Gummo (1997)

Lonely residents of a tornado-stricken Ohio town wander the deserted landscape trying to fulfill their boring, nihilistic lives.

Director:

Harmony Korine

Writer:

Harmony Korine

Stars:

Nick Sutton, Jacob Sewell, Lara Tosh

4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jacob Sewell	...	Bunny Boy
Nick Sutton	...	Tummler
Lara Tosh	...	Girl in Car
Jacob Reynolds	...	Solomon
Darby Dougherty	...	Darby
Chloë Sevigny	...	Dot (as Chloe Sevigny)
Carisa Glucksman	...	Helen
Jason Guzak	...	Skinhead #1
Casey Guzak	...	Skinhead #2
Wendall Carr	...	Huntz
James Lawhorn	...	Cowboy #1
James Glass	...	Cowboy #2
Ellen M. Smith	...	Ellen
Charles Matthew Coatney	...	Eddie
Harmony Korine	...	Boy on Couch

Storyline

Constructing this film through random scenes, director Harmony Korine abruptly jettisoned any sort of narrative plot, so here we go: Solomon and Tummler are two bored teenage boys who live in Xenia, Ohio. A few years ago, a tornado swept through it, destroying more than half the town and killing the same amount, including Solomon's father. The film, from there, chronicles the anti-social adventures these two boys have. These include sniffing glue, killing cats, having sex, riding dirtbikes, listening to black metal, and meeting a cavalcade of quirky, bizarre, and scary people. These include a man who pimps his mentally ill wife to our anti-heroes, three sisters who play with their cat and practice becoming strippers, a black midget fending off the sexual advances of a troubled man (played by the director Harmony Korine), a 12-year-old gay transvestite who is also a cat killer, Solomon's mother who seems to be the only glimpse of sanity, two foul-mouthed six-year olds, and most ...

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Plot Keywords:

cult film | sexual abuse | experimental film | cat killer | violence | 

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Taglines:

Prepare to visit a town you'd never want to call home.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive depiction of anti-social behavior of juveniles,including violence, substance abuse,sexuality and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jacob Reynolds (Solomon) was 13. Nick Sutton (Tummler) was 17. Jacob Sewell (Bunny Boy) was 14. And Darby Dougherty, who plays the youngest of the three sisters, was only 10.

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Goofs

The kid sitting next to Jared Wiggley's arm and head change positions between shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Solomon: [voiceover] Xenia, Ohio. Xenia, Ohio. A few years ago, a tornado hit this place. It killed the people, left and right. Dogs died. Cats died. Houses were split open, and you could see necklaces hanging from branches of trees. People's legs and neck bones were sticking out. Oliver found a leg on his roof. A lot of people's fathers died, and were killed by the great tornado. I saw a girl fly through the sky, and I looked up her skirt. Her skull was smashed. And some kids died. My ...

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Connections

Referenced in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

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Soundtracks

Cat Killer
Written and Performed by Electric Hellfire Club
Courtesy of Cleopatra Records

User Reviews

Original, but in a familiar sort of way

Well...

I spent a small part of my childhood not too far away from Xenia, Ohio and a large part of it in the South. I can't say I ever found myself in such a screwed up place as this one, but I know one thing -- if I did I would certainly want to go back and document it! Then I'd be perfectly happy if another tornado came by and leveled the whole place.

Watching this movie was like looking at those years through some really distorted mirror and finding recognizeable nuances of personality in it. And I can't say much of that was appealing. Neither was this movie, which is not to say the characters weren't compelling, because some of them certainly were. Give me an impenetrable glass bubble and a camera and I'll take my place in this grotesque circus. I like to watch, but I don't want to get dirty. Everyone in this movie was dirty...

That spaghetti scene and "I want a moustache dammit!" were worth the price of admission. I do have one suggestion, however -- it either should have been more contemporary or more distant. At first it wasn't clear if the action was taking place shortly after the tornado or long after it. But when the albino woman mentioned Pamela Anderson, that nailed down a time period for me. It would have been more effective as a period piece (sometime in the 70s) where the audience looks back on a really messed up town; or it could have been filled with more contemporary references which places a really messed up town not too far away from where you and I live.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 November 1997 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Gummo

Filming Locations:

Tennessee, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,300,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$116,799

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$116,799

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fine Line Features, Independent Pictures (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1