The AntiTwink Review: Kaboom
Thomas Dekker as Smith in Kaboom
Matty Slick-Haxx weighs in on Gregg Araki's latest mind-bending flick.
The first Gregg Araki film I ever saw was Mysterious Skin. Now, with a sexy little twink like Joseph Gordon-Levitt selling his body all while pursuing the truth about aliens and his little league baseball team I was completely absorbed with the style that Araki used. In his newest film, Kaboom, I was anything but let down.
Kaboom is the story of college freshman Smith (Jared Leto look-alike Thomas Dekker), who is utterly confused about his entire existence. His father left the family, his mother was detached and he doesn’t know if he likes boys or girls. The story leads up to his 19th birthday. It all starts out seemingly as build-up for a run-of-the-mill homo-teen sex comedy, but even I was shocked when Araki veered off into Donnie Darko territory: Smith’s lesbian best friend, Stella (Haley Bennett), starts dating a witch with cosmic oral skills; there are men with animal masks showing up outside his window; it even gets to the point where Smith sees these masked men plunge a knife into a girl’s skull.
What really made me take this movie seriously was its ability to make fun of itself. There were cheesy lines that the entire theatre was laughing at. The nipple count was astronomical. There was mention of both the Kinsey Scale as well as Explosions in the Sky. Smith’s hunk of a roommate, Thor (Chris Zylka), spends a good length of time naked and even trying to suck his own cock. Straight men are turned gay and threesomes are had with our hero. Torsos are found in dumpsters, gay boys are possessed, and there’s even an incestuous subplot.
The acting is on point, and with such ridiculous scenarios I give them props. From the same director that gave us Smiley Face—not to mention Doom Generation and The Living End—I was pleased on all counts. There was humor, slapstick mixed with drama and fantasy. You really begin to relate to Smith and want the odds to turn out in his favor.
Kaboom is playing at the IFC Theatre on 6th Ave and W 4th St.
