(Warning: this review contains SPOILERS)
As a fan of the book 'Prozac Nation' by Elizabeth Wurtzel - I came into this movie with high expectations. Christina Ricci, upon buying the rights to Wurtzel's memoir, claimed to be a fan of the book, too.
I find it hard to believe that, as a producer and star of the film, she would have allowed a very emotional and personal piece of literature to be butchered.
To say I hated this movie would be mild. I felt personally attacked. As a young twenty-something trying to cope with mental illness in this accurately labeled 'Prozac Nation', I found several points of this movie offensive.
Ricci, and the script, portrayed severe depression and mental illness like a whiny child. Wurtzel came across as a young woman with permanent PMS rather than someone with serious mental problems. Her relationships with her friends (Noah and Ruby in particular) were misconstrued, compared to the book. Her mother's own struggles with depression and substance abuse weren't even touched upon. In fact, there was a quote from the movie, after Wurtzel's mother had been mugged in New York that was directly contradictory with the book. Liz made a comment to herself when the nurse said her mother had refused painkillers, akin to 'She refused drugs? Are we even related?'. Her mother had an addiction to pain medication during Elizabeth's childhood - which added to Liz's emotional problems later in life. Even her relationship with her father was chopped up and put back together strangely.
If the screenwriter had tried to at least follow the book in the slightest - it would have been a thousand times better. They pulled bits and pieces of an elaborate story of substance abuse, mental illness, coming of age in the 80's, family dysfunction, and a young woman trying to overcome childhood trauma - and turned it into a mediocre movie about this tragically hip writer who b****es, does a lot of drugs and sleeps around.
The best part of the film was the supporting cast. Jessica Lange was beautiful, with what little she was given, but her talent was severely underused. Jonathan Rys-Meyers could have worked more on his American accent, but was good none the less. I enjoyed Michelle William's portrayal of Ruby, and Jason Biggs' performance is well worth mentioning. Out of the entire supporting cast, I MUST give mention to Anne Heche. Her performance was subtle, yet very good.
As an adaptation of a book, this movie was horrible. As a movie in and of itself, it was mediocre. I suggest that if you subscribe to Starz, and have a couple hours to spare - watch the movie. If you don't, I won't advise you to spend the money to rent it.
As a fan of the book 'Prozac Nation' by Elizabeth Wurtzel - I came into this movie with high expectations. Christina Ricci, upon buying the rights to Wurtzel's memoir, claimed to be a fan of the book, too.
I find it hard to believe that, as a producer and star of the film, she would have allowed a very emotional and personal piece of literature to be butchered.
To say I hated this movie would be mild. I felt personally attacked. As a young twenty-something trying to cope with mental illness in this accurately labeled 'Prozac Nation', I found several points of this movie offensive.
Ricci, and the script, portrayed severe depression and mental illness like a whiny child. Wurtzel came across as a young woman with permanent PMS rather than someone with serious mental problems. Her relationships with her friends (Noah and Ruby in particular) were misconstrued, compared to the book. Her mother's own struggles with depression and substance abuse weren't even touched upon. In fact, there was a quote from the movie, after Wurtzel's mother had been mugged in New York that was directly contradictory with the book. Liz made a comment to herself when the nurse said her mother had refused painkillers, akin to 'She refused drugs? Are we even related?'. Her mother had an addiction to pain medication during Elizabeth's childhood - which added to Liz's emotional problems later in life. Even her relationship with her father was chopped up and put back together strangely.
If the screenwriter had tried to at least follow the book in the slightest - it would have been a thousand times better. They pulled bits and pieces of an elaborate story of substance abuse, mental illness, coming of age in the 80's, family dysfunction, and a young woman trying to overcome childhood trauma - and turned it into a mediocre movie about this tragically hip writer who b****es, does a lot of drugs and sleeps around.
The best part of the film was the supporting cast. Jessica Lange was beautiful, with what little she was given, but her talent was severely underused. Jonathan Rys-Meyers could have worked more on his American accent, but was good none the less. I enjoyed Michelle William's portrayal of Ruby, and Jason Biggs' performance is well worth mentioning. Out of the entire supporting cast, I MUST give mention to Anne Heche. Her performance was subtle, yet very good.
As an adaptation of a book, this movie was horrible. As a movie in and of itself, it was mediocre. I suggest that if you subscribe to Starz, and have a couple hours to spare - watch the movie. If you don't, I won't advise you to spend the money to rent it.
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