Storytelling

Name: Storytelling
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: January 25, 2002
Duration: 87 min
Rating: 50
Cast: Selma Blair

2002

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Mixed or average reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Ratings

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7.2

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7.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Ratings

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Storytelling

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Movie Details & Credits

Fine Line Features | Release Date: January 25, 2002 | Unrated

Starring: Selma Blair

Summary: Storytelling is comprised of two separate stories set against the sadly comical terrain of college and high school, past and present. Following the paths of its young hopeful/troubled characters, it explores the issues of sex, race, celebrity and exploitation. [Fine Line Features]

Director: Todd Solondz

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: Unrated

Runtime: 87 min

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Critic Reviews

Peter Travers

A movie that advances the career of a demonstrably gifted filmmaker, a fearlessly funny movie whose laughs draw blood, a bracingly provocative movie that won't apologize for its bad temper. Read full review

Kevin Thomas

None of this intellectualizing is necessary to the simple enjoyment of Storytelling -- provided the viewer has a taste for the pitch-black humor that emerges when Solondz's camera becomes a veritable blowtorch aimed at humanity's myriad failings. Read full review

Loren King

Cleverly mocks the modern chronicler, raising questions that linger long after the film is finished.

Dana Stevens

The most pleasing paradox in Storytelling -- a determinedly paradoxical and, in spite of much of what I've said here, a genuinely pleasing movie -- is that it sets out to debunk this notion and ends up affirming it. Read full review

Jack Mathews

Solondz's refusal to frame his dark, misanthropic impulses with an overriding point-of-view seems a cheap copout for a film whose title proposes that it's about the storytelling process. Read full review

Marjorie Baumgarten

Newcomers should be advised that this is not an introductory course. Read full review

Paula Nechak

While there are maybe two moments of genuinely clever humor, Storytelling is the work of a previously promising filmmaker who, having no new ideas, has morphed into a sniggering schoolboy intent upon being mean. Read full review

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User Reviews

Anti-hollywood5

Apr 8, 2012

Really intriguing, interesting, intense and original. This movie is obviously a reflection of Solondz childhood the young child being a younger version of himself. Very Moving and provocative film.

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Spangle

Sep 14, 2016

Am I the only one who cannot understand how this is a "comedy"? This is not pitch black. It is tragedy. I admit to laughing at times (such as the line "So you're saying that without Hitler we wouldn't exist?"), but as a whole, Storytelling is a heartbreaking tale. What that tale is trulyAm I the only one who cannot understand how this is a "comedy"? This is not pitch black. It is tragedy. I admit to laughing at times (such as the line "So you're saying that without Hitler we wouldn't exist?"), but as a whole, Storytelling is a heartbreaking tale. What that tale is truly about is diverse, as it feels like this film is simply about rejection and life as a whole. Life is unfair and senseless with Todd Solodnz having serious contempt for that harshness and the unlevel playing field we all face. A truly hollow viewing experience, Storytelling is a tough film to assess simply because it just leaves you feeling defeated and empty above all other feelings.

The theme of rejection is quite clear from the get go, in both the "fiction" and "non-fiction" sections of the film. Marcus (Leo Fitzpatrick) writes a story from the heart about feeling normal and not being a freak, in spite of having cerebral palsy. Despite this, his story is harshly criticized by his professor Mr. Scott (Robert Wisdom). As a result of this rejection, Marcus dumps his classmate girlfriend Vi (Selma Blair) who then goes on to having violent, rapey sex with Mr. Scott. When Vi tries to write about it, it is criticized as being unbelievable, sexist, and racist, despite her pleas that it is true. The same thing occurs in the non-fiction section as Toby Oxman (Paul Giammati) has been rejected in all of his endeavors. The same lies ahead for Scooby Livingston (Mark Webber), who is the focus of a documentary shot by Toby. A slacker with no goals as of yet, the documentary is played for Scooby's classmates who all laugh and mock the poor kid.

Now, what does Solodnz have to say about all of this rejection? Well, it is ultimately captured in the focus of Toby's documentary. An unhappy life for Toby has led to him wondering if the same path lies ahead for current students. Are they all doomed to be unhappy and turn out the same as himself? Well, Solodnz's film emphatically concludes to the affirmative. With a deep anger towards this harshness, Solodnz lashes out by demonizing Mr. Scott in the "fiction" section and killing Scooby's family in the "non-fiction" (note how Consuela kills them, who is looked down upon by the family). Both sets of characters resoundly reject those around them, are incredibly priviledged and prejudiced, while also being self-obsessed and narcissistic.

This ties into the unfairness of everything in the film. In the "fiction" section, Marcus is a kid trying to overcome his disease, yet faces obstacles at every turn and feels like a failure. Vi is raped, yet nobody believes her and writes her off as a racist. In the "non-fiction" section, Scooby is mocked for being lost. Toby is written off as a loser, even by the audience. Brady (Noah Fleiss) is a relatively nice kid, yet he winds up in a coma after a freak football accident. Consuela (Lupe Ontiveros), the Livingston's family housekeeper, is fired simply because the Livingston's youngest son Mikey (Jonathan Osser) is a privileged and spoiled jerk who seems unable to feel any empathy whatsoever. This, of course, comes after Consuela's son is executed after being on death row. Maybe he deserved it, but Consuela certainly did not. Throughout the film, Solodnz is obsessed with examining unfairness and this unlevel playing field through the eyes of the disenfranchised, physically disabled, and the misunderstood. In many ways, these mirror himself as his films have often been written off by critics or simply misunderstood. Fortunately, Solodnz will not lash out by killing them all, but they should take this film as his letter of contempt.

As a film, Storytelling is incredibly well-written, creating engaging characters left and right. Both the "fiction" and "non-fiction" section create characters that I want to explore more and almost regret that the film is so short. As it stands, however, the characters are well developed with little in the way of exposition. This is largely in part to Solodnz's ability to create deeply relatable characters and trust in his audience. He trusts us to get these people and we most certainly do at every turn.

The key to understanding Storytelling lies in Toby's documentary in my personal opinion. Many label this a comedy and Solodnz as "cruel" for mocking these characters. Yet, he is simply showcasing the contempt audiences have for these characters. He presents them in an unbiased manner and begs you to feel bad for them. Yet, all we can do is laugh. This is truly tragedy at its very finest as Storytelling leaves you hollow and empty as you watch these characters pushed down and left for dead at every turn without any hope for their futures. Scooby will fail out. Toby's film will fail. Consuela will never find steady work again at her age. Heartbreaking, taboo, and deeply misunderstood, Storytelling is a stirring look at rejection and the unfairness of society with Solodnz lashing out violently at both.… Expand

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SteveG.

Apr 20, 2006

I usually hate it when people say "If you didn't like it, it's because you didn't understand it." But I can't help but think that myself when I read many of the reviews of Storytelling (or any Solondz film, really). They cast it off as a mean-spirited 'black I usually hate it when people say "If you didn't like it, it's because you didn't understand it." But I can't help but think that myself when I read many of the reviews of Storytelling (or any Solondz film, really). They cast it off as a mean-spirited 'black comedy', and that Solondz has contempt for the characters he's created. However I can't help but notice that the only people who are actually judging the characters in that light are these critics themselves. (He even has Giamatti say he "loves these people". Maybe it should have been Solondz himself on-screen.) Solondz, knowing this tendency of his critics, directly confronts them in the scene where "American Scooby" is being screened. They are laughing at the main character, completely rejecting his worth as a human being, and basking in their superiority. But even with this scene in the film, the critics still just don't 'get it'. It's as if they can only understand films where the narrative is completely spelled out for them, with low-dimensional characters, and ham-fisted sentimentality (ala American Beauty). In effect, Solondz gets the last laugh, with these critics doing nothing but proving his point.… Expand

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Trailesque

Jan 27, 2017

No doubt many will find these two dark comedies to be disturbing and weird, but they are well worth checking out. Two short films for one price. The first is a satire of liberal, literate college students. Robert Wisdom is fine as their predatory writing professor. In the second, anNo doubt many will find these two dark comedies to be disturbing and weird, but they are well worth checking out. Two short films for one price. The first is a satire of liberal, literate college students. Robert Wisdom is fine as their predatory writing professor. In the second, an aspiring documentary filmmaker (Paul Giamatti) takes a look at a well-off suburban family and the high school the kids attend. I don't want to reveal much about the so-called plot, but Solondz is a master at throwing dark, satirical elements into a narrative, humorously revealing the dark underside of things.… Expand

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DavidC.

Sep 24, 2006

The relationship between the "fiction" and "nonfiction" ends up being far more interesting than the stories themselves, which are plagued by caricature and stagey directing. All of this belies the fact that this is an entertaining, provocative film. The second half of "nonfiction" is The relationship between the "fiction" and "nonfiction" ends up being far more interesting than the stories themselves, which are plagued by caricature and stagey directing. All of this belies the fact that this is an entertaining, provocative film. The second half of "nonfiction" is impressive in the way that it brings both the film and the audience into self-referential territory. Whether you found the humour amusing (as I did) or mean-spirited is a matter of taste.… Expand

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JeanDuchamp

Jan 11, 2018

It's interesting, how Todd Solondz speaking about ordinary things in an ordinary way can make them look somehow unordinary and subtle. Interesting enough!... Or maybe not, maybe it's all about our wrong perception - when we force a deep meaning and clever irony on things where they weren'tIt's interesting, how Todd Solondz speaking about ordinary things in an ordinary way can make them look somehow unordinary and subtle. Interesting enough!... Or maybe not, maybe it's all about our wrong perception - when we force a deep meaning and clever irony on things where they weren't implied at all, the same way as the spectators at the test screening falsely laugh at the Scooby's image, probably in an artificial effort to distance themselves from their own image in the mirror! To me, this movie stays rather on the good side but not high enough. In the essence, it's only a little more than just a depressing movie about depressive people!... Well, a good depressing movie.… Expand

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BKM

Jul 13, 2013

The biggest problem I had with Todd Solondz's pitch black and relentlessly cynical portrait of modern life is that there is not one single character in the whole thing who generates any sense of empathy or understanding. I'm not one who insists that moves all be warm and fuzzy, but it wouldThe biggest problem I had with Todd Solondz's pitch black and relentlessly cynical portrait of modern life is that there is not one single character in the whole thing who generates any sense of empathy or understanding. I'm not one who insists that moves all be warm and fuzzy, but it would be nice to at least be able to feel something for any of these characters. Instead they are all selfish, mean and self deluded individuals. The fact that I didn't have any response one way or the other to any of them or their actions suggests that Storytelling is not nearly as provocative as it is trying to be.… Expand

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