The Chumscrubber

The death of a troubled teen throws a suburban neighborhood into chaos in this darkly satirical comedy. Dean (Jamie Bell) is a disaffected teenager living in a California suburb that's beautiful on the surface but populated by families who live emotionally vacant lives, with the parents often too ...more

Ho hum. Another middling portrait of suburban anomie made possible by the success of American Beauty, The Chumscrubber is distinguished only by having a title that sounds vaguely indecent. There's no one cleaning up shark food -- the title refers to a video game character -- but there are plenty of dolphins, as the town's mayor (Ralph Fiennes) becomes unhinged and begins painting them all over his house. This is just one bit of counterfeit eccentricity that goes nowhere in Arie Posin's film, and ...more