Gummo (1997)
68%RT Audience Score: 73%
Awards & Nominations: 4 wins & 3 nominations
Harmony Korine’s Gummo is a film that defies traditional quality metrics and instead requires active engagement from the viewer. While some may find it exploitative or dismissible, there is no denying the film’s ability to provoke and challenge its audience. With moments of genuine spectacle and a tragic satire that is both blackly funny and unthinkably sad, Gummo lingers long in the memory. However, one cannot help but wonder if the director sees the rest of humanity as found art, and himself as its appraiser. Regardless, Gummo is a film that deserves to be seen, if only to grapple with the uncomfortable realities of human diversity.
Gummo” is like a wild ride on a rollercoaster that you’re not sure you want to be on, but can’t help but stay for the whole thing. It’s a mix of shock value, tragedy, and surrealism that leaves you feeling both disturbed and oddly satisfied. While some may find it exploitative or lacking in cohesion, it’s hard to deny the impact it has on the viewer. It’s definitely not for everyone, but if you’re up for a challenge and want to experience something truly unique, give “Gummo” a watch.
Production Company(ies)
Act III Communications, Buttercup Films Ltd., The Princess Bride Ltd.,
Distributor
Fine Line Features
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for pervasive depiction of anti-social behavior of juveniles,including violence, substance abuse,sexuality and language
Year of Release
1997
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 28m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 17, 1997 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 20, 2001
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Nick Sutton, Jacob Reynolds, Jacob Sewell, Darby Dougherty, Chloe Sevigny, Carisa Glucksman, directed by Harmony Korine, written by Harmony Korine, drama, R rating, Fine Line Features, Cary Woods, $87.4K box office, Dolby Digital sound mix, 35mm, Flat (1.85:1) aspect ratio, reviewed by V.A Musetto, Richard Williams, David Jenkins, John Anderson, Mark Caro, Keith Phipps, Joel Copling, Chase Burns, Matthew Rozsa, Richard Propes, Jim Ridley, Jacob Reynolds as Solomon, Nick Sutton as Tummler, Jacob Sewell as Bunny Boy, Chloe Sevigny as Dot, Carisa Glucksman as Helen, teen friends, tornado-ravaged town, Ohio, deformed, disturbed, perverted, gunning down stray cats, getting stoned on household inhalants, mute Bunny Boy, bullied by kids, sisters, dodging a pedophile
Worldwide gross: $116,799
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $217,723
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,915
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 23,743
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $1,300,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $2,423,305
Production budget ranking: 2,010
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $1,304,950
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$3,510,532
ROI to date (est.): -94%
ROI ranking: 1,986
Nick Sutton – Tummler
Jacob Sewell – Bunny Boy
Darby Dougherty – Darby
Chloë Sevigny – Dot
Carisa Glucksman – Helen
Harmony Korine – Director/Writer
Cary Woods – Producer
Director(s)
Harmony Korine
Writer(s)
Harmony Korine
Producer(s)
Cary Woods
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
4 wins & 3 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (58) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (22) | Rotten (36)
Like a kid acting up for attention, the wise-ass Korine wants desperately to be in your face – to offend and provoke. And he does a damn good job getting his way. If for no other reason, “Gummo” deserves to be seen.
January 7, 2019
V.A. Musetto
New York Post
TOP CRITIC
After his persuasively disturbing screenplay for Larry Clark’s Kids, Harmony Korine ‘s Gummo comes as a disappointment.
January 7, 2019
Richard Williams
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
The unyielding and uncomfortable manner in which Gummo grapples with human diversity has also allowed it to linger long in the memory.
January 7, 2019
David Jenkins
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
Is the perspective of youth in this country really so devoid of significance, and their existence so septic? These are good questions, although “Gummo” provides neither answer nor solution, nor even thematic cohesion.
January 7, 2019
John Anderson
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
The point of all this nihilism and grotesqueness? You got me.
January 7, 2019 | Rating: 0/4
Mark Caro
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Take away the shock value, and there isn’t much there: just a stylistically promising student film peddling bargain-basement surreal nihilism that, stretched over 90 minutes, grows awfully tedious.
January 7, 2019
Keith Phipps
AV Club
TOP CRITIC
A tragic satire – blackly funny, often disturbing, unthinkably sad.
May 24, 2022
Joel Copling
Spectrum Culture
There are moments of genuine spectacle, but the ongoing freakshow feels, like Kids, exploitative…
December 9, 2021
Chase Burns
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)
This makes it impossible to measure “Gummo” using the traditional quality metrics, and leaves us simply asking whether it works or does not. It works.
December 13, 2020 | Rating: 3/4
Matthew Rozsa
matthewrozsa.com
A film of challenge that requires a viewer to go beyond passive viewing into very actively experiencing the film.
September 9, 2020 | Rating: 3.0/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
If only the director didn’t see the rest of humanity as found art, and himself as its appraisor!
April 2, 2019
Jim Ridley
Nashville Scene
Somehow, often within a single scene or image, [Gummo] manages to be simultaneously indefensible, dismissible, exploitive, heartbreaking and completely revivifying.
March 27, 2019
Patrick Dahl
Screen Slate…
Plot
Constructing this film through random scenes, director Harmony Korine abruptly jettisoned any sort of narrative plot, so here we go: Solomon and Tummler are two bored teenage boys who live in Xenia, Ohio. A few years ago, a tornado swept through it, destroying more than half the town and killing the same amount, including Solomon’s father. The film, from there, chronicles the anti-social adventures these two boys have. These include sniffing glue, killing cats, having sex, riding dirtbikes, listening to black metal, and meeting a cavalcade of quirky, bizarre, and scary people. These include a man who pimps his mentally ill wife to our anti-heroes, three sisters who play with their cat and practice becoming strippers, a black midget fending off the sexual advances of a troubled man (played by the director Harmony Korine), a 12-year-old gay transvestite who is also a cat killer, Solomon’s mother who seems to be the only glimpse of sanity, two foul-mouthed six-year olds, and most importantly, a nymphlike skateboarder who walks around town wearing pink rabbit ears.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Chloe Sevigny stars as one of the sisters in the film.
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