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Igby Goes Down

Film // Jim // 8th December 2003

Igby Goes Down has been compared to the J.D. Salinger novel Catcher In The Rye due, in no small part, to the fact that they are strikingly similar; Smart-arse teenager, railing against the world, drops out of school, goes to New York etc etc.
Catcher In The Rye is considered by many as one of the finest novels ever written, often being described as life changing by those who read it as a teenager themselves. Many see it as full of “life-lessons” and hidden meanings although I have to admit I must have skipped the cunning metaphor that suggested shooting John Lennon in the guts was a top idea.
Although I read CITR too late in life to learn an awful lot from it, I have certainly learned a couple of valuable lessons from the film it has inspired:

Lesson 1: Occasionally what appears to be a load of rubbish can prove to be rather good, or, Never judge a DVD by its cover
Stood looking at the box in the air conditioned hell of Blockbuster (with dismal couples arguing about whether to get Bruce Almighty or Charlie's Angels 2 all around) Igby Goes Down does not look like a cinematic treat. It has one of the satanic Culkin family as the main attraction plus a supporting cast including:
- Ryan Phillipe, who made us all laugh in Gosford Park
- The hit and miss Bill Pullman (never to be forgiven for Independence Day in my book)
- The bizarre Jeff Goldblum “Hmmmm, Erm, Mmmmm, Dinosaurs, Mmmmm”

Still it has had good reviews and there ain’t much else so I give it a whirl, expecting to be slagging it off something silly within a couple of hours.

Much to my surprise IGD turns out be extremely good, after a very, very dark opening we are introduced to the caustic teenager Igby. Constantly being expelled from various schools for rebellious behaviour and with an ultra-rich nightmare family, headed by disturbing matriarch Susan Sarandon, Igby eventually goes into hiding in a posh new york loft kept by his uncle’s bit on the side. The first hour of this film is tremendous, every single person in it is a complete bastard and they all have great lines.
The cold-hearted way in which the film examines the total lack of empathy amongst these rich, callous characters is summed up in a scene in which Igby is informed of a nasty turn in his mothers health. His brother tells him “They’ve found another lump”, Igby pauses and replies in an even tone, “Good”.

This may all lead you to presume that this is all a bit depressing, in fact the whole thing is very funny indeed despite the fact that you would like to give almost all of the cast a good kicking.
So the film is barrelling along, amusing you and surprising you along the way and then towards the end, Igby Goes Down teaches its second major lesson:

Lesson 2: No matter how good something seems, it always lets you down in the end
Admittedly prior to really letting you down the film does have a few bits that grate:
-Unpleasantly sarcastic drink-addled 17 year-old layabouts don’t get to shag attractive slightly older women who look like Amanda Peet or Claire Danes. Believe me, I’ve done the research on that one.
-The whole brother-nicking-his-girlfriend bit feels completely bolted-on and out of step with the rest of the flick.
-It is genetically impossible to feel sympathy for any member of the Culkin family.

However what really let things down for me was the couple of scenes towards the end of the film where the plot demands that things get “emotional”, hence Igby mopes around to the none more irritating sounds of Coldplay and Travis before sodding off to California. Total cop out.

Overall though well worth renting, especially to see how Igby’s mum deals with disciplining her domestic staff. Oh yes, and Goldblum is majestic.