Palindromes: You know what gross spelled backwards is? Still gross.
Aviva, the main character in Palindromes (2004), is a twelve year old girl who wants to get pregnant more than anything else in the world. As fun as that sounds, it’s really only the beginning of her problems. Directed by Todd Solondz of Happiness, Palindromes pulls no punches as Aviva gets sweaty with a variety of douche bags including, but not limited to: truckers, born again christians, and a creepy fat kid who looks suspiciously like Jonah Hill.
Questionable (but, hilarious!) subject matter aside, the film’s structure is really intriguing. The narrative is broken up into several different chapters, each one featuring a different actress playing Aviva. We’re not really sure if Solondz is attempting to express the ubiquity of teen pregnancy or if he made some kind of heinous backdoor deal with NewFaces.com , but the varied ability level of each actress gave the character a somewhat uneven feel.
Love it or hate it, it can’t be denied that this movie has one of the single greatest music performances of all time. The Sunshine Singers are a born again christian pop band composed of disabled or otherwise “different” children who live in a group home. Pay attention to the blonde kid in the purple, he’s fabulous…
While Palindromes is most likely to appeal to creepy neighbors, fans of absurdly dark humor, and people who enjoy making dates REALLY awkward, it’s worth checking out for the strange and uniquely neutral reflection it paints on the pro-choice/pro-life debate. Solondz refuses to take a side instead opting to hoist both arguments on their own petard. The film never tips it hat to its own beliefs: The pro-lifers are child-loving assassins and the pro-choice people are incredibly materialistic.
We’re giving Palindromes the finger three times out of a possible four because of its risky subject matter and off-kilter sense of humor (more dead baby jokes, then an abortion clinic on April Fools Day), and excellent soundtrack. Our only complaint is that some of the actors (primarily the Avivas) are a little wooden.
February 2nd, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Word.
February 5th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
[...] neon-neutral, dressed up and down concoction of contradiction is making me want to join in on the hallelujah chorus. Her messy updo embodies the entire outfit in an [...]
February 6th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
I want to see this. I remember picking up the box at blockbuster in jr. high and thinking it sounded really strange and interesting, but I wouldn’t be allowed to rent it because, well obviously my parents weren’t going to let me get away with that one being 12 and all, but I saw Welcome to the Dollhouse a couple years later and now I need to see this, but I can’t find it anymore. That was a terribly long sentence, but really I just love Todd Solondz. Especially his films that take place in New Jersey.
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:31 am
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October 21st, 2009 at 10:13 am
[...] this to me this morning and it gives me the cold dead feeling in my insides previously reserved for films by Todd Solondz.The photo is taken from the Awesome All Day Good Will Tour outside of Fayetteville. I’m not [...]