This movie came out around Halloween of 2001 or about a month after 9/11 and because it had a plot device involving a jet engine falling off a plane, the movie was barely a whisper at the box office. People thought it was insensitive or something.

I will try to explain the plot in as few words as possible: It’s A Wonderful Death. I actually ripped that off from someone else. The movie is like the inverse of “It’s A Wonderful Life” where a kid must save the world by realizing he needs to die to fix the brokenness of a tangential universe.

This is one of my favorite movies, because it is so perfect on so many levels. And it very much stands the test of time. Upon re-watching after not watching it for close to a decade, I had to rebuild my understanding of the movie all over again. It’s not that I had forgotten everything, it’s that I was once again questioning what I thought it all meant.

The acting is top-notch and all the actors feel like they are the characters. The comedy is subtle and at times, beyond genius. It also sneaks in some heavy topics like school bullying, pedophile justice, teenage angst, and political tensions within a family.

All-in-all, watch this movie. You will be confused and you may get frustrated, but be damned if you can’t find some sort of enjoyment in such a crazy journey of a film.

Rating: