Movie Review: Girl, Interrupted

Story: It is based on Susanna Kaysen's episodic memoir of her two year stay in a New England psychiatric hospital in the late 60's after a botched suicide attempt. Director and co-writer James Mangold (Heavy-I HATED that movie and the much better Copland, whose mentor, by the way was Milos Forman, who directed Man on the Moon, which I just reviewed two days ago. I love synchronicity!) brings the film to life and pretty much follows the book's episodic format. The inmate's, some truly wounded, some self-indulgent, are all young, troubled, frightened and for the most part, unfortunately, did not elicit any sympathy from me. I did like the fact that most of the cast were women but most of them were nut cases.

Acting: Winona Ryder seems to have been around for a long time and never ages. I wonder if she is related to Dick Clark? Anyway, again, she is an 18 year old, this time she is teary eyed, frightened, confused, shivering, thoughtful, mixed-up and a beautiful woman to look at for two hours. She is going to be around for a long time and will get better once she grows out of these ingenue roles. There is a whole crop of young pouty lipped women that have been in many of the latest movies and I confess to getting them mixed up with one another. Ashley Judd, Charlize Theron and in this film Angelina Jolie who is queen of the puffed lipped, drugged-out look and poster child for all of the anorexic women out there. She played this role before in HBO's Gia so I am not so sure of the stretch in this film. Whoopi Goldberg is fine in the same role she has played many times before - you know which one- it is the wise, you can count on me to say the right thing, Whoopi. There is an adequate supporting cast of wide-eyed walking wounded sluts and nuts in the ward.

Pets: One beautiful grey cat named Ruby

Visual Art: A few paintings at the beginning

Sappy Factor: 5

Tissue Usage: 1 (new category)

Length: 2 hours

LOBO HOWLS: 5