Bug

--Reviewed by Lindy Loo

Plotline: An abused woman whose ex-husband has just gotten out of the joint finds solace in a kind drifter. Unfortunately, he begins to inflict his own paranoid madness on her--what starts out as a passing mention of bugs turns into a full-blown obsession.

Scariness factor: *Snort*

Gross-Out Factor: Teeth get pulled out. That's about the worst of it.



Complaints: Wow. Seriously. I've not seen such a bad movie in quite some time. The plotline was just plain old boring. Bugs infesting your body, sent by the government? Surprisingly uncreative. The acting was equally bad: Harry Connick, Jr, you need to stick to singing and/or Will & Grace, because you just can't pull off a bad-ass, friend. Harry Connick aside, the manic moments in the film were just BEYOND laughable. I felt like I was watching little kids put on a movie, and watching their interpretation of "craziness" unravel into goofbally over-the-top horribleness, which is excusable in children, but not so much in a film.

Conversation between lead actors:

Ashley Judd: How can we pull off "crazy?"
Michael Shannon: Let's throw ourselves onto the bed and writhe around a whole bunch.
Ashley Judd: Cool! And maybe then we can jump up and down on the bed wildly and scream?
Michael Shannon: Ooh! Good call!
Ashley Judd: And then I can shout "I am the super bug mother!" really loud a few times!
Michael Shannon: OMG! Seriously: brilliant. It is hard to believe you've never won an Oscar, Ashley Judd.
Ashley Judd: I know. I AM THE SUPER BUG MOTHER!!!!!

There was just *nothing* interesting about this movie. You never really develop a sense of caring about the characters. Their relationships with one another aren't convincing at all. The movie's really not all that suspenseful or interesting. I think it was *trying* to be deep, but it just failed miserably.

High Points: That it ended.



Overall: Wow. So bad. If you want to make fun of a movie, then rent it. Otherwise, stear clear.

Grade: F