Gummo

Name: Gummo
Genre: Drama
Released: October 17, 1997
Duration: 89 min
Rating: 19
Cast: Jacob Sewell, Nick Sutton

1997

METASCORE

Overwhelming dislike based on 15 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 60 Ratings

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6.8

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6.8	Your Score
6.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 60 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Fine Line Features | Release Date: October 17, 1997 | R

Starring: Jacob Sewell, Nick Sutton

Summary: Residents of tornado-stricken Xevia, Ohio wander the deserted landscape passing time.

Director: Harmony Korine

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 89 min

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Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Rene Rodriguez

Gummo isn't so much a movie as it is an experiment, and, taken on those terms, it is a fascinating piece of work. Repellent, disgusting and ugly, yes -- but still fascinating. [23 Jan. 1998, p.5G]

Empire Kim Newman

As horribly funny as it is depressing, it gets pretty hard to take after a while, especially for anyone who is a committed cat-lover. A melancholy edge of deliberate poetry mutes the ugly realism but also serves to make bearable what might otherwise be an hour-and-a-half of hell. Read full review

Edward Guthmann

It's an interesting technique -- the blurring of reality and "movies" -- but Korine's objective is so narrow and mean, and his viewpoint so colored by smug, adolescent condescension, that Gummo comes off like a mean-spirited prank. Read full review

Liam Lacey

Like Jerry Springer, it's loaded with class bias, offering a condescending fantasy that sees the poor as exotically grotesque, promiscuous, violent, and spiritually doomed. [17 Oct. 1997, p.D9]

Frank Scheck

Gummo is one of the most repellent cinematic efforts in recent memory. Whatever small audiences it attracts -- and they will be drawn mostly by the prospect of watching something "shocking" -- will wind up leaving the theater in a state of disgust. [21 Nov. 1997, p.5E]

Jami Bernard

Virtually plotless, the movie does its best to be offensive, but not in the service of any particular theme. The use of mentally impaired youngsters as actors is cheap and exploitative. You can only wonder about the emperor's new clothes, and how much Hollywood paid for them. [17 Oct. 1997, p.52]

Mark Caro

The point of all this nihilism and grotesqueness? You got me. Perhaps Korine thinks he's getting at some harsh truth in showing troubled youngsters running amok without positive adult role models, but that's malarkey. There's a difference between unblinkingly observing reality and wallowing in degeneracy. [6 March 1998]

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User Reviews

hnolan

Oct 22, 2018

Love it or hate it, I guarantee you've never seen anything like this before.

The negative reviews of this film misunderstand its purpose, but also prove its success. It's not meant to have a story and it's not meant to show a realistic portrayal of poor people. It's an art film and youLove it or hate it, I guarantee you've never seen anything like this before.

The negative reviews of this film misunderstand its purpose, but also prove its success. It's not meant to have a story and it's not meant to show a realistic portrayal of poor people. It's an art film and you should think about every character and scene critically. Although it has a minor narrative, treat each scene as unrelated vignettes. As director Harmony Korine stated, it's supposed to be more like looking through an old photo album; there's no cohesive story, just moments, but when you look at your own photos as a collection you can create your own narrative from it. With very little written dialogue and only 5 actors with previous acting experience, this is simultaneously one of the most surreal and most genuine movies you will ever see.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

jfrotylpe532

Mar 17, 2013

Gummois a cult favorite and even though its not eveen close to brilliant it works as a bizarre black comedy for weirdos like me everywhere.

4 of 8 users found this helpful44

SimpleJack

Jun 5, 2014

Gummo is by far one of my favourite movies ever. Not following standard cinematic techniques and ideas, gummo is more of an experimental/art house film. It follows a small, hurricain striken town in Xenia, Ohio and their daily struggles with life. Nihilism, Religion, Poverty, Drug-use, andGummo is by far one of my favourite movies ever. Not following standard cinematic techniques and ideas, gummo is more of an experimental/art house film. It follows a small, hurricain striken town in Xenia, Ohio and their daily struggles with life. Nihilism, Religion, Poverty, Drug-use, and mental health are among the numerous issues and subjects explored by Harmony over the course of this film. The film is made up of a number of clips, centred around the people who live in the town. On the surface, this film is pure trash, but the more you delve into the disgusting and filthy masterpiece that is, gummo, the more tragically beautiful the movie becomes. After watching gummo for the first time, I felt that I needed to have a shower. The movie leaves you feeling disgusting and sickened. And let me warn you, watching gummo is kind of like consuming a Harmony Korine "drug". By this, I mean that you cannot stop thinking about the movie for about 12 ours. Gummo is a MUST SEE movie. 10/10.… Expand

4 of 7 users found this helpful43

Kinam

Aug 4, 2013

Man. I watched this movie expecting something completely different. The visuals are good, creating a collage-like movie, and it is a good example of a fake documentary about a city. The acting was OK, uneven, but sometimes really believable. I'm guessing Harmony used some non-actors in this.Man. I watched this movie expecting something completely different. The visuals are good, creating a collage-like movie, and it is a good example of a fake documentary about a city. The acting was OK, uneven, but sometimes really believable. I'm guessing Harmony used some non-actors in this. Overall, it was pretty good.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

Andremax

Sep 6, 2018

Ok, what is interesting on a plotless, amateur,storyless and pointless film? I can say that the discomfortable, nasty, disgusting and claustrophobic atmosphere showed by Korine is quite clever. In case of Gummo, the movie doesn't need even a plot to shock the watcher and being so immersive.Ok, what is interesting on a plotless, amateur,storyless and pointless film? I can say that the discomfortable, nasty, disgusting and claustrophobic atmosphere showed by Korine is quite clever. In case of Gummo, the movie doesn't need even a plot to shock the watcher and being so immersive. The excess of rawness shows in a realistic form what human being has most dirty, causing discomfort and repluse on expector, at the same time that puts it to think.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

CoopDEtat19

Aug 23, 2019

Although the film seems to lack me kind of direction or a plot, it still has an appeal that makes it hard to not pay attention to.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

Tss5078

Aug 3, 2014

I have seen some strange things, but Gummo really takes the cake. This is a film that has no plot, simply following the lives of redneck children, as they kill cats to sell to the butcher, use duct tape to make their nipples bigger, and play the accordion while on the toilet. Somehow thisI have seen some strange things, but Gummo really takes the cake. This is a film that has no plot, simply following the lives of redneck children, as they kill cats to sell to the butcher, use duct tape to make their nipples bigger, and play the accordion while on the toilet. Somehow this film has gained a cult following and there are some people out there who will tell you they love this film. I can see how some of the scenes could be funny, but as a film, Gummo is nothing but one big stereotype, that doesn't follow any kind of storyline at all. Even more bizarre than the film, is the cast of kids, who seemingly came from nowhere. Jacob Sewell plays the bunny boy and literally walks around the entire time with nothing on but a pair of shorts and a pair of pink bunny ears, hardly saying a word. The other main actor is Nick Sutton, who has got to be the strangest looking person I've ever seen. He at least has some lines, but I really could have done without seeing the 13 year old actor getting a bath from his mother, while scarfing down food in the bathtub. Honestly, I don't know how a studio even agrees to make something like this. To me, Gummo has no artistic value whatsoever, and I suspect one would have to be on drugs to fully comprehend everything that is going on. Some weirdness comes off well for it's artistic value, but even those films have some kind of a plot that you can follow, Gummo has none of that and really offers very little that anyone can follow or even relate to.… Expand

4 of 9 users found this helpful45

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53	#53 Most Discussed Movie of 1997
15	#15 Most Shared Movie of 1997