I. The Movie...

Contrary to popular belief, The Chumscrubber is not an industrial cleaning product designed to scrub away hard to remove soap chum. Rather, The Cumscrubber is the first feature film by newcomers Arie Posin and Zac Standford, who cowrote the story, with Standford completing the screenplay and Posin taking on directorial duties. The Chumscrubber was released as a Region 1 DVD in January 2006 and I bought it previously viewed from my local Rogers Video. I actually passed over The Chumscrubber when I first saw it in early February, but when a number of forum posts at the Internet Movie Database recommended this film as well as Me and You and Everyone We Know to people who liked Thumbsucker, I knew I had to get my hands on it.

The Chumscrubber has a strong satirical narrative with oddball characters that highlight a number of important themes including: human isolation and loneliness; the gulfs between adults and teenagers; human selfishness and insensitivity; humanity’s inability to listen and appreciate various points of view; as well as humanity’s inability to cherish and behold the child within.

The film’s title refers to a videogame that subtly surrounds and consumes the lives of the film’s youth and this videogame serves to bookend the movie as a kind of unifying metaphor for the film itself. Specifically, The Chumscrubber is the sole survivor of a nuclear holocaust, who now lives as a sort of modern-day headless horseman, destined to roam the streets of his community, fighting the zombie-like creatures that have risen from the ashes of the holocaust. The videogame is closely linked to Troy, the suburb’s primary supplier of the prescription drugs the youth use as a means of escape. It’s Troy’s suicide that sends the ordinary world of this small suburbia into chaos as Troy becomes The Chumscrubber, forcing the film’s characters to confront and deal with life.

There are impressive performances in The Chumscrubber. Jamie Bell, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Billy in 2000’s Billy Elliot, plays Dean Stiffle, our young teenage hero caught between the suicide of Troy, his best friend, and the other youth who want Troy’s drugs. Dean’s parents, Bill and Allie Stiffle are dysfunctional versions of Dr. Phill and Martha Stewart, both unsure of how to communicate with each other and the people around them; and they are portrayed by William Fichtner (Contact, Empire Fall and TV’s Invasion) and Allison Janney (Winter Solstice and TV’s The West Wing). Ralph Fiennes is Mayor Michael Ebbs, who learns to embrace his inner child while those around him simply think he’s gone mad. Lou Pucci also gives a finely textured performance, one that is quite the opposite of his starring role in Thumbsucker. Glenn Close, John Heard, Rita Wilson, Carrie-Anne Moss, Camilla Bell and Rory Culkin round out the cast, each playing a pivotal role in the film’s resolution.

The production values of the film are also very good. Each set provides a unique and interesting look into the lives of each of the families involved in this story, providing this suburban setting with a sense of individuality and similarity at the same time. There is also a lot of strong imagery involved throughout the film such as the recurring theme of the whales and the headless videogame star.

II. The Packaging and Menus…

The Chumscrubber comes packaged in a standard plastic DVD case. There were no environmentally unfriendly cardboard slip covers.

The cover of The Chumscrubber features a surreal suburban background that appears pasted together. It also features a photo of Dean superimposed like a cardboard cut-out in the center of the cover, with his t-shirt tying him into the film’s featured videogame. A list of the film’s cast is presented near the top of the cover, with the film’s title appearing underneath this listing. A quote from the Los Angeles Times is next to Dean, and the movie's tagline, Meet Generation Rx, appears on the bottom.

The back cover features a simple description of the movie along with a number of photos on top of a background that is similar to the cover’s surrealistic one, only here a still from the film's climatic sequence is recreated. At the bottom of the back cover appear the movie credits as well as technical presentation information for the film. There is no information on the special features anywhere on the front or back of the Canadian case, which is unfortunate. It also wouldn’t have hurt to quote some more famous reviewers, such as Richard Roeper.

There were no liner notes inserts included with my copy of The Chumscrubber, but this may have been due to the fact that I purchased a previously viewed copy of the film. However, more distributors are choosing not to include liner notes, probably to cut down on the production costs of the DVD.

Overall, the interactive menus are easy to navigate and continue the surrealistic style of the cover. Finally there does not appear to be any easter-eggs (hidden features) on The Chumscrubber, at least none that I could find.

III. Technical Presentation…

The film is presented in a widescreen theatrical aspect ratio of 2.40:1 which is enhanced for widescreen televisions. Overall, the images on this DVD are sharp, crisp and clean - a pleasure to behold.

The Chumscrubber is presented in both 5.1 Dolby Digital and 2.0 Dolby Digital Surround Sound, with available captions in English, Spanish and French.

IV. Special Features & Extras…

The special features for The Chumscrubber DVD are fairly light, but satisfying nonetheless.

The first is a filmmakers commentary with Arie Posin and Zac Stanford. The commentary is insightful, discussing various topics including: their motivations for making the film; how the story was shaped; casting choices; how sets and shots were designed; as well as discussing the musical choices that were made among creative aspects of the production.

Secondly, The Making of the Chumscrubber is a short, 12-minute inside look at the making of the film featuring interviews with the writers, producers and actors of the film. Although brief, this inside look is insightful and interesting to watch.

Third, there are also 10 deleted and extended scenes, presented on their own some with musical score and some without. The scenes do not feature any kind of commentary or discussion by the filmmakers about why they were not included in the film's final cut.

There are a number of previews for other Dreamworks movies including Red Eye and Just Like Heaven. Curiously missing however, are previews or trailers for The Chumscrubber itself.

Finally, although there is no direct link provided on the DVD, there is an interactive Chumscrubber website at http://www.thechumscrubber.com/. The site features numerous downloads in the form of various desktop pictures and instant messenger icons; the film’s theatrical trailer; complete cast and character information; links to personal websites of cast and crew members; games and much more. It's curious why many of these features weren't available on the DVD and it's also curious why no direct link to these features exist, especially when the site is copyrighted 2005 and this particular DVD came out in early 2006. I suppose it is possible that website information was included in liner notes that I simply did not get with my previously viewed copy.

V. Film Rating…

The Chumscrubber is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America (http://www.filmratings.com/), for language, violent content, drug material and some sexuality. The Canadian Home Video Rating (http://www.filmratings.ca/) is 14A.

VI. Conclusions…

The Chumscrubber is an engrossing film with a strong story that presents the dangers of failing to communicate on even the most basic levels with the ones we love.

Grade for the Feature Film: A-
Grade for the DVD Presentation & Extras: B

(c) March 10, 2006, Steven H. Lee


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older