Emmanuelle Chriqui, Franka Potente, Heather Matarazzo

Two stories set in two eras against the comical terrain of college and high school, past and present--exploring issues of sex, race, celebrity and exploitation. The first story: On a college campus in...( read more  read more... ) the mid-80s, a white female writing student has an emotional experience with her black, male writing teacher. The second story: In 2000, Toby Oxman is a 30-year-old wannabe celebrity and a documentary filmmaker. He sets out to document the Livingstons, an affluent suburban family raising three boys. The eldest is Scooby, a goofy, uninspired high school senior who aspires to be the next Conan O'Brien but whose parents are desperate for him to attend college in the fall. Brady, his 16-year-old brother, is the school's handsome and popular football star. When Brady is injured by another student during a football game, friends and family are forced to take stock of their values and re-evaluate their lives.

Flixster Users

70% liked it

7,508 ratings

Critics

53% liked it

89 critics

R, 1 hr. 24 min.

Directed by: Todd Solondz

Release Date: January 25, 2002

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DVD Release Date: July 16, 2002

Stats: 519 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (519)


  • June 4, 2009
    depressing
  • December 13, 2008
    Amazingly structured, beautifully shot, and brilliant, straightforward and honest dialogue. Storytelling is dark humored, luridly amusing and entertaining, and funny as hell in the demented sense. It's sharp, perversely genuine, witty and brutally forthright. Avoid the "R" ratin...( read more)g at all cost and watch this in it's true form, RENT THE UNRATED VERSION!

    "Fiction"
    Vi is a hip college teenager who allows herself to be exploited and abused by any guy, including her writing professor, in order to get inspiration for her creative writing class.

    - In my eyes, this story seems to me it would be more on the "Non-fiction" side. But you can be the judge.

    "Non-fiction"
    Toby Oxman is a hapless loser/shoe salesman who wants to be a famous documentary filmmaker. For his first project, Toby explores the dysfunctional Livingston family, focusing mostly on the oldest son Scooby, an alienated, hates-the-world, ticking-time-bomb, bisexual, high school student with dreams of being famous.

    - Strange how this story is "Non-fiction", but hell, I love it's eccentricity. Just makes the movie more intriguing.

    Storytelling is disturbing, but it's always fun! Coming from the guy who directed "Welcome to the Dollhouse" you should already know what kind of material to expect. Todd Solondz is a great director, always with a strange and twisted, but interesting outlook on life. He's an amazing artist.

    I highly recommend Storytelling.


    "A masterful comedy that will divide audiences, but it left me laughing hysterically. I hope that doesn't make you think I'm a sick bastard, but if so, piss off."
    - Film Threat

    "I saw it a third time. By then I had moved beyond the immediate shock of the material and was able to focus on what a well-made film it was; how concisely Solondz gets the effects he's after."
    - Roger Ebert

    "Solondz has finally made a movie that isn't just offensive -- it also happens to be good. He's still shouting, still violating our politically correct sensibilities, but the shocks now have thematic purpose. They don't just titillate, they resonate."
    - The Globe and Mail

    "The leanest and meanest of Solondz's misanthropic comedies, feasts on the anguish of adolescence and confusion of college -- white suburban-style."
    - Village Voice

    "Almost as uncompromising, and sometimes as funny, as "Dollhouse" or "Happiness.""
    - Chicago Tribune

    "It's extremely well played and often very funny. But beware: Solondz uses humor as a booby trap, so be careful what you laugh at."
    - TV Guide

    "A movie that advances the career of a demonstrably gifted filmmaker, a fearlessly funny movie whose laughs draw blood, a bracingly provocative movie that won't apologize for its bad temper."
    - Rolling Stone
  • July 23, 2008
    I like this film and I don't know why! I didn't fully understand the connection between the first and second part of it. But it had something not every film has -spice. And the performances are more than satisfying.
  • March 23, 2008
    Storytelling is a very captivating story that, like all of Solondz's work, makes the viewer examine their morales in just about every scene. Solondz isn't afraid to go into the darkest recesses of human nature and leave you lingering there for a seemingly inescapable amount of ti...( read more)me. As much as I love his films, I find it funny how miserable I am watching it. It's the most entertained you'll ever be while having an awful time.

    If you've ever read any of Todd's interviews, you'll catch on within minutes of the second story that he is portraying himself through Toby - played by the always wonderful Paul Giamatti. This makes for a really compelling dynamic as he's not only telling a captivating story, but shutting up all the critics who argue that his films are exploitative and he "abuses" his characters.

    The second half of this film is really wonderful... and so is the first half, but not really together. They both seemed like they could have been films in themselves, and neither got the time it deserved. As magnificent as Selma Blair's performance was, you've completely forgotten about it at the end as you're thinking about the other story.

    Although it's arguably the worst of Todd Solondz - that's not necessarily a bad thing... most filmmakers will never have half the depth of an average Solondz film.
  • November 19, 2007
    Can't remember much about it other than a guy daydreams about conan obrien and a mexican made ends up burning down their house.
  • August 14, 2009
    Rich in comedic gold. Todd Solondz knows how to make a damn movie.
  • August 11, 2009
    really starting to love this director, thanks baby!
  • July 9, 2009
    Okay, it's hot Happiness but god Solondz know how to write and how to direct. It,s so sharp, so real, so true, so in a way funny but devastating. Really great and a lot of ingenious moments.
  • July 3, 2009
    Brutal and sick film. I think Todd Solondz may have been making fun of his characters a little bit too much. The second half is stronger than the first half.
  • April 23, 2009
    What a structure! Life is stranger than fiction. We pursue the fictional fact. That's the life.

Critic Reviews


February 8, 2002
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

A frustrating experience, made more so by the seemingly self-referential moments in the film. full review

February 8, 2002
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

By not averting his eyes, Solondz forces us to consider the unthinkable, the unacceptable, the unmentionable. full review

January 18, 2002
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

A fearlessly funny movie whose laughs draw blood, a bracingly provocative movie that won't apologize for its bad temper. full review

October 22, 2001
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Awfully funny. And I do mean awfully. full review

View more Storytelling reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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Storytelling Trivia


  • Which Todd Solondz's film has the following quote: - what is rape exactly? -It is when you love someone and they don't love you and you do something about it. -sometimes I think my parents don't love me. -Well, when you get older you can do something about it.  Answer »
  • His notable roles include a TV police detective, a Mafia crimelord, a story-telling grandfather, and a hitman for a crime syndicate.  Answer »
  • Quentin Tatantino- Often uses an unconventional storytelling device in his films, such as retrospect, non-linear, or "chapter" format.  Answer »
  • What does Karen say she is good at in Out Of Africa ?  Answer »

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