Filming has begun on filmmaker Gregg Araki’s latest film, “Kaboom,” his first film since 2007’s “Smiley Face,” which was a creative left turn for the indie filmmaker and perhaps a bid for wider acceptance. Leaving the characteristic sexual teen angst stories behind, the stoner comedy was essentially an attempt to aim at mainstream audiences.
Despite a lead of Anna Faris (who was actually quite excellent in the otherwise mediocre film) and supporting roles by Adam Brody, Danny Masterson, John Krasinski and Jane Lynch, “Smiley Face,” did not connect with mainstream audiences and basically came and went taking in a pittance of $179, 000 worldwide (First Look Pictures — ahem, the same small studio putting out Werner Herzog’s “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” — put that one out and obviously didn’t have the juice to push it at all).
Ahead of it’s time perhaps? Seth Rogen and David Gordon Green obviously flourished with “Pineapple Express,” a year later in 2008, but “Smiley Face,” was virtually ignored.
So is Araki going back to doing what he does best? Small, indie films centered on teenage sexual awakenings, gay or otherwise? Sure sounds like it.
He has added four cast members: Thomas Dekker (John Connor in “The Sarah Connor Chronicles”), Kelly Lynch (“Charlie’s Angels,” “Drugstore Cowboy”), Rooney Mara (“A Nightmare On Elm Street” remake) and French actress Roxane Mesquida (“Fat Girl”, “The Last Mistress”) in her English language debut. The film follows, naturally, the sexual awakening of a group of college students.
We weren’t very big fans of Araki’s often schlocky, sexually transgressive films ostensibly made to shock and provoke with very little artistry going on (aside from always picking excellent soundtrack choices), but 2004’s “Mysterious Skin,” with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, proved the filmmaker was finally beginning to mature and the moody, atmospheric picture turned out to be his best feature so far by miles. Let’s hope “Kaboom,” can essentially just forget about “Smiley Face” — which did have a some extremely funny moments, but overall was not so hot — and pick up where ‘Skin,’ left off because it felt to us, that this was a whole new beginning and rebirth to the director. Here’s to hoping.
The dreamy opening credits and initial sequence of “Mysterious Skin,” set to Slowdive’s amazing cover of Syd Barrett’s “Golden Hair,” is worth the price of admission alone (it becomes more stunning later on when the film’s mystery reveals itself) and the movie has some incredibly well-used and haunting music choices (Sigur Ros, Curve, Ride), plus an amazing score by Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins and Brian Eno collaborator Harold Budd.