Storytelling (2001)

College and high school serve as the backdrop for two stories about dysfunction and personal turmoil.

Director:

Todd Solondz

Writer:

Todd Solondz

Stars:

Selma Blair, Leo Fitzpatrick, Robert Wisdom

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Selma Blair	...	Vi (segment "Fiction")
Leo Fitzpatrick	...	Marcus (segment "Fiction")
Robert Wisdom	...	Mr. Scott (segment "Fiction")
Maria Thayer	...	Amy (segment "Fiction")
Angela Goethals	...	Elli (segment "Fiction")
Devorah Rose	...	Lucy (segment "Fiction")
Nancy Anne Ridder	...	Joyce (segment "Fiction")
Steve Rosen	...	Ethan (segment "Fiction") (as Steven Rosen)
Aleksa Palladino	...	Catherine (segment "Fiction")
Mary Lynn Rajskub	...	Melinda (segment "Fiction")
Tina Holmes	...	Sue (segment "Fiction")
Paul Giamatti	...	Toby Oxman (segment "Non-Fiction")
Mike Schank	...	Mike (segment "Non-Fiction")
Xander Berkeley	...	Mr. DeMarco (segment "Non-Fiction")
Mark Webber	...	Scooby Livingston (segment "Non-Fiction")

Storyline

Storytelling is comprised of two separate stories set against the sadly comical terrain of college and high school, past and present. Following the paths of its young hopeful/ troubled characters, it explores issues of sex, race, celebrity and exploitation

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Plot Keywords:

black comedy | high school | college | documentary filmmaker | high school student | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content, language and some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Diaphania -French site(fr) New Line [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

8 November 2001 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Untitled Todd Solondz Project

Filming Locations:

New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$73,688, 27 January 2002

Gross USA:

$921,445

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,318,945

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Killer Films, Good Machine

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Emmanuelle Chriqui, Adam Hann-Byrd, and Heather Matarazzo also filmed scenes that were cut from the film.

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Goofs

When the Livingstons are eating dinner, towards the end of the scene, Mikey's collar goes from inside his sweater to outside between shots.

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Quotes

Marty Livingston: I had a terrific time in college. I don't see why this is so hard for you to grasp? Why are you out to make college out to be a bad thing? A negative experience? YOU had a bad time? Well, too bad. Get over it. Stop trying to impose YOUR misery on everybody else. "Oh, life is bad. Life is horrible." Life is tough on you, well, boo-hoo.

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Alternate Versions

The orange square over the sex scene was placed there to get an "R" rating instead of an "NC-17".

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Connections

Spoofs American Beauty (1999)

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Soundtracks

I Don't Want To Play Football
Performed by Belle & Sebastian
Written by Belle & Sebastian
Published by Sony ATV Music Publishing
Courtesy of Jeepster Recordings Limited & Matador Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Solondz's talent shows, but needs more closure

"Storytelling" is interesting, dramatically effective and well-acted. It just left me wanting more. Those who were heavily turned off by Solondz's last effort, "Happiness," (a film I still regard as brilliant) might not be as turned off by "Storytelling." Other than an explicit anal sex scene (which is blocked off by a cheesy red box in the R-rated version), the material is quite innocuous. But "Happiness" not only had a provocative edge; it also had closure. It didn't leave any loose ends, having the audience wonder, "What's next?" This movie has Solondz's provocative edge, but it needs closure.

The characters and situations are colorful. I've always loved the director's use of brutal honesty in telling stories of otherwise straitlaced white collar suburbanites with skeletons in their closets. His films possess a unique realism that we almost never see in today's movies.

Selma Blair gives her best performance up to date, her first character role. There's a greatly powerful scene in which she's taunted, by her fellow classmates, about her short story which was based on a true situation between her and her tough-as-nails professor. John Goodman is terrific as the strict, suburban dad who simply wants his family to be normal. Leo Fitzpatrick is great as Blair's lonely boyfriend with a speech impediment. After seeing him in that awful movie, "Kids," it was great to see him in a decent role in a halfway decent movie. I'm guessing he really does have a speech impediment. The little boy got annoying at times. Though I know it was part of his character, there were times where I just wanted to put my foot through the TV when he would go on rambling. And the underrated Paul Giamatti delivers a fine, low-key performance as a geeky documentary filmmaker.

I wouldn't say this movie is anywhere near terrible, and I still look forward to Todd Solondz's next film, but it just needed more. It would've made a great television pilot, but for a film it would need a stronger narrative. In the second story, "Nonfiction," we get to know a fair deal about these characters, their backgrounds and their aftermaths. However, in the first story, "Fiction," I felt there could've been a lot more background to the characters and what happened after Vi's dreams were crushed after her fellow students gave their hypocritical opinions on her short story? As I said before, it's an interesting film, but not altogether satisfying.

My score: 6 (out of 10)