Gummo

Gummo is a 1997 teenage drama movie. Harmony Korine wrote and directed the movie. Gummo is set in Xenia, Ohio, a Midwestern town that was devastated by a tornado.

The movie was shot in Nashville, Tennessee under a budget of $1 million. It was not given a large theatrical release. Because of that,Gummo failed to bring in much money. Reviews on the movie from the critics were mixed.

Plot

A young boy named Solomon narrates events from the tornado that went through the small town of Xenia, Ohio. A mute adolescent boy, nicknamed Bunny Boy, wears only tennis shoes, shorts and pink bunny ears on an overpass in the rain.

A boy named Tummler, who is also a friend for Solomon, carries a cat by its neck. He drowns the cat in a barrel of water. Gummo then cuts into a different scene with Tummler in a wrecked car with a girl. They fondle one another. Tummler realizes there is a lump on one of the girl's breast's. Tummler and Solomon then ride down on a hill on bicycles.

Later, Tummler points an air rifle at another cat. Solomon stops him from killing the cat and says it was a housecat. The boys leave. The camera then follows the cat to its owners' house. The cat is owned by three sisters, two are teenagers, the third has not gone through puberty yet.

The movie later cuts to a scene in which two foul-mouthed boys dressed as cowboys destroy things in a junkyard. Bunny Boy comes. The other boys shoot him "dead" using cap guns. Bunny Boy plays dead. The boys curse at him, go through his pockets and remove one of his shows. The boys later get bored of it. Bunny Boy is left on the ground

Cast

• Jacob Reynolds as Solomon
• Nick Sutton as Tummler
• Linda Manz as Solomon's mother
• Chloë Sevigny as Dot
• Carisa Glucksman as Helen
• Darby Dougherty as Darby
• Jacob Sewell as Bunny Boy
• Mark Gonzales as Chair wrestler
• Max Perlich as Cole
• Daniel Martin as Jarrod Wiggley
• Harmony Korine as Boy on couch

Filming

Gummo was shot in some of the poorest neighborhoods across Nashville.

The movie was shot in just four weeks in the summer of 1996.

Themes

Gummo goes over multiple issues, like vandalism, homicide, violence, drug abuse, profanity, sexual abuse, homophobia, prostitution and sexism.

Release

The movie was first shown at the 24th Telluride Film Festival on August 29, 1997. The original rating for the movie was NC-17. It was edited so it could receive an R.

Critical reception

As of 2021, Gummo holds a 38% "rotten" rating under Rotten Tomatoes with 56 reviews. Under Metacritic, the movie is rated at 19/100, which means "an overwhelming dislike".