The Chumscrubber Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Meet Generation Rx
The Chumscrubber starts out with Troy,a normal teenager who supplies "feel good" pills to everyone in his high school(this way he spreads happiness all around). But when his friend Dean pays him a visit, Dean discovers Troy has hung himself in his bedroom during one of his mother's pool parties.After the death,three local teens: Billy,Lee,and Crystal, want what's left of Troy's stash of pills and they know that Dean is the only one who knows where they are. But when Dean refuses to get the pills, the three teens kidnap Dean's little brother, until they realize they've kidnapped the wrong kid.
| Glenn Close | Mrs. Johnson |
| William Fichtner | Dr. Bill Stiffle |
| Ralph Fiennes | Mayor Michael Ebbs |
| John Heard | Officer Lou Bratley |
| Lauren Holly | Boutique Owner |
| Jason Isaacs | Mr. Parker |
| Allison Janney | Mrs. Stiffle |
| Carrie-Anne Moss | Jerri Falls |
| Rita Wilson | Terri Bratley |
| Jamie Bell | Dean Stiffle |
| Camilla Belle | Crystal Falls |
| Justin Chatwin | Billy |
| Rory Culkin | Charlie Stiffle |
| Thomas Curtis | Charley Bratley |
| Lou Taylor Pucci | Lee Parker |
| Arie Posin |
7.10 out of 10 (5753 votes)
Visitor Reviews
One of 05's best films
posted on 03 Jul 2009The Chumscrubber came out of nowhere to be in my opinion one of the most different and intriguing movies of 2005. The young actors such as Jamie Bell (King Kong, Billy Elliot) and Lou Taylor Pucci (Thumbsucker) was of the highest. Also Director Arie Polson has created a world that seems like any of Americas suburbs but also extremely distant at the same time this gives the Chumbscrubber a very unique feel and look and one might suspect that Arie Polson has a very keen eye for shots. There are some truly remarkable scenes in the Chumbscrubber that you will remember and won't to see again. Please see this movie you will not be disappointed it comes completely out of left field but has something very important to say. 10/10
camilla belle the next big star
posted on 26 May 2009I never would have thought that the chumscrubber would be a movie i would enjoy but i really did . I first saw the movie by mistake i woke up one day and it was on my T.V. as i watched i was drawn in by the story/plot . The best part of the movie in my mind and what really kept me watching was the storyline of the teenagers . I wanted to see what happened between dean and crystal . The actress who played crystal camilla belle was the best part of the movie . She will be a really big star one day . This movie made me a fan of her . I have been telling everyone i know about the chumscrubber and telling them to watch it . I watch it every time it's on T.V. and i'm trying to find it on DVD so i can enjoy the dark humor the amazing cast and the next Julia Roberts ... Camilla Belle .
An amazing, fresh and a true look at what people living in the suburbs are up to behind doors
posted on 28 Apr 2009If you are interested in happy films about happy people who have happy families, then you would be better off watching something else, as The Chumscrubber is not a happy film, it's not about happy people and they don't have happy families. But that's what makes it so entertaining.A teenage outcast named Dean goes to his friend Troy's house only to have found that he's hung himself. The next day, the school bully Billy kidnaps a boy named Charlie, thinking that he's Dean's brother and holds him for ransom. He wants Dean to get drugs from Troy's bedroom or otherwise he'll kill Charlie.There's more to the story than that though. This film takes a look at the adults of today and how they're so focused on themselves, that they don't take time to notice their kids or the things happening around them. There are subplots that involve each of the teenagers and their parents which are dark and interesting.This film is very different from the usual thing you see in the cinemas nowadays, but in a good way. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope you (if you decide to see it) do too.
a satiric view of our modern world
posted on 22 Apr 2009Oh God I enjoyed so much this movie! I knew about it before it's appearance in Romania, from a TV show, and I was very anxious to go and see it! and I can tell you it has worth the money! The story takes place in a small city, where people seem to have lost their minds: children live only for their " daily pill", and parents for their daily glass of wine. This chaotic world is being shaked off when the city's drug-dealer kills himself..that's when the story actually begins... it's amazing the way this movie shows life, modern life, with busy parents and lack of communication( in the movie there is a mom which actually doesn't notice that her son is missing for a week!!!)
A healthy helping of suburban teen angst
posted on 22 Apr 2009This script brings up an important facet of the drug use of kids today- they have become a bunch of little pill poppers because of the massive push from our new drug dealers- the pharmaceutical companies with their psychiatrist drug pushers.OK, it's cool to bash suburbia and how lame it is. How out of touch the parents are with reality and how wonderfully hypocritical they all can be. That part of the movie is fun but it can't cover up the lack of a cohesive story that becomes painfully evident after a while. This script has the feel that it was written by different writers writing different scenes and then the scenes were stitched together in no apparent order.The plot is about a kid who is blackmailed into stealing drugs but what makes no sense is he is threatened by the gang holding a kid he has no emotional ties to whatsoever. Why he would care whether this kid lives or dies makes no sense in light of him being on heavy meds to the point of not caring about much of anything.One thing I really like about this movie is the expose on ineffective parenting approaches. Anyone that has seen this idiotic crap attitude towards kids in action and the damage it causes on a kid's life can identify.What I hate about this movie is the implausible tie ups to the plot. Some of the acting moments are forgettable for sure. At certain points in the film it will become completely farcical. By the end of this movie it has really entered after-school special territory and lost all credibility whatsoever.The name of this movie is based on a video game but that tie-in was poorly executed and inessential.I didn't think this movie was all that great but it did cover some topics that tend to be all of the areas where suburban people tend to be hypocritical failures.If you wanna get down with your teen angst and hate some suburbanites with your gonads and strife for a while, this is your movie. If you want any kind of realism or true edginess.. forget it- this movie stumbles a lot in the plot and isn't' exactly sure what it is trying to say. I think the Hollywood J-men must have smelt Donnie Darko here and were shooting for a hit with that audience. What they got is worth a look but as a whole, it only rhymes with hit.BETTER MOVIES TO SEE: Donnie Darko
God Awful Movie
posted on 18 Apr 2009There is no artistic or entertainment value in this movie. No manner of "wanna be" film school nonsense can defend this movie from its appropriate fate, namely all copies being dropped in the deepest hole I can find on the planet. I sincerely felt like every person involved with this movie owes me a personal apology for the piece of my life that was wasted on this trash. I have found infomercials more entertaining and thought provoking. The characters are ridiculous "soap opera" two dimensional figures. The plot and writing is laughable and worthy of scorn. Junior High students write more meaningful dribble. I've looked at several sites around the net and have found many favorable reviews. The only thing that I can suspect is that these people are on the same pills that this movie focuses on so much. Avoud at all cost and publicly humiliate anyone that ever admits to liking this movie.
Wow, a movie that gives teens their due!
posted on 10 Apr 2009This movie really impressed me by how realistically it treated teenagers and their capabilities. A lot of movies regard teens as immature or ignorant of "grown up" problems, but we aren't. Age doesn't dictate maturity or knowledge, it's just the amount of time you've lived on earth. Another thing that I really enjoyed was seeing parents' mistakes blown up instead. It's crazy to think about, but a lot of homes really are like that and I think it's horrible. The Chumscrubber was amazing in that it accented real problems with today's society openly, without buffers to appease the audience. The director had a message, and he said it, without reference to anyone else, or to how well the movie would do. I find that kind of honesty in a movie refreshing. Plus, the movie was brilliant anyways.
Very creative and quirky. May become a classic. Don't miss it.
posted on 09 Mar 2009I was expecting not to relate well to this film, even though I wanted to like it as our son was the director of photography. I had heard that it was similar to American Beauty which I liked but I didn't need another film about dysfunctional middle and upper class families living in suburbia.I was very pleasantly surprised when I saw it on Tuesday night, July 26th in Portland at a screening. The script is incredibly creative and not at all like American Beauty. It is unfair to compare the two films. In addition, the acting, the directing, and of course, the cinematography are superb as is the music. There is humor to break the tension. The film, itself, keeps one wide awake and waiting to see what will happen to each of the characters. I was not at all disappointed and plan to see it again as I believe there are layers in this film that one will catch in repeated viewings. It is hard to tell anyone what this film is about as it doesn't fit any particular genre, but don't miss it as I think this is the kind of film that people will be talking about for a long time.
first rate serious but comic satire.
posted on 05 Mar 2009This fine well cast movie opened last August in only 28 theatres & that my friends a pure tragedy.Reason why this happened is that there are no car crashes, explosions, nudity or sex.This all star cast flic should be seen, The following actors are just a few of the performers. Glenn Close, Ralph Fiennes,Wm Frictner,John Heard,Jamie Bell, Allison Janney,Rory Cullin & Carrie Ann Moss.The director is Arie Posin, He also wrote the story & the screenplay is by Zac Stanford. ALL ARE FIRST RATE,The setting is sun-drenched upper middle class suburban are.The teen-agers are very typical of what happens when they have no direction or discipline. The Parents are for the most part selfish & empty headed who basically ignore there teens.A tragedy starts & ends the movie.I am a senior citizen & I appreciated every performance & had quite a few chuckles at the goings onRating ***1/2 (out of 4*) 95 points out of 100 IMDb 9 (out of 10)
very good
posted on 27 Feb 2009Chumscruber i believe is a very good film. It takes many elements from good movies and weaves them together to make this great and strange film. I do believe at times in the movie it tries a little too hard to feel like it's unique and strange, but non the less i still enjoyed it. If you liked American Beauty, then you might like this. It's very similar to American Beauty but Chumscrubber uses teenagers as the main chacters and adds in a creative story line. What i enjoyed most was Justin Chatwin and William Fitcher's performances. This movie never slows down and never gives you enough information where you can guess the ending of the movie. In conclusion, if you like dark comedies then give chumscrubber a try.
The more you watch it, the better it gets...
posted on 27 Feb 2009After watching it the first time I felt it was a good movie but nowhere near a "10". It struck me as an unexceptional movie in a genre with powers such as American Beauty and Donnie Darko that easily overshadow it. I did, however, feel it was a good movie with a powerful soundtrack (Rooney's Sleep Song is a hard to find, classic tack...especially after seeing the movie).After suggesting it to my friends and watching it again, my opinion changed.On a second viewing, after allowing it to circle around my thoughts in the past days, it went from unexceptional to rather good. I noticed the attention to detail and further quality of the movie as a whole. As I explained different concepts to my friends (being it the second time I had seen it) I noticed the depth to the movie. Different ideas and examples of irony were everywhere! Though it still doesn't quite live up to the genre-defining American Beauty and Donnie Darko, it isn't far off. Though it may not belong in the "Top 250" I wouldn't mind seeing it slip in, be it even for a short time.In watching this movie notice how everyone is so concerned with their own lives, how oblivious to everything else around them. In pursuit of their own happiness and success they will do whatever it takes. Give the movie a chance and try to watch it more than once, you will be amazed at what you can find.P.S. Had the name not been "The Chumscrubber" I think it would've found more marketing success. I just happened to stumble upon it on ONDEMAND and was turned off by the name (just a personal opinion).
This is a pretty terrible film.
posted on 23 Feb 2009I'm really unsure why so many good actors committed to this film. It was disappointing to see them all in such caricature's without the vaguest development. Yes people take too many pills and society acts like it is the cure to all ails. This isn't enough to create a film around when you add nothing else of substance to it. The movie really was disjointed, uninteresting at times, with characters that seemed puppet-like. It missed the mark big time. It was labeled a black comedy but had no real humor in it whatsoever. If you want to see a film with dark humor, distant character types and the teen theme watch Pretty Persuasion. It is good for a lot of laughs and there is actually character development in the main characters.
Horrid
posted on 09 Feb 2009I almost turned this off after 40 minutes but decided to stick it out in case it developed some semblance of a story line. It didn't.Knowing where to begin listing what's wrong with this film is challenging since there's so much ground to cover. But lack of originality is as good a place as any. The movie tries to cross American Beauty with Donnie Darko and pass the result off as fresh. But it fails from the get go and comes off as a contrived nervous breakdown.It seems the writer figured those successful movies could be replicated by following a simplistic formula. Just make every character goofy and unbelievable, throw in a handful of disjointed story lines and outrageous dialog, script in a few preposterous sexual situations, add a smattering of science fiction or hallucinations (not sure which), show "egdy" (read: absurdly excessive) drug use and dealing, include a suicide and some attempted murder, and drop f-bombs all over and there, you have a "profound" movie nobody will admit is incomprehensible.The film does not fit in any genre, but this is achieved through deliberate awkwardness. See! It's arty because you don't know how to react, and you don't know how to react because we've injected random, pointless contradictions. Perhaps this movie does fit into a genre, though: it's a disaster film. D-.
Excellent movie
posted on 01 Feb 2009This definitely one of the best movies I have seen this year. I wish more Hollywood movies would be like this one (generally having a plot based on a typed script would be a good starter). Without going too much into the plot, it definitely isn't another American Beauty movie. I feel that the mood set by Arie Posin and Zac Stanford reminds me a lot of Zac Braff's Garden State. All in all I found the movie uplifting, funny and a real "feel good" movie. It may sound a bit predictable from the punchline, but it turned out a very positive surprise. Besides... Camilla Belle is the cutest girl I have seen for a while, and probably worth the watch all by herself :)
A fresh, fun, and moving examination of crazy people (us) in suburbia.
posted on 31 Dec 2008I was able to see a screening of this film at Sundance tonight (1/26/05) and I just wanted to let anyone who was curious about this movie that it is definitely worth seeing. Some lucky distributor is going to make bank off of this great film by a skilled director and soulful screenwriter.Although I was pleasantly surprised as famous face after famous face came on the screen, Jamie Bell (main character Dean) is without equal. In the Q&A session after the screening, the Director talked a little about wanting to make a movie that examined the hypocrisy and muted subjects of our culture. I think he hit the nail right on the head. He also talked about how they removed all pop culture references in the movie so that they could create their own archetype of pop culture-- the Chumscrubber. The characteristics of this comic book/video game hero are an allegory that can help you decode the messages of the movie. (On a comic note, he also said that once you see this movie you will see dolphins EVERYWHERE. When you see it, you'll know what I mean.) Screenwriter Zak Stanford said that a Chubscrubber is the worst job in the fishing village he grew up in. It's the person that has to mop the floor clean after everyone else has gutted and processed the fish. This movie, in part, discussed "what it would be like to have someone do that for you."There are parts of this movie that are definitely funny. However, I didn't find myself laughing at all them because I couldn't shake the feeling that I would have been laughing at myself. I guess I'm saying that for those of us who find themselves seeking escape in a world that finds us trivial, there is a lot of truth in this movie. But don't worry... it also shows us the power a single human connection can have.SEE/BUY/DISCUSS/ANTICIPATE/DEVOUR THIS MOVIE!!Ascender P.S.- Don't be put off by trite descriptions of this film as a "tale of a young boy fending off the evils of suburbia." It really doesn't do it justice. It's fresh, fun, and moving.
funny, tragic, different
posted on 27 Dec 2008I really liked this movie. It was unusual, and the casting and acting were good. The movie captured the wide gulf between adults and children very well. I see a lot of shows on TV where the parents are concerned and mentally healthy and wonderfully helpful and caring with their children, but in my experience that's pretty rare. This movie was much closer to what I see - parents that are self-involved and very out of touch with their children's lives, and what their children are doing or dealing with. The actor who played Dean was perfect in that role, as was the kid who played Billy. I liked the scary touch when Billy's dad called him out of the room and you didn't know what he was doing to him. The weaselly kid who studied and kidnapped and almost committed murder was hilarious. I didn't like the kid who played Dean's brother - too creepy and annoying. All of the parents were good, and I was glad to see Trinity come out of the Matrix and play a non-sci fi role - she's pretty talented, and too many sci-fi actors/actresses get typecast into that genre. The only thing that really detracted from the movie was the weird storyline of the mayor and the dolphin - what the heck was THAT all about? it seemed disassociated from the rest of the movie, and added absolutely nothing (except boredom). I don't know how Ralph Fiennes agreed to play that role. Other than that, a really good movie for people who are tired of the same old retreaded Hollywood tripe.
What's the Alternative?
posted on 21 Dec 2008Having grown up in a 1960's suburb outside of Philadelphia with it's same-same split-levels and colonials, I can grasp the loneliness angle of a teen-angst film. Not as successful or lighthearted as Thumbsucker or honered as the silly and "way" overrated American Beauty, The Chumscrubber has charm. Teens are lonely. They do tend to rebel like James Dean. Their parents work hard and acquire materialistic items such as homes, patio pools, and furniture, a stage of their life that emphasizes materialism and social status. Suburbanites play hard and work hard, but teenager offspring are neither adults nor children. The Chumscrubber world wheels in turn, humor and darkness.Jamie Bell somehow subdues his Scottish accent and plays the American teen with solemn seriousness. Maybe that's a fault in his portrayal, but after all, there is not much fun in popping pills and having a best friend hang himself. The parents, the kids, they seem to be whirling in separate orbits, coming close as the moon is large in a winter sky, but then the luminous returns to a distant trajectory. They talk to each other, or rather past each other. The humorous scenes where the teens tell parents they are kidnapping a little boy so they can buy drugs compel laughs because the parents think the kids are attempting precocious satire. The mother planning a wedding is oblivious. She is the prototype suburban striver. Where's your kid? Oh, he's in his room, er.. out with friends on a school project. "It's for school" is teen code for "perfectly innocent." That's a laugh.In the end, the world of white, middle to upper-class citizen is almost too easy to satire, but what's the alternative, a Stalinist State? Think about it.
There's a lesson to be learnt, if you're ready to learn it
posted on 13 Nov 2008It's been a while since a movie has offered me as many special moments of beauty and truth. While the film as been condemned by some critics and viewers as trite, contrived, pretentious garbage, I sense there is an underlying irony to these assertions - only pretentious people take pride in convicting art as pretentious. There are lessons to be learnt from this film, if only you drop your own pretences and accept that the message in this film is not only relevant, but challenging and on the whole, enlightening. It's easy to denounce Ralph Fiennes character as overcooked pretentious fluff, if you don't take a moment to really accept the actions of his character and learn some real and valuable lessons about observing the world in the way its meant to be observed, without fear or shame. The scene where Justin Chatwin's character gets hit by a car and spots a plane flying overhead is not only amusing, but deeply tragic - essentially it's about a kid so enslaved by his insecurities he loses his dream, his ambition, his one love. There are so many of these thought-provoking moments that i could go on all day, but at the end of the day, this film is an ode to enlightenment and a revelation that regardless of the questionability of our demeanor, we are all simply victims of the civilised world and undeserved of judgement or condemnation.Good stuff.
Words can't describe it!!!!
posted on 01 Nov 2008Chumscrubber is intelligent, funny, and dramatic. It has an AMAZING cast with spot-on performances. I can't begin to describe how moving and witty this film is -- it completely speaks to its audience with the same unique creativity and dark humor as a Donnie Darko. There are so few movies being made right now that convey respect for their audience: For once I walked out of a theatre not feeling as though my intelligence had been underestimated. It's films like this that remind me why I love movies! Jaime Bell is incredible in this film, and so so so entertaining to watch. The amount of talent in this film is nearly absurd, but oh so impressive. I think Arie Posin is totally gonna blow up -- he's an awesome director and for those of us who've followed him on the indie-short/fest. circuit, it's high time he directed a feature!!! Chumscrubber rocks!!!!
you should read this because it has s.e.x
posted on 19 Jul 2009no, not really.. but it got your attention.most movies these days are about fires, terrorism, planes or soppy romances.this isn't.this is by far the best movie i have seen in years. besides Bang Bang You're Dead.it was frieggen awesome. the deaths, lies, deceit, drugs and stereotypical teenagers. bloody awesome.and jamie bell.. SEXSEXSEXSEX.. frieggen gahhhh ! i want one.. =]gosh. i'm so buying this. ILOVEJAMIEBELL.