Sadly Over-hyped

It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

This is an extremely harrowing, intensely dramatic film, based on the autobiographical book by Elizabeth Wurtzel, published in 1994 and which was an international bestseller. The film contains two spectacularly brilliant lead performances, one by the 20 year-old Christina Ricci as Elizabeth Wurtzel, and the other by Jessica Lange as her mother. The intensity of the emotional outbursts emanating from both of them during the course of this story is such that it is like watching atomic bombs explode up close, and you worry about the radiation poisoning and collateral damage. You look around the room to see if the furniture is still there or has been disintegrated. If it is still there, you can't be sure it will be for long. Ricci is 33 now and has already made 64 films, nearly two for every year of her life, but considering she started at nine, that is 2.66 films for every year of her active career so far. She is spreading as fast as Japanese knotweed, and is as ineradicable. Is there anyone who has not been amazed at her by now? But, not to be outdone, Jessica Lange does the most hysterical telephone screaming scene in the history of the cinema in this film, and I wonder how many phones she smashed, considering that one died for each take. Really, Ricci and Lange are in fierce competition in this film for who can be the most hysterical. Ricci wins, but then her character is the really crazy one, and Lange's is only partly crazy. The character of Elizabeth is totally convincing, and alas for those of us who have had experience of genuinely crazy people at close quarters. I have never known a girl who 'had it as bad as' Elizabeth, but I have known less acute cases with similar symptoms. Central to her condition is a manic narcissism, such that other people only exist as penumbras who are more or less in focus depending upon whether they are useful or obstructive to the narcissist's chosen path and aims (which may either be insane or may possess a kind of insane logic to them, so that it is only the premises which are insane). There is no doubt that spoilt brats are excellent recruits to narcissism, and one of the revealing scenes in this film is where Lange confesses to Ricci that after her husband (Ricci's father) abandoned them, she first 'lost it' but then refocused on Ricci and her daughter 'became everything to me'. Those parents who try to fulfill their own emotional needs and compensate for their own inadequacies by using their children as tools can indeed create monsters. It is just such boys from affluent families who, as spoilt brats converted into total narcissism, go and shoot their schoolmates in all those American school shootings. And by the way, such spoilt brats have killed far more people than the 'Boston bombers', but because those are foreigners, they can become a national issue, whereas the home-grown spoilt brats who shoot their schoolmates are quickly forgotten because they are far too embarrassingly 'boys next door' and 'one of us'. Well, Elizabeth Wurtzel was also 'one of us' who went completely crazy, but somehow she seems to have pulled herself out of the depths of madness and described her story in the most amazing way. It really is an incredible feat, what she has done, and an equally incredible film has been made of it. The tragedy of it all is that the psychiatric care seems to have been entirely useless (the psychiatrist played by Anne Heche barely speaks and just stares at Ricci), and the only thing which was able to bring Wurtzel under control was the drug Prozac. The film informs us that in 2000, 300 million prescriptions for Prozac and other similar tranquilizer drugs were dispensed in America, which is more than one per head of population. That certainly is a good ad for Big Pharma. But it is not a good ad for Americans. Are they really all as crazy as that suggests? And have they all been reduced to drugged zombies who are sleep-walking through life? What does this say about the quality of democratic participation? If you are drugged up to the eyeballs, are you really fit to enter a polling booth? Another disturbing revelation this year, 2013, concerns the new psychiatric diagnostic clinicians' manual known as DSM-5. According to a television report on that, the new manual circulated to all psychiatrists in America vastly expands the categories of psychosis. According to the new criteria, a person is allowed two weeks of grieving time after the death of a spouse or other close loved one, and if after that extreme grief continues, the person is considered to be psychiatrically ill and could in theory, I suppose, be institutionalized. At least everybody now knows how to ration their grief, since if you extend it to 15 days you may risk being taken away by the men in white coats and put into a straight jacket, as 15 days of grief is more than your permitted quota. But of course America is still 'a free country', and hence everyone is perfectly free to grieve for 14 days without penalty. Isn't that kind of the authorities, to allow 14 days of free grief before they start charging for institutionalization? That's what is called a merciful society. After all, there may be societies elsewhere in the world where only 13 days is permitted, and that would be very Un-American, thus proving that foreigners do not understand democracy. And also, according to the television report, 25% of the American population are now classified as mentally ill, and 20% are on psychoactive drugs. Well, that is what the TV report said. It also said that 69% of the people who drew up the DSM-5 have financial links with drug companies. Clearly no conflict of interest there!

How can they go wrong with two of my favorite actresses? Christina Ricci and Jessica Lange (check her out in Asylum: American Horror Story - she is brilliant). Ricci is Lizzie, a very talented, confused, screwed up, depressed, schizo, druggie, alcoholic: (she has some serious problems) - all seemingly the result of an absent, slacker Father and a meddling Mother. The thing that comes across very dramatically is that everyone (except her friend played by Michelle Williams) is only concerned with themselves. Her Mother throws her a birthday party - that really is meant to impress her (Lange's) Mother. Lizzie sees this & shocks them all with language, attitude, and anger. Her Father is just concerned with his (lack of a) career - his finances, etc.Poor Lizzie is a ping pong ball which just gets batted around as the key people in her life search for their own meaning. No wonder she is so screwed up.Highlights of this film were when Rafe tells Lizzie why he sticks with her - because she feels everything down to her very being - (not like the air headed twits that were at Harvard - should have been a great cameo for Gwyneth Paltrow).Another highlight - when Lizzie and her Mom are struggling to understand each other (after the disastrous birthday party) and all the pain, disappointment and resentments just spill out. These ladies are really good. Jessica Lange has come a long way from the clutches of King Kong!FInal highlight - showing Lizzie struggling with writer's block. I am fascinated by the creative process (I'm sure you can tell I do not have it in abundance as you read my reviews) and when the creativity dries up - seeing how the person copes is fascinating. Best example of this is Salieri trying to stay up with Mozart at the end of Amadeus - you have to check it out.THis movie has been around, but if you have not seen it, you should. Lots a bad language, sex, drugs, etc. so wait until your children are at least twelve before letting them see it (JUST KIDDING!!!) DonB

I had no idea this is based on real life. But Christina Ricci is terrific in her role again. Even if she isn't the most likable person and her "better than everybody" persona does do little to make you sympathize with her.But that's not what the movie is after. It tries to get us into the mindset of this character (person) and it kinda succeeds in doing so. It is a drama and therefor won't really be the movie Ricci fans might seek out to see her in her Eva costume. It's still a testament to her commitment going all that way and only emphasizes the "nakedness" of her character (and vulnerability).Not an easy movie by a long shot, but who said you wanted an easy movie to watch? (unless you wanted to, but then you shouldn't watch this one)

for me,Prozac Nation was just blah.it didn't engage me on any level.i didn't care about the main character,or any of the characters,for that matter.i just didn't see the point of it.usually after watching a movie,i come to this site soon after and put in my two cents.this time i couldn't really be bothered until now,almost two weeks later.anyway,suffice to say,i didn't get anything out of the movie.basically i lost ninety five +/- minutes i'll never get back,in which i could have been doing something else more productive.if you do end up watching this movie and mange to get to the halfway point,and decide to watch to the end,(like i did)thinking it will get better,trust me,it won't.but that's just my opinion.for me,Prozac Nation is a 4/10