Nowhere (1997 film)

Last updated

Nowhere
Nowhere araki.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Gregg Araki
Written byGregg Araki
Produced byGregg Araki
Andrea Sperling
Starring
CinematographyArturo Smith
Edited byGregg Araki
Distributed by Fine Line Features
Release date
  • May 9, 1997 (1997-05-09)
Running time
78 minutes
CountriesUnited States
France
LanguageEnglish
Box office$194,201 [1]

Nowhere is a 1997 American black comedy drama film written and directed by Gregg Araki. Described by Araki as " Beverly Hills 90210 on acid", the film follows a day in the lives of a group of Los Angeles college students and the strange lives that they lead. It stars an ensemble cast led by James Duval and Rachel True.

Contents

The film is Araki's sixth overall and third entry in his Teenage Apocalypse film trilogy, preceded by Totally F***ed Up (1993) and The Doom Generation (1995). Like the other films in the trilogy, it contains scenes of graphic violence and sexuality. The film notably includes several cast members on the verge of stardom, including Ryan Phillippe, Mena Suvari, Kathleen Robertson, and Denise Richards.

Initial reception was mixed, though in subsequent years it has garnered a cult status and its reputation among critics has grown.

Plot

Dark and Mel are a bisexual couple in an open relationship. Mel is dating a girl named Lucifer, whom Dark hates, while Dark is interested in a mysterious boy he keeps running into, named Montgomery. The three of them meet up at a café they frequent, where we are introduced to other teens they know, such as Alyssa, Dingbat and Egg and Dark's friend Cowboy, and they discuss a party being held that night by a man they know named Jujyfruit. Egg runs into an unnamed TV star from Baywatch (played by Baywatch actor Jaason Simmons).

Cowboy tells Dark about the heroin addiction his boyfriend Bart suffers with. He offers Bart the chance to fix their relationship if he stops using drugs, but he declines. Alyssa and Dingbat meet with Ducky, Egg's brother and Dingbat's crush, before Alyssa meets up with her boyfriend Elvis. While waiting at a bus stop, Dark sees three valley girls killed by an alien, which he tries to catch on video before it disappears.

At the Baywatch star's place, he and Egg watch TV together before he tries to make a move on her. She rejects his advances, angering him and leading to him raping her. Dark and his friends play a drugged out game of Kick the Can, during which Montgomery gets abducted by the same alien from earlier, whom Dark runs into in a locker room. Egg and Bart both return home and watch the same televangelist, Moses Helper, on TV, who encourages the two to commit suicide in order to reach heaven.

When he fails to convince Mel to become monogamous at Jujyfruit's party, Dark goes outside and is joined by Dingbat. Suddenly Ducky, after hearing about his sister's suicide, leaps into a swimming pool, with Dingbat using CPR to resuscitate him. Going back into the party, Dark enters a kitchen where he sees the same alien from earlier. He meets with Handjob and begins to tell him about his day before Alyssa and Elvis arrive. Elvis claims Handjob sold him cut drugs and beats him to death with a can of tomato soup.

Dark returns home and records a diary entry on his video camera, saying how he's "totally doomed". As he attempts to sleep, Montgomery knocks on his window. Dark lets him in as he explains that he was abducted and experimented on by aliens who intend to invade Earth. The two lie down in bed together and Montgomery asks if he can spend the night, with Dark agreeing only if he promises to never leave. The two close their eyes but are disturbed, as Montgomery goes into a coughing fit, then explodes into a shower of blood, leaving only a cockroach-like alien who exclaims, "I'm outta here", before crawling out of the window. A blood-covered Dark turns to the audience, staring with his mouth wide open.

In a brief post-credits scene, Dark yells out "No!".

Cast

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 47% approval rating based on 15 reviews, with an average score of 4.3/10. [2] The Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review, calling it "high energy" and stating that "Araki is a marvel at controlling shifting tones, and Nowhere, a confident, intricate work, has a great pop art look, yet its emotions are real." [3] In an article on the upcoming summer films of 1997, The New York Times described Nowhere as "California's version of Kids ." [4]

Writing for Empire , Jake Hamilton gave the film a negative review, stating "True, there are some dazzling scenes; a brilliant intercutting sex-scene; death by a Campbell's soup tin and a ridiculously absurd finale, but compared to the likes of Richard Linklater's endearing Dazed and Confused , Nowhere is completely lost up its own arse." [5]

Araki himself described the film as " Beverly Hills, 90210 on acid". [6] In a retrospective article on the film in Nylon , Marie Lodi wrote, "Nowhere's surreal and hyper-saturated visuals were just as ahead of its time as its themes." [6]

Home media

In the US, it was released on VHS. [7] Elsewhere, it was made available on DVD in the United Kingdom, where it was released on a Region 2 DVD. [8] It was later re-released in the United Kingdom in 2013 featuring a commentary track with Gregg Araki James Duval, Rachel True and Jordan Ladd. [9] [10]

Strand Releasing announced plans to release a 4K restoration of Nowhere, including scenes not shown in the theatrical version for MPAA ratings purposes, in late 2023. [11] On September 16, 2023, the restoration debuted alongside The Doom Generation and Totally F***ed Up, Araki’s other films in his Teen Apocalypse trilogy, at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. [11] [12]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to the film, Nowhere: Music from the Gregg Araki Movie, was released on Mercury Records in 1997. [13]

Nowhere: Music from the Gregg Araki Movie
Soundtrack album by
Various artists
Released1997
Recorded1991-1997
Length64:05
Label Mercury Records

Track listing

  1. Intro
  2. 311 – "Freak Out"
  3. Radiohead – "How Can You Be Sure"
  4. Elastica – "In the City"
  5. Hole – "Dicknail"
  6. The Chemical Brothers – "Life is Sweet" (Daft Punk Remix)
  7. Massive Attack – "Daydreaming" (Blacksmith Remix)
  8. Coco and the Bean – "Killing Time" (Qureysh – Eh? 1 Remix)
  9. Catherine Wheel – "Intravenous"
  10. Curve – "Nowhere"
  11. Lush – "I Have the Moon"
  12. Ruby – "Flippin' Tha Bird" (Ceasefire Remix)
  13. James – "Thursday Treatments"
  14. Chuck D – "Generation Wrekked" (Danny Saber Rock Remix)
  15. Marilyn Manson – "Kiddie Grinder" (Remix)
  16. Suede – "Trash"

Songs featured in the movie that do not appear on the soundtrack album include:

  1. Slowdive – "Avalyn II"
  2. Stacy Q - "Two of Hearts"
  3. Cocteau Twins - "Seekers Who Are Lovers"
  4. Babyland - "Five Fingers"
  5. Scylla - "Get A Helmet"
  6. Sonic Youth - "Hendrix Necro"
  7. The Future Sound of London - "Papua New Guinea"
  8. Blur - "She's so High"
  9. The Verve - "Grey Skies"
  10. Nine Inch Nails - "Memorabilia"
  11. Mojave 3 - "Tryin' To Reach You"
  12. Filter - "Take Another"
  13. Seefeel - "Air-Eyes"
  14. The Jesus & Mary Chain - "In The Black"
  15. Nitzer Ebb - "Kick It"
  16. Seefeel - "Time To Find Me"
  17. Portishead - "Mourning Air"
  18. Adorable - "Vendetta"
  19. Red Kross - "Out Of My Tree"
  20. Coil - "The Snow: Answers Come In Dreams"
  21. My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult - "The Next Room Of The Dream"
  22. Flying Saucer Attack - "Land Beyond The Sun"
  23. Filter - "Dose"
  24. The The - "Love Is Stronger Than Death"

Here Now (2015)

In 2015, fashion house Kenzo commissioned a new short film from Gregg Araki that would feature the label's winter campaign. The short, titled Here Now, serves as a sequel to Nowhere and is set sometime soon after the film's events. [14]

Related Research Articles

<i>Gun Crazy</i> 1950 film by Joseph H. Lewis

Gun Crazy is a 1950 American crime film noir starring Peggy Cummins and John Dall in a story about the crime-spree of a gun-toting husband and wife. It was directed by Joseph H. Lewis, and produced by Frank and Maurice King.

<i>Spaceballs</i> 1987 film by Mel Brooks

Spaceballs is a 1987 American space opera parody film co-written, produced and directed by Mel Brooks. It is primarily a parody of the original Star Wars trilogy, but also parodies other sci-fi films and popular franchises including Star Trek, Alien, The Wizard of Oz, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Planet of the Apes, and Transformers. The film stars Bill Pullman, John Candy, and Rick Moranis, with the supporting cast including Daphne Zuniga, Dick Van Patten, George Wyner, Lorene Yarnell, and the voice of Joan Rivers. In addition to Brooks playing a dual role, the film also features Brooks regulars Dom DeLuise and Rudy De Luca in cameo appearances.

<i>American Pie 2</i> 2001 US comedy film directed by J. B. Rogers

American Pie 2 is a 2001 American sex comedy film directed by James B. Rogers and written by Adam Herz and David H. Steinberg from a story by Herz. A sequel to the 1999 comedy film American Pie, it is the second film in the American Pie series and stars Jason Biggs, Shannon Elizabeth, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Seann William Scott, Mena Suvari, Eddie Kaye Thomas, and Eugene Levy. The film follows the sexual exploits of five friends – Jim, Kevin, Stifler, Oz, and Finch – and their attempts to have the greatest summer party ever at a summer beach house.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregg Araki</span> American film director

Gregg Araki is an American filmmaker. He is noted for his heavy involvement with the New Queer Cinema movement. His film Kaboom (2010) was the first winner of the Cannes Film Festival Queer Palm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mena Suvari</span> American actress (born 1979)

Mena Suvari is an American actress, producer, fashion designer and model. After beginning her career as a model and guest-starring on several television shows, she made her film debut in the 1997 black comedy drama Nowhere.

<i>The Doom Generation</i> 1995 film

The Doom Generation is a 1995 independent black comedy thriller film co-produced, co-edited, written and directed by Gregg Araki, and starring Rose McGowan, James Duval and Jonathan Schaech. The plot follows two troubled teenage lovers who pick up an adolescent drifter and embark on a journey full of sex, violence, and convenience stores.

<i>Mysterious Skin</i> 2004 film by Gregg Araki

Mysterious Skin is a 2004 coming-of-age drama film written, produced, and directed by Gregg Araki, adapted from Scott Heim's 1995 novel of the same name. The film tells the story of two pre-adolescent boys who both experienced sexual abuse as children, and how it affects their lives in different ways into their young adulthood. One boy becomes a reckless, sexually adventurous sex worker, while the other retreats into a reclusive fantasy of alien abduction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Duval</span> American actor

James Edward Duval is an American actor. He is known for his roles in Independence Day (1996), Go (1999), Donnie Darko (2001), May (2002), and the films of Gregg Araki.

<i>Smiley Face</i> (film) 2007 film

Smiley Face is a 2007 American-German stoner comedy film directed and co-produced by Gregg Araki. Written by Dylan Haggerty, it stars Anna Faris as a young woman who has a series of misadventures after eating cupcakes laced with cannabis. The supporting cast includes Danny Masterson, Adam Brody, Rick Hoffman, Jane Lynch, John Krasinski, Marion Ross, Michael Hitchcock, John Cho, Danny Trejo, and Roscoe Lee Browne in his final film appearance. Smiley Face was the ninth feature film directed by Araki.

<i>Evil Dead</i> American comedy horror franchise

Evil Dead is an American comedy horror franchise created by Sam Raimi consisting of five feature films and a television series. The series originally revolves around the grimoire the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, an ancient Sumerian text that wreaks havoc upon a group of cabin inhabitants in a wooded area in Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seefeel</span> British electronic/post-rock band

Seefeel is a British electronic and post-rock band formed in the early 1990s by Mark Clifford, Daren Seymour (bass), Justin Fletcher, and Sarah Peacock. Their work became known for fusing guitar-based shoegaze with the production techniques of ambient techno and electronica.

<i>The Living End</i> (film) 1992 film by Gregg Araki

The Living End is a 1992 American comedy-drama film by Gregg Araki. Described by some critics as a "gay Thelma & Louise," the film is an early entry in the New Queer Cinema genre. The Living End was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 1992.

Alien is a science fiction horror and action media franchise centered on the original film series which depicts warrant officer Ellen Ripley and her battles with an extraterrestrial lifeform, commonly referred to as the Alien ("Xenomorph"), and the prequel series following the exploits of the David 8 android and the creators of the eponymous creatures referred to as the "Engineers".

<i>Totally F***ed Up</i> 1993 film by Gregg Araki

Totally F***ed Up is a 1993 American drama film written and directed by Gregg Araki. The first installment of Araki's Teenage Apocalypse film trilogy, it is considered a seminal entry in the New Queer Cinema genre.

<i>Shark Bait</i> (film) 2006 animated film

Shark Bait is a 2006 animated adventure film. The plot revolves around Pi and his attempt to win the heart of Cordelia while dealing with a tiger shark that is terrorizing him and the reef's inhabitants.

Indiana Jones is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology.

<i>Kaboom</i> (film) 2010 film by Gregg Araki

Kaboom is a 2010 science fiction sex comedy mystery film written and directed by Gregg Araki and starring Thomas Dekker, Juno Temple, Haley Bennett, and James Duval. The film centers on the sexual adventures of a group of college students and their investigation of a bizarre cult.

<i>Baywatch</i> (film) 2017 film by Seth Gordon

Baywatch is a 2017 American action comedy film directed by Seth Gordon, with a screenplay by Mark Swift and Damian Shannon, from a story by Jay Scherick, David Ronn, Thomas Lennon, and Robert Ben Garant. It is based on the television series created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bonann and takes place within the same fictional universe. The film stars Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron. The story follows lifeguard Mitch Buchannon and his team who must take down a drug lord in an effort to save their beach.

<i>Doom: Annihilation</i> 2019 film directed by Tony Giglio

Doom: Annihilation is a 2019 American science fiction action film written and directed by Tony Giglio. It is a reboot based on id Software's Doom franchise and is the second live-action film after Doom (2005). The film stars Amy Manson, Dominic Mafham, Luke Allen-Gale, and Nina Bergman. In the film, marines battle demon-like creatures in a facility on Phobos, who have emerged from ancient teleportation devices known as "Gates".

<i>Sequin in a Blue Room</i> 2019 Australian coming-of-age independent drama film

Sequin in a Blue Room is a 2019 Australian independent queer coming-of-age, mystery and drama film directed by Samuel Van Grinsven, in his feature film debut. It was written by Van Grinsven and Jory Anast. The film stars Conor Leach in his feature film debut, Simon Croker, Anthony Brandon Wong and Jeremy Lindsay Taylor. It had its world premiere on 14 June 2019 at the Sydney Film Festival, where it won an award for Best Narrative Feature, and was released in theatres in August 2020. The film received generally wide acclaim, and American review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes certified the film fresh with a score of 92%. It was filmed on location in Sydney.

References

  1. ↑ "Nowhere". Box Office Mojo .
  2. ↑ "Nowhere". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Stylish 'Nowhere' Finds Youthful Despair". Los Angeles Times . May 9, 1997.
  4. ↑ Gates, Anita (May 4, 1997). "Smiling Batman, Killer Dinos". The New York Times .
  5. ↑ Hamilton, Jake (2000). "Nowhere". Empire .
  6. 1 2 Lodi, Marie (May 6, 2022). "Behind the Fashion and Beauty of Gregg Araki's Nowhere, 25 Years Later". Nylon . Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Nowhere". Amazon. ASIN   B00004CYLQ . Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  8. ↑ Metcalf, Paul (March 24, 2012). "Film Review: The Doom Generation". pissedoffgeek.com. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  9. ↑ Clark, Leigh (August 27, 2013). "DVD Review: 'Nowhere'". cine-vue.com. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Nowhere: 2013 UK DVD Re-Release". greggarakinews. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  11. 1 2 Scorziello, Sophia (May 8, 2023). "Gregg Araki's 1997 Cult Film 'Nowhere' Gets 4K Restoration (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Nowhere". Academy Museum. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Nowhere Original Soundtrack". AllMusic . Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Kenzo's New Short film Is a Fashion Dream". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved January 1, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.