism) and after being exposed to several of them, John Boyz must ultimately accept them, reject them, or construct his own. In the end we may think that he accepts the view of the crack-smoking rastafarians as they take over the racist TV stations, but as the leader of their clique says, that its only happening in Boyz mind. Boyz' is choosing to imagine a false socialist reality, but it seems that he isn't choosing any real form of revolution or anything like that. He's choosing not to be racist, greedy, etc., but he ultimately decides that he can only choose that for himself.

I like the movie because I like the different world views and the idea of sifting through them. The various scenes that are imagined are the best for me because they show the development of Boyz' morality. Most people hate this movie because nothing happens and the characters are limited to being a worldview and not intended to be realistic. If you can get past those two hangups, this may be one of the best idea-driven movies ever.

Bizarre yet well made

[bellino-angelo2014 · 8/10 · 29 November 2021]

I had heard about this movie only for the star studded cast and a month ago I finally had the chance of watching it. It lived up to my expectations.

John (James LeGros) is an unemployed young man that lives as a flounderer on the beaches of Los Angeles. He lives alone and from time to time he imagines encounters with TV personalities, dead relatives, and the unemployment office. The film is some sort of social commentary when John loses hope and searches for his meaning in life while in a tunnel of self-destruction. In the end he is rescued by an old friend, and then decides to leave Los Angeles and start a new life.

Despite it's an obscure movie it has a nice plot and a star studded cast even tho in brief roles: John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, Billy Bob Thornton, Ethan Hawke and Viggo Mortensen are all good despite I think that if they had more screen time it would have been better. Overall, an obscure movie that turned out to be a nice viewing experience.

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

[Camera-Obscura · 20 November 2006]

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

A film for the person struggling with sanity

[Grimaldi · 12 October 1998]

Floundering offers a fresh insight into the problems plagueing youth in the 90's. It revolves around a youth named John who is having extreme difficulty in finding his center. His situation is not improved by his philosophic friends who tell him it will take time, or by his drug-addicted paranoid (he calls John the devil) brother. The cast is sterling and the script is stong. This movie is one to see if things haven't been going your way.

A unfortunate Misfire despite a good philosophical point of view

[rwint · 18 February 2002]

Unfortunate misfire about a typical generation Xer and his difficulties in dealing with the complexities of modern life.

Made in 1994, but already badly dated with a great deal of emphasis on the Rodney King riots. Also has a corrupt police chief named Merrill Fence which is really just a very thinly disguised substitute for the then real life LA police Chief Darryl Gates. Unfortunately anyone viewing it today (or living outside the LA area) may not know this, thus making a lot of the directors satirical jabs mute and pointless.

Although the inner angst of the main character is certainly identifiable, he is played (and written) too broadly to really be interesting. The film, like it's main character, cannot find it's center moving almost jarringly from the surreal, to the gritty, to outright romanticism.

There are some interesting philosophical insights and a couple of funny moments (including a amusing conversation between the main character and his now dead parents) to keep it passable. Yet it's just not fully realized enough to give it that unique cult status that it was intended for.

Nelson Lyon, who plays the police chief, steals the film with his unique acting style.

9 stars

[ftm2000-2 · 17 August 2000]

Since it's unclear to me how to vote for this movie--help me out here, imdb--I'll vote for it here. I give it nine stars. For anyone who can get it, it's worth seeing. James LeGros gets to the heart of any character he plays. He seems to bypass technique. In addition to this movie, he's more than worth watching in "Gun Crazy", "Living in Oblivion," and "Drugstore Cowboy."