The Biggest Bug Your Windshield Ever Caught

There’s something truly lovable the directing style of Stuart Gordon, and I’m not ONLY talking about one of my all-time favorite killer doll films. Though he doesn’t necessarily boast the genre-making resume of someone like George Romero or Tobe Hooper, all Gordon’s work has an interesting, fairly intelligent yet unabashedly gory style that somehow feels less sleazy than so many of his cohorts.

Hence I greeted his latest feature, Stuck, with guarded enthusiasm, mostly due to the underwhelming reviews it had received. Thankfully, there’s no bravery-inducing charm quite like Netflix Instant Watch.

Quick Plot: Brandi (a cornrowed clad Mena Suvari) toils away at a nursing home, faithfully hosing down the incontinent as her boss dangles a possible promotion over her pug nose. Meanwhile, a soon-to-be homeless fortysomething named Tom (sad-faced Stephen Rea) shuffles around town just as Brandi drunkenly plows her car into his torso. In shock, Brandi pulls into her garage, Tom’s legs still jutting out her windshield.

That’s the main setup of Stuck, and it’s a pretty neat one at that. Also thrown into the mix are are Rashid, Brandi’s wannabe gangsta boyfriend, and a few colorful neighbors, including a sympathetic family of illegal immigrants. At its core though, Stuck is--or really, should be--a morality tale, a two-man showdown between a nothing-to-live-for bum and a life-finally-going-her-way young career woman (sorta).

The problem, at least from my high standards, is that Gordon seems to avoid what makes his story so fascinating. It’s amusing to watch Rashid reluctantly prove his non-badassness, but focusing on his and Brandi’s inept coverup is far less interesting than the psychology involved in doing so. When you have a truly gifted actor like Stephen Rea, why relegate him to moaning for help?

Having said this, I did enjoy Stuck as a breezy instant watch. It’s funny and something new, a well put together thriller comedy that never skims on blood or cruelty. It’s just not quite the movie it feels like it could have been.

High Points

Though he doesn’t get nearly enough to do, Stephen Rea brings his A-game, particularly in his early job-hunting sadsack scenes

Low Points

Mena Suvari will never be wrongly accused of being a good actress and though she's more adequate than usual here, I still wish her Brandi had a few more layers. We never really feel the inner struggle going on inside her in terms of do-I-kill-a-man-or-not, something that feels so missing when such a dilemma is the film’s main asset

Lessons Learned

Nothing sets a sexy mood better than a lava lamp

Corn rows flatter no white woman

Anybody can do anything to anyone and get away with it

Rent/Bury/Buy

Stuck is a pretty enjoyable little movie, but it lacks the smarts to really explore its setup. Perfectly adequate for Instant Watch, but not a film I’ll return to anytime soon. A when-you-get-the-chance recommendation for most, unless you’re a disturbed Suvari stalker (boobs are shown) or Suvari despiser (she still really can’t act). The Rea/Gordon ingredients help to even things out, but Stuck still feels like a bag of trail mix. Passable for a meal, with mild bursts of positive satisfaction. Then pretzels, which are TOTALLY fine....just not as good as those tasty chocolate covered raisins that your bag just never seems to have enough of.