TCH News

Issue date: 5/5/08 Section: Entertainment

Independent films, by nature, are quirky and often very strange. "Jimmy and Judy" is no exception. Written and directed by Jon Schroder and Randall Rubin and starring Edward Furlong ("Terminator 2: Judgement Day," "American History X") and Rachael Bella ("The Ring"), "Jimmy and Judy" is a strange look into obsession and rebellion.

The film follows Jimmy (Furlong), a 21-year-old college dropout who has been in and out of therapy and mental hospitals, a camera permanently glued to his hand; and his girlfriend Judy (Bella), an 18-year-old high school senior and social outcast. Jimmy documents everything in his life with his digital video camera, from his parents' bondage fetish in the bedroom to his own obsession with Judy. The obsession becomes mutual and eventually they become inseparable.

Then one night while driving in "the ghetto" they hit and kill someone. In their panic they put the body in the trunk of the car, shoot a police officer, and flee from the scene. Now wanted fugitives, they go in search of a commune run by a man known as Uncle Rodney (William Sadler), where they will be able to live together forever with no one to bother them. Once they get there, through a series of criminal events, it becomes the beginning of the end for the two doomed outcasts.

"Jimmy and Judy" has one good thing going for it and that is the cast. The chemistry between Furlong and Bella is fantastic. Their characters' obsession with each other is completely believable and, in Judy's case at the very end of the film, downright unnerving. Their undeniable chemistry was obviously too good to ignore for the actors as well; they are now married with a son. Another stand out performance is William Sadler as Uncle Rodney, a godlike figure to the misguided youth at his commune. He plays the control freak cult leader, terrifyingly well.

Unfortunately the bad outweighs the good in this film. Watching the footage on Jimmy's camera gets annoying quite quickly, as it did in "The Blair Witch Project" and "Cloverfield," although the filming is a lot steadier in "Jimmy and Judy." During most of the film, nothing really happens. By the end of it, you realize you were just supposed to be seeing the development of the obsessions Jimmy and Judy held for each other. This was more than obvious within the first 15 minutes. Also, the pacing falters; some scenes are painstakingly slow, while others go far to fast.

Overall the film is strange, even for an Independent, and forgettable.

"Jimmy and Judy" is 100 minutes and rated R for strong sexuality, nudity, violence, drug content and language.

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