Admit it: You had a terrible Christmas and New Year. You didn’t get the presents you wanted. You fought with your mate, saw relatives you hate, and ate, and ate, and ATE. You are particularly bummed. Well, there’s only one cure for the post-holiday blues, and that’s wallowing in self-pity. And here are some recently released DVDs that can help you do so admirably.
The Virgin Suicides (1999)–Five beautiful blonde chicks off themselves.
It doesn’t get any lower than that. Sofia Coppola’s directorial debut–based
on a popular book–is about a pride of depressed sisters, led by Kirsten Dunst,
who can’t stand conventional ’70s suburbia. James Woods and Kathleen Turner
are great as the repressive ‘rents, and Josh Hartnett is the epitome of a dreamy
high school stud.
Seven (1995)–One of the best films of the ’90s, and a real bummer,
David Fincher’s bleak serial killer thriller is moody, dark, despairing, and,
like Barton Fink, one of the great “head in a box” films. But don’t let
that stop you from enjoying it. The DVD is a two-disc set, with lots of extras
and audio commentaries that trick you into watching the bleak, inexorable ending
march toward you again and again.
Timecode (2000)–The last 90 minutes in the life of a bummed out movie
producer. Mike Figgis’ experimental film, in which four DV cameras capture simultaneous
actions in different but connected locations, is a grand failure only because
the parody of the movie industry is too Altmanesque. With all the extras on
this disc you can breathe the despair for 810 minutes. Stellan Skarsg#229rd
leads a great cast as the doomed mogul.
Loser (2000)–‘Cause that’s what you are. This off-kilter knockoff
of Billy Wilder’s masterpiece The Apartment, starring Mena Suvari and
written and directed by Amy Heckerling (Clueless), isn’t as funny as
its mentor, but that’s the point. What better way to ring in the new millennium
than with an unfunny, predictable teen comedy that reminds you of how your school
years were even more of a failure because yours didn’t have a happy ending.