Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stuck in the "It's All About Me" Mindset., June 13, 2008
I was stuck on this B movie from its opening scenes. Inspired by a true story (rather than a sick joke), Stuck is a 2008 black comedy about a Providence nurse, Brandi (Mena Suvari of American Beauty) who, high on cocktails and Ecstasy and while talking on her cellphone, hits a newly homeless guy, Tom (Stephen Rea of The Crying Game), who then remains stuck in the broken windshield of the Brandi's car for days. While Tom attempts to survive, Nurse Brandi avoids calling the police and refuses to render medical assistance. Instead, she pops more Ecstasy, has sex with her boyfriend, and wonders how the accident might affect her promotion at the retirement home where she works. This is not good, she figures. So instead of saving Tom, she pleads, "Whay are you doing this to me," and then whacks him with a board whenever he regains consciousness, hoping that he'll just die already so she can dispose of his body. Re-Animator Stuart Gordon's satirical film is ultimately about an American culture that has become so self-absorbed that it is easier to refuse assistance to a dying person than to inconvenience oneself. Brandi's refusal to believe the accident was her fault, instead blaming the homeless guy for the sticky situation, works as priceless comedy. Stuck is rich in sex, drugs, horror, and graphic grindhouse gore.
G. Merritt
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stranger than Fiction!, November 15, 2008
STUCK is one of those films that creeps up on you, teases you into thinking a comedy is in the making, then slowly reveals itself as what seems to be an exposé of our current manner of getting through life, of competing in the workplace, and of self absorption to the point of endangering those around us. The fact that the film is based on a true story as adapted by director Stuart Gordon and transformed into a bitingly satirical screenplay by John Strysik increases the impact of this well-crafted little low budget film. Watch it once for the gritty content of the story, then watch it again to appreciate all of the very dark (and very pointed!) humor in what at first appears to be a grisly tale.
Brandi Boski (Mena Suvari) works as a Nurse's Aid in a nursing home of senile elderly patients, giving some of the finest care for those entrusted to her talents. Brandi's compassionate work is noted by the supervisor Peterson (Carolyn Purdy-Gordon) who manages to trick Brandi into an even heavier work schedule by suggesting a raise in position. Excited about her possible promotion Brandi and her working partner Tanya (Rukiya Bernard) celebrate that evening with Brandi's boyfriend/drug supplier Rashid (Russell Hornsby) who gives Brandi a pill of Ecstasy and the mixture of the drug with the alcohol creates a mess of Brandi's mind.
The parallel story involves one jobless Thomas Bardo (Stephen Rea) who lives in a tenement, is evicted because of past due rent, and becomes a street person, treated with cold (but satirical) mechanical responses at the Department of Unemployment. Left to sleep in the park he is befriended by another homeless person, given a shopping cart, and makes his way toward a midnight mission.
Brandi cum altered thought processes drives home, hits Thomas who comes sailing through her windshield badly injured, and out of fear and distress Brandi merely takes the 'stuck' Thomas home to park him in her garage, knowing that her boyfriend Rashid will help her. Thomas is conscious, unable to climb out of the glass of the crushed windshield and begs for help. How the stranded and injured Thomas is treated by the desperate but self-centered Brandi, by the frightened but macho Rashid, and by neighbors who fear intervention because of reporting an incident that would encourage police intervention and threaten their deportation as illegal immigrants results in an ending that shows how 'justice' can prevail!
The cast is first rate - especially Rea, Suvari, Hornsby and Bernard. The direction is tight and maintains credible characters in incredible situations and holds the audience attention every moment. This is a fine example of how a low budget film, in the hands of pros, can be more successful that the big budget, less thoughtful movies that crowd our marquis. Grady Harp, November 08
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Uniquely critical of the human race, March 9, 2009
This is truly a great film. It gets the viewer engrossed in the condition of a homeless man - played by Stephen Rhea - who has had everything taken from him - by apathetic people (who put efficiency and rules ahead of this man's unique circumstances).
The other main character is also sympathetic and makes you want to watch her - at first. However - when tested by the moral challenges posed by having our homeless friend trapped in her car's windshield - the apathy and evil demonstrated by the second character (a young nurses' aide) overwhelm the viewer with pity for Stephen Rhea's character. The film is a wonderful validation of the apathy and selfishness so pervasive in our society. I highly recommend this film - which is a very courageous unapologetically frank work of art.
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