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Written by Gregg Shapiro
Feb 24, 2011
Chris Zylka is the stuff of dreams in “Kaboom.” – Photo: Courtesy
Queer filmmaker Gregg Araki (“The Living End”) reached a career high with his 2004 film adaptation of Scott Heim’s novel “Mysterious Skin.” That movie was significant, not only because Araki looked to the well-stocked shelves of contemporary gay lit for inspiration, but also for the maturity with which he handled the subject material.
But his latest film “Kaboom” is a return to his earlier interest in sex-obsessed youth, made popular in titles such as “Nowhere,” “The Doom Generation” and “Splendor.”
In “Kaboom,” sexually “undeclared” film-studies-major Smith (Thomas Dekker) begins having recurring nightmares after moving into his freshman college dorm. In the dreams, he’s walking naked down a hallway.
His sexual frustration could stem from rooming with Thor (Chris Zylka), an oversexed straight blond surfer dude. Or it could be due to the cryptic messages from pothead R.A. The Messiah (James Duval) or the anonymous ones being slipped under Smith’s door.
Or maybe it’s Smith’s self-involved and distant mother (Kelly Lynch), whose short cellphone calls are enough to give anyone nightmares.
Smith’s lesbian partner in crime Stella (Haley Bennett, who practically steals the show), is an art major and the comic relief. But she has her own issues, the main one being Lorelei (Roxane Mesquida), her spell-casting witch of a girlfriend. With Stella otherwise occupied, Smith embarks on a relationship with Fez-wearing London (Juno Temple), who likes having sex with gay guys.
But then Smith’s hallucinations begin. There’s a red-haired girl named Madeleine (Nicole LaLiberte) in a few of them. There are also men in animal masks in others. Between the dreams and hallucinations and sexual confusion, Smith seems headed for a downfall. Then his absentee cult-leader father, who Smith assumed was dead, surfaces and an apocalypse looms large, as Smith discovers his true identity.
Araki appears to have fun with this very original material, making fun of cults and college life (a sort of cult in itself). But it’s all disposable and far from memorable.
Note: “Kaboom” is available as a Video On Demand selection.
