Thumbsucker (film)

Beaverwood redirects here. For the tree, see Celtis occidentalis, more commonly known as the common hackberry.

Thumbsucker
Thumbsucker film poster
Directed by	Mike Mills
Produced by	Anthony Bregman, Bob Stephenson (actor)
Written by	Walter Kirn (novel), Mike Mills
Starring	Lou Taylor Pucci Keanu Reeves Tilda Swinton Vincent D'Onofrio Benjamin Bratt Kelli Garner Vince Vaughn
Editing by	Haines Hall Angus Wall
Studio	This is that
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Classics Thinkfilm (some countries)
Release date(s)	January 23, 2005
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	~ US$4,000,000
Box office	$1,919,197

Thumbsucker is a 2005 American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Mills adapted from the Walter Kirn novel of the same name. The movie focuses on teenager Justin Cobb (Lou Pucci) and how he copes with his thumb sucking problem, and his experiments with hypnosis, sex and drugs.

Plot

Justin Cobb (Lou Taylor Pucci) is a shy 17-year-old in a family of four in suburban Oregon. He has a persistent thumb sucking habit that his father (Vincent D'Onofrio) disapproves of, and that has previously led to major orthodontic repair. He addresses his parents by their first names (Mike and Audrey) due to his father's insecurity of aging. His mother (Tilda Swinton), a registered nurse, begins an idle fascination with actor Matt Schramm (Benjamin Bratt), entering a contest to win a date with the star. Audrey insists vigorously that it is "innocent fun", but is inordinately concerned with looking attractive for the contest.

Justin struggles on his school's debate team, led by Mr. Geary (Vince Vaughn), which he joined to get closer to smart, attractive environmentalist Rebecca (Kelli Garner). He tries to start a relationship with her, but she rejects him after he cannot open up to her about his thumb sucking habit.

At a regular checkup, his orthodontist Perry Lyman (Keanu Reeves) indicates he can tell that Justin is still sucking his thumb, and attempts hypnosis, coaching Justin to find his power animal (a deer) and suggesting that his thumb will taste like echinacea. This works, and Justin finds his thumb distasteful, but falls deeper into frustration without the crutch. After conspiring with his brother to disrupt Dr. Lyman in a bicycle race with Justin's father, his school counselor prods the Cobbs to give him Ritalin. While his parents wring their hands over the idea, Justin insists that he needs the help.

Almost immediately after beginning treatment, Justin begins to have elevated energy, confidence and focus. He begins to excel on the debate team, unseating Rebecca from the star position, who quits debate team and drifts into the stoner crowd. Justin's newfound aggressiveness nets the debate team repeated awards. Simultaneously, he begins to challenge the neuroses of the adults around him, particularly for their struggles with aging. With a somewhat deceitful cover letter, he applies to NYU, in spite of his mother's insistence he go to college closer to home.

After his ill-prescribed Ritalin leads him to ramble in circles and lose the state debate championship, he quits the debate team, throws away the pills, and seeks out Rebecca to hook him up with pot. During repeated smoking incursions, Rebecca routinely blindfolds him and engages in heavy petting, which Justin interprets as a relationship. After reaching third base, he broaches the subject and Rebecca rejects him, considering the acts as merely her own sexual exploration. He quits both her and the drugs.

Both Justin and his father suspect that Audrey is having an affair with Schramm, after she is transferred to a celebrity rehab facility where Schramm has been committed. Attempting to catch his mother in the act, he instead meets Schramm sneaking a smoke in the bushes, and learns the unromantic truth. The next day, he receives an acceptance letter from NYU.

At a final visit to Perry, the doctor reveals to Justin his discovery that thumb sucking is not a medically debilitating problem, that everyone has their own flaws and nobody has all the answers; in fact, learning to live without having the answers is (perhaps) the answer. On his flight to New York, Justin dreams of reaching his goal of being a TV anchor, "sharing the truth with the world". He wakes up after sleeptalking to find his thumb in his mouth, and an attractive girl smiling at him. Slightly embarrassed but self-confident, he introduces himself.

Main cast

• Lou Taylor Pucci – Justin Cobb
• Tilda Swinton – Audrey Cobb
• Vincent D'Onofrio – Mike Cobb
• Kelli Garner – Rebecca
• Benjamin Bratt – Matt Schramm
• Keanu Reeves – Dr. Perry Lyman
• Vince Vaughn – Mr. Geary

Reception

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives Thumbsucker 70% positive reviews out of 108, with an average rating of 6.7/10. Its consensus states: "Though quirky coming-of-age themes are common in indie films, this one boasts a smart script and a great cast." Steven Rea of the Philadelphia Inquirer gave it three-and-a-half stars out of four, calling it a "quiet, quirky gem" and "terrific". Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it three stars out of four, writing "I have focused on Justin, but really the movie is equally about the adult characters, who all seem to have lacked adequate parenting themselves. We talk about the tragedy of children giving birth to children; maybe that can happen at any age."

Setting

The film is set in the fictional town of Beaverwood, Oregon, and filming locations included Beaverton and Sherwood, Oregon, Portland International Airport, Tualatin High School, and the Living Enrichment Center in Wilsonville, Oregon.

Soundtrack

Main article: Thumbsucker (soundtrack)

The soundtrack to the film was originally to consist of a number of cover songs performed by Elliott Smith, but he died before the project's completion. Tim DeLaughter and The Polyphonic Spree were then chosen to compose an original soundtrack after Mills attended one of their shows and was impressed. Three of Smith's songs remain on the soundtrack.

External links

• Official film site
• Thumbsucker at the Internet Movie Database
• Thumbsucker at Rotten Tomatoes
• Movie stills
• Thumbsucker at BehaveNet Movies, Drugs and Psychiatry
• Caranicas, Peter (January 6, 2005). "Mike Mills Makes Thumbsucker". Park City Digital Report. Archived from the original on 2009-03-13. http://www.webcitation.org/5fEsZeLmz.