Art School Confidential - DVD review

Source: The List (Issue 566)
Date: 3 January 2007
Written by: Paul Dale

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Art School Confidential

(15) 98min (Sony Pictures DVD retail/rental)

COMEDY/DRAMA

The surprisingly swift DVD release of Terry Zwigoff and Daniel Clowes’ adaptation of Clowes’ graphic novel is saddening but hardly surprising. By far and away the weakest film that Zwigoff has made (following on from the off kilter joys of Crumb, Ghost World and Bad Santa), the end result here feels both compromised and oddly dour. Following one young man’s journey through a particularly pretentious art school, this certainly has some good, cringeworthy moments and some stellar performances from John Malkovich (as an immensely annoying lecturer/art guru) and rising star Max Minghella. The trouble is the film flags so woefully halfway through that it never really finds the poisonous sense of otherness that informs everything else that Zwigoff and Clowes have done up to this point. It is, however, of interest to anyone interested in enrolling at Art College; see this as a warning. Minimal extras: this is however a region 1 only DVD.

More: Art School Confidential, Daniel Clowes, John Malkovich, Max Minghella, Terry Zwigoff, Reviews (Film), Reviews (Comedy), Comedy (Film), Drama (Film), DVD (Film)

Last updated: 2 Jul 2007 17:25 BST