Thumbsucker, 2005

I was afraid with a cast consisting of Tilda Swinton, Vincent D'Onofrio, Vince Vaughn, Keanu Reeves and Benjamin Bratt, that Thumbsucker would leave something to be desired. Most movies that I've been subjected to watching with a large cast of big named actors have always been poorly written and badly received. This movie, however, is incredible. Justin (Lou Pucci) is the main character and hasn't really done anything else since. The other of the main characters, Rebecca (Kelli Garner), has done several other things, many of which I am a fan. She deserves more credit, and should do more things.

Thumbsucker is about Justin and his inability to stop sucking his thumb. Dumb storyline right? NOT, it's the basis of a much larger underlying problem. This young man grows throughout this film, though I'm not sure the time span of the movie (probably a year). He deals with way bigger problems than any 17-year-old should ever have to go through. His love interest, Kelli Garner, is sending mixed signals. His orthodontist, Keanu Reeves, is crazy. School teacher, Vince Vaughn, demands too much and his parents, Tilda Swinton and Vincent D'Onofrio, are no help at all. Benjamin Bratt is thrown in the mix to just spice things up, I think that his part could've been cut and it wouldn't have made a bit of difference (I'm glad they didn't--he's fun to look at).

The movie starts slow, but with a lot of information coming on quickly, it's pretty easy to keep up. Lou Pucci has a sad puppy aura about him that would make anyone empathize with his character. You feel bad for him. I don't feel that I would change anything about this movie. Well, except maybe the scene that made me clasp my mouth shut with my hand. All I'll say is that it includes someone's butt, a spoon and a lot of blood.

4 out of 5 STARS