Victory.The men celebrate gloat after winning one battle in the war between Bob (Miller, right) and Donatella...
Bob and Donatella (Miller and Western) are waiting for a divorce, but still living in the same house. They completely ignore each other, communicating in catch-phrases borrowed from trashy TV talk shows (without the bleeps) through their 10-year-old son (Eichner). Then Bob literally builds a wall through the house. And war breaks out. Bob's friends hang out in the family room, swilling beer and shouting insults at Donatella, who is having an affair with a middle class accountant Marion (Adams) at work--blue collar meets white collar. Then one of Bob's new friends (Schuermann) gives him a gun and a rocket launcher.
This is very low budget stuff, rough-edged in every way--writing, direction and performances. But what it lacks in polish it more than makes up for in energy and subject matter. This is serious stuff, played way over the top for laughs (sometimes) but quite cutting and meaningful. There's a lot of priceless dialog as these uneducated characters sling pure, unthinking bile at each other ... while something completely different is going on under the surface. And the collisions between the ranting yahoos, the exasperated cops (frequent visitors to the house) and the perplexed Marion ("Can't we just talk things through over brunch?") are fiercely, blackly clever.
[adult themes and situations, language] 24.Oct.00
London Film Fest Nov.00
