Ken Park (2002)

Directors:

Larry Clark
Edward Lachman

Writers:

Larry Clark (stories)
Harmony Korine (writer)

Release Date:

31 January 2003 (Austria)

Genre:

Drama | Adult

Tagline:

Who are you?

Plot:

It's about several Californian skateboarder's life and relationships with and without their parents.

Plot Keywords:

Incestuous Desire | Anomie | Hardcore | Extreme Sex | Religiosity

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Adam Chubbuck	...	Ken Park
James Bullard	...	Shawn
Seth Gray	...	Shawn's brother
Eddie Daniels	...	Shawn's mother
Zara McDowell	...	Zoe
Maeve Quinlan	...	Rhonda
Stephen Jasso	...	Claude
Wade Williams	...	Claude's Father (as Wade Andrew Williams)
Tiffany Limos	...	Peaches
Julio Oscar Mechoso	...	Peaches' Father
James Ransone	...	Tate
Patricia Place	...	Tate's Grandmother
Amanda Plummer	...	Claude's Mother
Mike Apaletegui	...	Curtis
Harrison Young	...	Tate's Grandfather

Runtime:

96 min | Argentina:98 min (Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema) | Sweden:97 min

Country:

USA | Netherlands | France

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby SR

Certification:

France:-18 (court decision) | France:-16 | Iceland:16 | New Zealand:(Banned) (DVD/VHS release) | France:-16 (video) | Canada:R (Alberta) | Hungary:18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:Refused Classification | Brazil:18 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-18 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:III | Italy:VM18 | Japan:R-18 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 (film festival rating) | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud)

Filming Locations:

San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Busy Bee Productions

Trivia:

The ending of Harmony Korine's script was changed by Larry Clark.

Quotes:

Claude's father: You can pick your friends but you can't pick your family.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "SexTV: Balkan Erotic Epic/American Machismo/Peek: Larry Clark (#8.11)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues

A depressing mess.

I normally don't slam a movie as hard as I'm compelled to at the moment, however I think I need to. I expect some level of entertainment from a movie, however this movie does not deliver. There's always movies with a boring part or two, but this is just a flatline from start to finish. Even the sexually explicit scenes (earning it a ban in several countries) manage only to depress the viewer.

The disturbing images portrayed in this film seem to serve no purpose. While I enjoy the dark humor of the different levels of insanity people display at times, this movie doesn't even allow that. In addition to its purposelessness, it seems to have no focus or direction. It seems more like a collection of videos strung together in what would be aptly titled "Lower-class America's Worst Moments."

The only thing that prevents this from being a DVD that you turn off halfway through and toss in the microwave (fun, but somewhat dangerous) is the superb acting. As atrocious as this picture is, it's a display of this particular group of actors' ability to bring a script to reality.

Don't waste time with this film - it's no secret indie hit - it's just a piece of $^%*.