Art School Confidential

Finally saw this. It's been sitting on my desk for a couple months from Netflix and I just haven't been in the mood. But I finally was, so I watched it. I have to say that it's a pretty decent film that's often funny, but it can't seem to decide if it's a slightly mature coming of age story, a teen sex romp, a scathing satire, or something darker. I do like films that mix genres and moods, but I didn't find this mix altogether convincing or rewarding. The romantic angle was underdeveloped. Max Minghella in the lead wasn't very sympathetic or emotive, so that was a problem. Steve Buscemi played broad but didn't seem to have much motivation except to be an asshole, but John Malkovich was a much more interesting asshole. Jim Broadbent was utterly terrifying, so much so that his scenes almost belonged in another movie. I found ASC a generally entertaining but at times desperate piece of entertainment that never felt like a sure hand was guiding it from script to direction. Dan Clowes is an extremely talented man who nonetheless is rather exposed here, but I must admit I did laugh at all the artsy jokes and found the setup with the shitty artist being respected by everyone over the sincere, very representational Jerome to be constantly amusing.