Bug (2006)

~Cast~

Ashley Judd.....................Agnes White

Michael Shannon..............Peter Evans

Harry Connick Jr...............Jerry Cross

Directed by........................William Friedkin

My Rating:

INSANE...that is the single word my friends and I agreed on as we exited the 12:40 showing of William Friedkin's BUG. The second thing I thought of was that not since PRIMEVAL (the movie that was advertised as being about a serial killer, that was supposed to be about a crocodile, that was really about a war in Africa) have I seen such false advertising for a movie. This movie has nothing to do with what it claims to be. It makes you think that there will actually be real bugs and creatures and such when in fact, there are none. I am not ruining the movie for you people, you will find that out very quickly when you check your watch and realize you have been sitting for an hour and nothing has happened except for dialogue. That brings up my next point. The movie feels like they just took Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon, put them on drugs and threw them in a room with props and told them to act. It felt a lot like a 2 hour play that I was watching where we had two sets and two main actors performing for 2 hours. Funny how it should feel that way since it turns out, Friedkin based this off the play BUG which is the same thing. Don't get me wrong, the movie has what I consider to be OSCAR worthy performances from Judd and Shannon for they were absolutely amazing but amazing performances alone don't make a movie. It makes a play good but this isn't a play, something that seemed to be neglected when the transfer occured. Enough talking about this...let's get to the story that is BUG...

    Agnes White is a lonely woman living in a motel room, hiding out from her abusive ex-boyfriend and going to bars trying to meet guys with her friend. One night she comes across a man named Peter Evans who spends the night but wants nothing more. He seems like a normal guy, a little weird but seems normal. He stays for more than a night and they end up sleeping together, instant that happens he starts mentioning about bugs being everywhere. His delusions and paranoia increase with every minute, and they start to invade Agnes' sanity as well.

    That's pretty much the plot to this movie and as you can tell, this movie runs solely off the acting abilities of Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon so if you aren't fans of them...skip this movie. If you are looking for a fast paced entertaining film, skip this movie. If you are looking for something with actual BUGS in it, skip this movie. If you are looking for a character piece on 2 people who are delving into delusions/madness through dialogue and acting instead of actions then this movie is the one for you. I am telling you right now, BUG will not be enjoyed by many. In fact, I am not even sure if I enjoyed it myself. The movie is fucked up. Although it does accomplish delving in to the psyche of humans who are losing their minds it's not something you are going to leave with a smile on your face. You will leave BUG feeling dirty and slimy, as if you spent the night in this motel alongside these two nutcases.

    Ashley Judd is absolutely amazing in this movie, in fact, I didn't even know it was her and I had to ask my friend who she was. When he said "Dude, that's Ashley Judd!" I was like "You got to be fucking kidding me!" She plays this character Agnes White to the point of brilliance. She was out of this world and her descent into madness is simply Oscar worthy. Ashley Judd is one of the best actress' out there and she proved it in this movie. Michael Shannon also blew me away with his performance. He played Peter Evans, the quirky skitzo guy who stays and "infests" Miss White's home. We all kept on saying how great both these actors were in the film and that we couldn't believe how these two were literally saving this plot less movie. Great job by both of them! Harry Connick Jr. has a small role as Jerry Cross, Agnes' ex boyfriend, and while the entire time I couldn't stop thinking of him singing those gay slow songs he used to sing, he actually pulled his own and did a decent job in this. The cast took this movie and made it watch able, for me anyway. 

    William Friedkin terrified and traumatized audiences back in the 70's with his masterpiece THE EXORCIST but for some reason, he wasn't handed a shit ton of movies and to this day I can not figure out why. He shows his style hasn't changed a bit since the 70's and that isn't a bad thing. BUG starts off like THE EXORCIST with a slow opening that is character building and continues for a while into the film. I felt William did an amazing job with this film and while the movie itself was only sub par, the performances and the tension he is able to build in a film that has no fucking plot whatsoever can only be achieved by someone who is a true master of his craft and that is definitely Friedkin. Hats off to him!

    Gore wise, this film has some nice bits of red substance but I don't want to kill the little bits we do get so you will have to actually see it. Nudity wise, the ladies get Michael Shannon baring everything but his junk and the men in the audience thanked him for NOT showing that. The guys get Ashley Judd going nekkid again (yes I said again) and any man who has a problem with seeing her naked...is in fact gay cause she is super hot.

    I say, BUG is a film that 98.8% of the people who actually see this will end up either a) walking out, b) falling asleep or c) utterly despising it for it's not an entertaining film in the slightest. This is for people who enjoy watching acting because that is all this film is. It's extremely talented actors showing off how well they can handle their craft. I hated this as a MOVIE but I appreciated it as a film. This didn't entertain me at all nor did it make me want to watch it ever again. When I left the theatre, I was relieved the movie was over but wasn't mad that I saw it. Confusing and contradicting yes...but that’s the review I have for you. Enjoy!

Special Guest Reviewer:

Quagmire

"And I'd still have her gi-giggity my schmoigon! HEH! HEH! ALLLLLLLRIIIIIIGHT!"

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