By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.3 cats
Director: Alan Ball
Starring: Aaron Eckhart | Eugene Jones III | Maria Bello | Peter Macdissi | Summer Bishil | Toni Collette
Country: united_states
Year: 2008
Running time: 124
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0787523/
Bruce says: “Jasira (Summer Bishil) is just thirteen. Her sexual awakening is triggered by a potpourri of clues. Most involve mixed messages. Her mother’s boyfriend offers to shave her pubic area; her whining, hubristic father is screwing his girlfriend within earshot of Jasira’s room; the neighbor down the street from her father has an enviable porn collection. Soon she has sexual fantasies of her own. The adults in her life are oblivious to her conflicts.
“When she moves to Houston from California, she encounters new obstacles. Rifat, her father (Peter Macdissi), considers himself American but that clearly is not the sentiment of the Vuosos, neighbors from two doors down who drop off a cherry pie as a housewarming gift while rudely claiming to be ‘Christians like everybody else in Texas.’ Rifat is Lebanese and Jasira’s mother (Maria Bello), American. Jasira suddenly has to deal with prejudice in addition to relocating and coping with her raging hormones. When she agrees to baby sit for the son of the neighbors, her problems are compounded. The boy taunts her and calls her ‘towelhead,’ an obviously misplaced insult. Mr. Vuoso (Aaron Eckhart) has his own fantasies and they are totally inappropriate for a grown man and a thirteen year old babysitter. Her father discovers that Jasira has a black boyfriend (Eugene Jones III) and his overt dislike proves to illustrate that prejudice starts at home. Her self-absorbed mother arrives in Houston for Christmas, adding nothing positive to Jasira’s life. The next door neighbor (Toni Collette) senses that something very wrong is going on; little does she know how much and how wrong.
“Working with many themes similar to his AMERICAN BEAUTY, Alan Bell has created a story that embodies the irreverence of his SIX FEET UNDER. Bell has his thumb on the pulse of middle class America. His observations are simultaneously achingly funny and horrifying. While we know nothing good can come from the impossible mix of misplaced sexual urges and rampant racial prejudice, the suspense of how Ball is going to bring it all to a climax is perversely delightful. TOWELHEAD, initially named NOTHING IS PRIVATE for some film festivals, is the first directorial effort from Bell who does a terrific job in handling his dicey subject matter in ways that allow the audience to empathize with his characters. The excellent cast handles the material with ease. 4.5 cats
“TOWELHEAD screened at the 2008 Provincetown International Film Festival.”
Jeff responds: “‘Bell has his thumb on the pulse of middle class America.’
“You know, maybe I was and am hopelessly optimistic, sheltered, and naive, but I’ve been a middle-class American for 52 years and have never encountered any situations remotely like these in middle-class America.”
Jason responds: “I know what you mean. Every time I read something about a movie that uncovers the rottenness hidden underneath the placid exterior of suburban/middle-class America, I tend to find myself reflexively despising it. That’s probably unfair, as in most cases it’s probably just the filmmaker wanting to make this story about these characters rather than making an indictment on a broader scale, but, yeah, AMERICAN BEAUTY just isn’t my experience.”
Michael says: “I expect my opinion will be in the minority, but I didn’t really enjoy TOWELHEAD. It was a fairly ambitious film tackling some pretty complex themes, and while it was occasionally successful, I think it failed on the whole. Writer/director Alan Ball won accolades for his screenplay for AMERICAN BEAUTY, and TOWELHEAD feels to me a little like AMERICAN BEAUTY 2, only a little more unpleasant. We’ve got another strong cast, particularly Toni Collette, who is fantastic in everything, but something about TOWELHEAD falls flat. Satire is a particularly difficult genre to succeed with, particularly when tackling subject matter that’s as dark as this. I think Ball needed to go all out over-the-top. Instead, by trying to walk the delicate line of funny and uncomfortable it just feels pretty unpleasant. After all, a handful of laugh-out-loud lines don’t make for a good movie… especially when it all seems vaguely familiar. Ball needs to follow his successful ‘Six Feet Under’ example and move on to other themes. 2 cats.”
Carolyn says: “Very good acting by the lead character. Touches on many issues and handles them well. 3.5 cats”