On the Big Board |
| Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
| 59/76 |
Dan Krovich |
Teen thriller that is never very thrilling. |
| 101/159 |
David Mumpower |
Twisted tale of incest and hate plays out like Dynasty 2006, but it lacks the appropriate level of entertainment. |
| 160/200 |
Max Braden |
They should have been able to do more with the premise. |
Fledgling director Jamie Babbit made a splash in 1999 with But I'm a Cheerleader. The movie examined the unique difficulties popular teenagers face as they grow aware of their homosexuality. A semi-cult classic, it is best known these days as the last movie wherein Natasha Lyonne could pass for anything other than a particularly homely street urchin.
While Babbit's female lead from But I'm a Cheerleader has hit the downward spiral at breakneck speeds normally reserved for British punk rockers, Babbit has quietly built an impressive resume. She has found a home in the television medium, helming episodes of cutting edge programs such as Nip/Tuck and Wonderfalls. She has also proven herself to have a deft touch for more mainstream fare such as Malcolm in the Middle, The Bernie Mac Show, Alias and (particularly) Gilmore Girls.
Brimming with newfound confidence and professional acceptance, Babbit marks her return to cineplexes with The Quiet. The 2005 Toronto Film Festival selection stars Camilla Belle (of When a Stranger Calls fame) in a concoction that promises to be equal parts The In Crowd and Mean Girls. Such an endeavor scores high on the potential B-movie insta-classic scale.
The premise is that Belle's character, Dot, moves in with her godparents after her father's death. The seemingly normal family includes a Soprano (Edie Falco) and a man from The Dead Zone (Martin Donovan) as parents with the proverbial Girl Next Door as their daughter. Dot soon discovers that their surface level suburban happiness disguises a seamy underbelly straight out of American Beauty.
Dot's new family, the Deers, as well as their friends, grow to trust her with these secrets because she is deaf and mute. She acts as a kind of clergywoman from whom absolution may be found through confession. What is revealed is that Daddy and Daughter Deer's relationship is *ahem* tight, causing the father guilt and the daughter to have passive/agressive, occasionally homicidal tendencies. Also, the real daughter (Elisha Cuthbert) resents the adopted one, the mother is addicted to painkillers, the local high school jock (Shawn Ashmore, Iceman in the X-Men franchise) can't control his libido and a couple of the cheerleaders are Carolina Panthers-friendly.
The Quiet has been picked up by Sony Pictures Classic for obvious reasons. It's got tons of high school-based sexual tension and drama with more than a little bit of soap opera flair. With Belle and Cuthbert riding high from When a Stranger Calls and The Girl Next Door, respectively, teen audiences and grown up looking for cheap thrills will find the over-the-top theatrics and not-so-subtle lesbian overtones an irresistible catnip. (David Mumpower/BOP
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