Animal Room (1995)

Purely Joyful Movie!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

What an amazing piece of junk cinema this is. This is a classic example of someone not knowing quite what to do with the material. A judicious editor could have turned this into a classic harrowing story of teen angst and social responsibility. Instead it's a schlockfest of horror and some of moments which, in better hands, may have provoked unease and shocked audiences into contemplation of the situations at hand, instead provoke hilarious laughter. This, in and of itself, is not a bad thing, but I don't think it was an intentional choice.Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed "Animal Room" for all the wrong reasons.Matthew Lillard gives what is quite probably his best performance, and it's wasted here. But it's still worth watching. As another review stated, "we all know young men like him" but Lillard pulls it off with a sincere creepiness and unrelenting Neil Patrick Harris' as Arnie breaks out of Dougie Houser mode, and although he professes resistance to being part of this group experiment of social misfits, he otherwise acquiesces to his plight and it's difficult to feel any empathy towards to a character who constantly reminds everyone who much more brilliant, witty and crafty he is than everyone around him. Of course, were this to be remotely true, there wouldn't have been a movie.As Arnie's old best friend, Gary, Gabriel Olds turns in a shiny, performance as the golden boy who wants to help Arnie get back on track. His performance, even as good and genuine as it is, can't help but provoke more laughter so out of place is it here.It's also fun to see Catherine Hicks relieved of "7th Heaven" goodness as a creepy, alcoholic Mom who can't seem to keep her hands off an uncomfortable young Gary.Again, there was a good idea here, but it wasn't developed. To start with the premise is completely unbelievable – not far-fetched or impossible, which is acceptable in the right hands, but simply unbelievable. It's difficult to move beyond that. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed "Animal Room" – but then again, I'm a misfit!

Punk-worshipping writer/director does pretentious remake of "Clockwork Orange". After trundling along for several hours, film ends. Sadists gain loads of new whack material. Tarantino's shelf remains undusted.

This is a truly original film and while some parts were dark, I think it has true vision and something to say . The acting and directing were fantastic. Animal Room is not for the mind numbing popcorn chompers. This film has a vision and a voice that made me think and stayed with me. I wish more films had the kind of power and emotional qualities this gem has.

I really enjoyed Animal Room. It has my favorite actor in it, Matthew Lillard. His performance in this movie is great. I saw this movie back in the middle of April when it first came out to video. This movie made me think a lot about people and those who get picked on and knowing who your true friends are. It's really sad when you look deep into the movie. The main basis of the film starts with Arnold Mosk(Harris) who has been placed in a program for drug users. Every student has their bully. Arnold's is Doug Van Housen(Lillard) who is constantly torturing him. Arnold's old friend Gary Trancer(Olds) is trying to reach out to him and rekindle that old friendship they once had because he knows what a tough time Arnold is going through. The rest of the movie is just a look at their lives and how they cope with one another and their own problems. I really can't stress enough how great of a movie this is. I know many people will not like it. You really have to be a certain kind of person to like it. Someone with a twisted mind, someone who really enjoys art and what life is really about in a film, someone who really enjoys the actors in the film. I fall under all three, as may many more people. It's just so great, the camera angles are good, the acting is great, everything just fits into place. The movie was well put together. If you enjoy any of the three things I listed, go see this movie. It's really great.-A+