Igby Goes Down (2002)

Featured Audience Ratings

• ♥˩ƳИИ &

  
  Cast: Kieran Culkin, Susan Sarandon, Jeff Goldblum, Claire Danes, Ryan Phillippe, Bill Pullman, Amanda Peet, Jared Harris, Rory Culkin Director: Burr Steers Summary: A teenager tired of being ignored in deference to his older brother (Ryan Phillippe), Igby (Kieran Culkin)… More
  Cast: Kieran Culkin, Susan Sarandon, Jeff Goldblum, Claire Danes, Ryan Phillippe, Bill Pullman, Amanda Peet, Jared Harris, Rory Culkin Director: Burr Steers Summary: A teenager tired of being ignored in deference to his older brother (Ryan Phillippe), Igby (Kieran Culkin) escapes to New York City without his family's knowledge, where he meets and falls in love with another outsider (Claire Danes) who makes him realize he's not so alone in the world. But Igby also soon realizes he can never completely bury his past. My Thoughts: "Kieran Culkin portrayed all the angst and bitterness his character was feeling quite well. Igby's life is rough. His mother, played by Susan Sarandon, is very manipulative and condescending. Sarandon is pure genius as the mother in this film. You can feel all the frustration, anger, and yet sadness Igby feels towards his mother in the end. It's quite intense and emotional. There are plenty of complicated character's to keep your interest and keep you caught up in the story. Of course Rory Culkin was the best pick to play the young Igby considering they are brother's and look a lot alike. Every one of the actor's put in great performances. A film to see if you haven't."

• Chris W

  
  This represents something of a dry run for an updated Catcher in the Rye. It's a biting and caustic dark dramedy about Igby Slocumb- a rich and sardonic rich kid who hates his family and rebels at every chance he gets, trying to find an existence he can be happy with. His mother… More
  This represents something of a dry run for an updated Catcher in the Rye. It's a biting and caustic dark dramedy about Igby Slocumb- a rich and sardonic rich kid who hates his family and rebels at every chance he gets, trying to find an existence he can be happy with. His mother is a pill popper who comes from old money and is very overbearing. His father is schizophrenic and currently resides in an institution. His older brother Ollie is the type of well to do college guy with nothign but success in his future. And then there's Igby's godfather D.H., a wealthy and powerful guy whose status as Ollie's benefactor sees him play a rather questionably larger than normal role in his life for a non-mafia godfather. On his road to rebellion, Igby goes from school to school, then military school before ending up crashing in on New York's bohemian scene where he gets invovled with D.H.'s trophy mistress Rachel, her artist friend Russell, and a nice older, bored Jewish girl named Sookie. This is a big mix of satire, colorful characters, wittiness, humor, and pathos. It's also rather twisted and pretty weird at times. It's a well done nad entertainign film, though I did make the mistake of watching it in a double feature with The Squid and the Whale. Now my chances of having a happy rest of the day are pretty well non-existant. Oh well. At least the movies were good. Keiran Culkin is great as Igby, and, even though he's not yet achieved the household name recognition of Macaulay, he's definitely the more accomplished and better actor. Susan Sarandon seems to be having fun as Igby's mother Igby, and Ryan Phillippe excels as doing characters such as Ollie. Even if it is typecasting, he's still solid. Jeff Goldblum just radiates awesome smarminess as D.H. and I enjoyed (just about) every moment he was on screen. Claire Danes is terrific as Sookie, and Amanda Peet is really good as Rachel, and I'm jealous that Culkin (his character, rather) got to hook up with both of them. Bill Pullman's role is limited, but important, and he does a nice job. Harris is just batty, but fun. As a big fan of Catcher in the Rye, I dug this, even though it didn't grab me as mucch as that one did (or at least used to). In many ways I'm still very much like the leads from both wroks and can relate to them, despite being a bit older and having a more mature take on the world than I used to. All in all, this is good stuff, though it's not gonan be for everyone. If you like snotty rebellious bohemians and don't always see the glass as half full, I think you'll find something to enjoy here.

• Conner R

  
  This is almost too perfect of an origin story for Sean and Patrick Bateman. Kieran Culkin and Ryan Phillippe were both ruthless in their own way. I think it's great that they just basically make fun of rich, sophisticated people to no end. It's also a really great coming of… More
  This is almost too perfect of an origin story for Sean and Patrick Bateman. Kieran Culkin and Ryan Phillippe were both ruthless in their own way. I think it's great that they just basically make fun of rich, sophisticated people to no end. It's also a really great coming of age story that doesn't make the protagonist a complete whiny prick. Igby was actually pretty confident person and wasn't the typical clueless teen.

• Anthony L

  
  Quirky. A good turn by Goldblum & Culkin.

• Coxxie M

  
  well i saw about 15 minutes and it looks ok but Kieran, like his brother Macacakaulay however u spell it, is not a great actor.

• Ken S

  
  Another rich dysfunctional family film that's ultimately depressing, but well acted and crafted

• Red L

  
  I'm not sure about this movie. Almost everyone in it are pretty twisted people. Igby is pretty witty, but I'm not sure I'm any better for have seen the movie all the way through.

• James A

  
  This attempts tries to be clever and intelligent. The key word is ATTEMPTS. I would wager that prententious indie people would love the fuck out of this snooze.

• Curtis L

  
  Pretty crazy movie, i liked it.

• Rachel F

  
  Slightly odd but still very good.

• Bannan i

  
  I absolutely loved this movie, felt a bit masochistic watching it but hey. It's late, I should be sleeping...so I'll make a better review later. Meanwhile, please enjoy the decision to make movie quiz questions! =)

• Michael G

  
  Ehh...

• Rico Z

  
  This film has amazing performances by all of the ensemble cast. Even Amanda Peet isn't half bad in this one! Igby (as played by Culkin) is a completely relatable character, but at the same time you don't feel TOO sorry for him. Susan Sarandon gives a good, brief performance.… More
  This film has amazing performances by all of the ensemble cast. Even Amanda Peet isn't half bad in this one! Igby (as played by Culkin) is a completely relatable character, but at the same time you don't feel TOO sorry for him. Susan Sarandon gives a good, brief performance. It's family drama where there shouldn't be any. Spoiled rich kids with problems. It makes for a biting dark comedy and social commentary.

• Todd S

  
  I really love these weird independent comedies, that you have to be somewhat intelligent to understand. They are so much different from all the repetitive crap that we are subjected to over and over again. This is the story of a kid from a privileged family who just doesn't fit… More
  I really love these weird independent comedies, that you have to be somewhat intelligent to understand. They are so much different from all the repetitive crap that we are subjected to over and over again. This is the story of a kid from a privileged family who just doesn't fit in. He sees the hypocrisy of it all and decides to run away to NYC, where he meets some unique characters that you'd only find in New York. The middle Culkin brother, Kieran, stars and was incredible. Simply put, sometimes the story is good, but the movie is made by its star, and Culkin gives one of the best performances I've seen in a film like this. Igby Goes Down has a ton of stars, it's a clever story, and you really connect to the characters. I really enjoyed this film, but be warned, it's not for everybody. I honestly believe when it comes to this type of film, you need a personality that relates to some aspect of the film. Without that connection, you might not get as much out of this film as others did.

• Alec B

  
  The whole rich, dysfunctional, crazy family genre escapes me. There are good versions of it, but this film makes no sense. Its a coming of age story, but I don't understand the transformation, if there even was one. The characters make choices that are absurd. The one bright spot… More
  The whole rich, dysfunctional, crazy family genre escapes me. There are good versions of it, but this film makes no sense. Its a coming of age story, but I don't understand the transformation, if there even was one. The characters make choices that are absurd. The one bright spot of the film was Jeff Goldblum, but he isn't in the film enough to make a major impact.

• Andrew F

  
  I can't believe people compare this movie to <i>The Graduate</i>. Claire Danes is really the only standout, and the movie felt depressing as a whole.

• Marcus W

  
  Another film about a dysfunctional family and interweaving characters but this one is set apart from the others by having some amazing performances, a terrific score which alters the whole tone of the movie, not to mention a great script. It has it's fair share of darkness and… More
  Another film about a dysfunctional family and interweaving characters but this one is set apart from the others by having some amazing performances, a terrific score which alters the whole tone of the movie, not to mention a great script. It has it's fair share of darkness and brutal comedy, and deserves to be seen by any discerning film fan.

• Lovable M

  
  Good movie, go watch it.

• Sunil J

  
  Probably the first movie that actually made people aware that the were other Culkin's in the world. Dark and wonderful.

• Leo L

  
  Crazy funny!

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