Chain Camera
dir. Dick
March 8-10
Clinton Street Theater

Give a high school kid a movie camera for a week, and you know what they get? Someone to talk to. It's a goddamn brilliant idea. It seems like there wouldn't be kids blowing other kids away if they could just tell their problems to their trusty camera, for the whole world to see.

Director Kirby Dick gave kids at Marshall High School--two miles outside of Hollywood--video cameras to tape their lives for a week and then pass along to other students. The final product of Chain Camera is the edited documentary tapes from sixteen different students.

The kids come from a smattering of ethnic backgrounds and non-traditional families--some are gay, some have race issues, one girl has an extremely mild case of Tourette's. The film rehashes a lot of the ridiculousness and helplessness of being a teen. For instance, one girl talks about how she was bulimic and slit her wrists, two kids put a condom on a banana and attempt to demonstrate a blowjob, one black guy talks about why he doesn't like to be friends with anyone except black people. Besides obviously addressing teen/ sex/race issues, there are some charming moments. A kid who used to be blind struggles to socialize. A girl talks about pulling her mother out of depression, and a guy who films his mother passed out drunk in bed later volunteers at the local health center, helping an old lady during her eye test.

The disarming thing about the film, however, is that no one is really fucked up. Everyone has a lot of friends, being gay in high school is easy, romantic relationships are cooperative and mature. No one gets drunk, no one gets arrested, no one is ostracized, no one is dork. Personally, that's not the way I remember it. Even the drunk mom stops drinking a couple months after her son films her. Everyone goes to prom and everyone has fun dancing even the butch/femme lesbian couple! Hurrah!

Parents should see this movie; it will make them a lot less paranoid about the sensibilities of their high school kids. I, on the other hand, don't buy it. What can I say? I guess it just takes crystal meth and abortions to keep me involved.