Details
Movie Description
Director Todd Solondz (WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE, HAPPINESS) presents this characteristically bleak and darkly comic drama in two distinct parts. The first story, "Fiction" stars Selma Blair as Vi, a confused university student who engages in an impulsive tryst with her Pulitzer Prize-winning professor (Robert Wisdom) after arguing with her cerebral palsy-afflicted boyfriend (Leo Fitzpatrick). The second (and longer) tale, "Non-Fiction," stars Paul Giamatti as Toby, a down-on-his-luck documentary filmmaker who turns his camera on Scooby (Mark Webber), an unmotivated teenager, and his suburban New Jersey family.
At times even more controversial and confrontational than Solondz's previous films, STORYTELLING bluntly addresses issues such as race, sex, physical impairment, education, censorship, and exploitation, while not-so-subtly referencing and parodying both AMERICAN BEAUTY and AMERICAN MOVIE (whose own Mike Schank appears in the film). Cannily aware of both his admirers and detractors, Solondz has taken the intriguing step of criticizing his own work within the creative confines of the two stories. As with HAPPINESS, the director has assembled an impressive ensemble cast that also includes John Goodman, Julie Hagerty, Franka Potente, and Lupe Ontiveros. As a counterpoint to the often-glum proceedings, a bright, airy soundtrack is provided Belle and Sebastian and songwriter Nathan Larson.
Film Notes
DVD Features:
Note: Contains Rated and Unrated Versions
Region 1
Snap Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85:1
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Additional Release Material:
Trailer - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer
IN THEATRES: JANUARY 25, 2002 (LIMITED)
FEBRUARY 8, 2002 (WIDER)
Industry Reviews
"...STORYTELLING is funnily extreme and extremely funny..."
Sight and Sound - Richard Falcon (12/01/2001)
"...Solondz creates a unique landscape of suburban-bred misery, a bleak vista that continually forces viewers to shift sympathies and antipathies..."
Entertainment Weekly - Lisa Schwarzbaum (02/15/2002)
"...The kids in the family -- expertly played by Jonathan Osser, Noah Fleiss and Mark Webber -- emerge as memorable characters..."
Movieline - Stephen Farber (02/01/2002)
"...STORYTELLING is a virtuoso work in every aspect in which Solondz shakes a fist and the inescapability of human limitations colliding with the perversity of fate..."
Los Angeles Times - Kevin Thomas (01/25/2002)
"...Solondz forces us to consider the unthinkable, the unacceptable, the unmentionable, challenging us to decide what we think..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (03/10/2002)
"...[Blair gives] a riveting performance..."
USA Today - Mike Clark (07/19/2002)
"...STORYTELLING again demonstrates Solondz's talent for making us laugh and squirm simultaneously....Compelling..."
Total Film - Nicky Dawson (12/01/2001)
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