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 ...

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 November 1997 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Gumo

Filming Locations:

Tennessee, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,820, 19 October 1997, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$19,820, 19 October 1997

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the script, Harmony Korine pieced together about seventy sketches he'd written about life in Xenia, Ohio - a locale he had never actually visited.

---

Goofs

Some crew member's feet are visible kicking a wire at the bottom of the screen during the "chair wrestling" scene in the kitchen.

---

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 ...

---

Connections

Referenced in Brows Held High: Mister Lonely (2013)

---

Soundtracks

Like a Prayer
Performed by Madonna
Written by Madonna & Patrick Leonard
Courtesy of Sire Records
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products
Published by Johnny Yuma Music (BMI), WB Music Corp (ASCAP) o/b/o itself, Bleu Disque Music Co.,
Inc. (ASCAP) & Webo Girl Publishing, Inc. (ASCAP)

User Reviews

A Surprisingly Unique Movie

I will admit that the reason I rented this movie was because of the numerous reviews that I read about how unbelievably bad and pointless this film was. It only took me a few minutes to realize why so many critics hated it, which was the very reason I liked this film.

Gummo is a classic case of style over substance. If you're looking for plot development, you'd better go rent Good Will Hunting or something like that. But if you want to see a movie that is cutting-edge and well ahead of its time, then rent this one. I praise the director for simply doing something different.

What impressed me the most about this film was the framing of one memorable image after another. I think Director Korine was trying to leave people with impressions and feelings. Whether you like this film or not, its impossible to forget. Plus, this film has what I think is one of the greatest lines in recent movie history. A little girl, holding a picture of Burt Reynolds with the mouth ripped out, chants incessantly, "I want a moustache, dammit!"

This movie is worth the three bucks to rent it if nothing more than to see the scene where a fat redneck takes out his aggression on a kitchen chair while his friends cheer him on. It's more frightening than anything in the Scream series.