Nowhere (1997)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Gregg Araki

Writer:

Gregg Araki (written by)

Release Date:

9 May 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

"sexy, psychedelic, dementedly funny, with a sensational soundtrack... it's like clueless with nipple rings."

Plot:

The third film in a trilogy by writer-director Gregg Araki. Described as "90210 on acid", the film tells the story of a day in the lives of a group of high school kids Los Angeles and the strange lives they lead.

Plot Keywords:

Bisexual | Bizarre | Suicide | Drug Dealer | Lesbian

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

James Duval	...	Dark Smith
Rachel True	...	Mel
Nathan Bexton	...	Montgomery
Chiara Mastroianni	...	Kriss
Debi Mazar	...	Kozy
Kathleen Robertson	...	Lucifer
Joshua Gibran Mayweather	...	Zero
Jordan Ladd	...	Alyssa
Christina Applegate	...	Dingbat
Sarah Lassez	...	Egg / Polly
Guillermo Díaz	...	Cowboy (as Guillermo Diaz)
Jeremy Jordan	...	Bart Sighvatssohn
Alan Boyce	...	Handjob
Jaason Simmons	...	The Teen Idol
Ryan Phillippe	...	Shad

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA | France

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Australia:R | France:-16 | South Korea:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Italy:VM18

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Blurco

Trivia:

The final scene involving Montgomery's transformation into a bug is suggestive of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis.

Goofs:

Continuity: Dark's facial stubble changes constantly.

Quotes:

Lilith: Blood is cool.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Batman Forever (1995)

Soundtrack:

Generation Wrekkked (Danny Saber Remix)

The Revival of trash! Sweet ‘n pure TRASH!!

What Gregg Araki presents to us here is nothing but good old-fashioned trash! Giving us a taste of the glorious Russ Meyer reign during the sixties and seventies, which is a terribly ignored field of cult-cinema. Simply put, this film is extremely COOL to look at! The title is very appropriate because this film indeed leads to nowhere and it's Gregg Araki's view on the subject of teen-alienation. Without even trying, he beats that other overrated director Larry Clark who takes himself way too serious anyway. Nowhere constantly introduces kinky and eccentric characters, each and every one of them suffering from modern diseases and problems like drugs, eating disorders, nymphomania, hallucinations, aggression and even suicide! Araki even touches the more daily problems like popularity and faithfulness. The pivot in this hysterical bunch is Dark, an utterly confused, bisexual young man who's convinced that he's going to die soon. Dark is played by James Duval, an over-talented young actor and building up a solid cult-reputation through starring in other goodies like ‘Donnie Darko' and ‘May'. Duval also was the key figure in the previous entries of Araki's apocalyptic trilogy, carrying the very imaginative titles `Totally F***ed Up' and `The Doom Generation'. Both films that come with my highest possible recommendation as well, but I'm strongly convinced that Nowhere is Araki's best and most personal achievement. It just is a magnificent series of hilariously messed up conversations and actions, leading towards a truly insane anti-climax. I can easily imagine that mainstream film-audiences will absolutely loath this film, but I'm a giant fan…and Araki can be sure of the fact that his film already built up a cult-following by now.

It's truly remarkable how Gregg Araki managed to work with such an overly well-known and talented cast. Practically every little role in Nowhere is credited with a famous name of the young and upcoming Hollywood generation. In the tiniest, most meaningless figures, you'll recognize faces like Heather Graham, Shannen Doherthy, Stacy Keanen, Scott Caan, Ryan Phillipe, Jordan Ladd, Mena Suvari and many, many more… The absolute highlights however, are the cameos by multiple veterans like Beverly D'Angelo as Dark's slutty mother and especially John Ritter as a religion guru on TV. You hear it, there's so much to discover in this film…I can't praise it enough!