I just read this, Welb? It sounds totally ridiculous.
Sorry. It does.
I trust you, but I would really be shocked if I sat through this.
But maybe you are right. It got 4 stars from Roger Ebert....
Ebert: William Friedkin's latest film, "Bug," begins as an ominous rumble of unease, and builds to a shriek. The last 20 minutes are searingly intense: A paranoid personality finds its mate, and they race each other into madness. For Friedkin, director of "The Exorcist," it's a work of headlong passion.
Its stars, Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon, achieve a kind of manic intensity that's frightening not just in itself but because you almost fear for the actors. They're working without a net. The film is based on a play by Tracy Letts, an actor and playwright at Chicago's Steppenwolf theater, that was a hit here and in New York.
WIKI
Agnes White is a waitress at a gay bar living in a run-down motel in rural Oklahoma. Unable to move on from the disappearance of her son some years previously, she engages in drug and alcohol binges with her lesbian friend, R.C. Lately, she has been plagued by silent telephone calls that she believes are being made by her abusive ex-husband, Jerry Goss, who has recently been released from prison.
One night, R.C. introduces Agnes to Peter Evans, a drifter who says he is a recently discharged soldier. Agnes and Peter reach out to each other out of loneliness, and start a relationship. He convinces her that he was the subject of biological testing by the U.S. government while he was in the military, and says the anonymous phone calls she has been receiving were made by government agents in anticipation of his arrival. After they have sex, Peter tells Agnes that their room has become infested by bugs sent there by the government as part of their experiments.
Peter's movements and behavior become more erratic as he fights the bugs, invisible to the audience, that he claims are infesting his body. Agnes soon joins in this behavior. Over time, they isolate themselves from the outside world, sealing themselves in their room and covering it with flypaper and aluminum foil and lighting it with the glow from bug zappers. Peter, believing that a colony of microscopic bugs was implanted in one of his teeth, tears it out of his head. Using a child's microscope, he says he sees the bugs in the remains of the crushed tooth, as does Agnes.
A Dr. Sweet arrives, and tells Agnes that Peter has escaped while under treatment at a mental institution and that delusions about insects are a known symptom of Peter's mental illness. Peter kills Sweet, telling Agnes that he was a robot sent by the government. Together, Peter and Agnes elaborate upon Peter's beliefs in a conspiracy, including that Agnes' son was kidnapped by the government to lead her and Peter to meeting and that each of them is infected with bugs that are meant to mate with one another and take over the world. In order to prevent this, Agnes and Peter douse each other in gasoline and set themselves on fire.
In the end credits, the audience sees shots of the toys in Agnes and Peter's room completely intact, with no sign of the aluminium foil, and the body of Dr. Sweet, in the room covered with foil but undamaged by fire. Which shot, if any, shows "reality" is left unclear.
It's definitely not for everyone. but I LOVED just sitting there after it was over and tihnking "What the hell just happened?" And the performances form everyone are perfect! And director Friedkin can do no wrong in my book.
And, also, I went in to the movie knowing absolutely nothing about what it was about - - I went only because Friedkin was the director. Fabulous cinematic experience for me! Just going on this wild ride to -- where? I don't know! :)
Hey, Sharonna -- do you think everything I wrote is true here? It is. But do you think that maybe I liked the movie so well because of that one scene -- where a naked Harry Connick Jr walks out of the shower? Ha! ;)
Oh -- and, yeah, you're right - - maybe you wouldn't end up sitting through the whole thing! Ha!
I think if you and I watched it together I would get more out of it. But, I hesitate to complain about it because I did not see it, you liked it, and it got good reviews.
I would give it a shot, I guess. It just sounds so convoluted, like they tried to jam as many plots and character changes as possible to the point that it sounds like a big mishmosh.
I don't think it could be all that awful if you liked it, Roger Ebert liked it and it was directed by Friedkin.
All of this has made me want to watch the movie again. :) Even though I have seen the movie, I didn't want to read the review and WIKI you posted. :) But I did see that Ebert mentioned the last 20 minutes of the movie -- he nailed it there. Wow! PLOT SPOILER!!! As strange and frantic as the last 20 minutes are, the two performers come across as completely honest and real, which added immensely to the overall effect of the movie for me. Their realness comes across through the entire film and then it all rides into over-the-top/what-the-heck land and I'm right there with them.
And then there's always nude Harry Connick Jr to lighten and sizzle the mood -- ha! :)
This post was edited by WelbyQuentin at December 11, 2017 7:54 PM MST
WelbyQuentin 