User Reviews

A PACKING SUBURBIA (2+ outta 5 stars)

Considering that this is an ultra-low budget movie, little more than a glorified home movie... and starring mostly amateur performers... it's not too bad. (I've seen big budget teen gang thrillers that had a lot less to offer.) New kid in town tries to get in good with the "bad kids" as well as hanging with the "good kids"... you know there's no way he's going to pull this off... and yet, you still hope. Violence is the result of his playing both sides... brutal, nasty violence which escalates into a junkyard showdown for the finale. Sure, the actors aren't all that good... but the kid who plays the lead is surprisingly believable. The plot is fairly predictable... but there are a few scenes where the filmmakers go a little further than most films usually dare in terms of violence. The movie is hurt a little by an inconclusive and unclear finale but, for the most part, it is a fast-moving and intense little film.

A prescient, disturbing film that forecast both the rise in teen gun violence of the Columbine variety and the destructive power of the Internet on impressionable young people. This indie production was clearly ahead of its time. Sadly, it did not receive the level of attention it deserved when it was in theatrical release. Hopefully, it can find a new audience via DVD. Stuart Alson, executive director of the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival, dubbed "A Packing Suburbia" as "the most controversial film about American youth today since the film 'Kids.'" Mr. Alson also is quoted as saying he thought it was of the best films he has ever seen in his festival. He wasn't half-wrong -- this is a great movie.

With all that is going on right now in the world, example Colorado killings, teens with guns and their ability to look up things on the internet on how to load guns, etc. is really one of the biggest issues in A Packing Suburbia directed by Steven Szklarski. I saw this film at the Long Island Film Festival on Sunday July 18, 1999 and could not believe how amazing the acting was!! THOMAS BRANDISE shows us James Maxwell a teen who goes through more transformations in 90 minutes than most teens do in their life. This young kid has so much intensity and real star quality, look for him to explode. I tried to say hello to him at the screening but agents and managers and teen fans were surrounding him with pens for autographs. Mariana Carreno who plays Iris is equally powerful and Robert Alexander is pretty good too. This film will definitely get distribution for theatrical release because the subject matter is important for parents to question especially parents with teens, for lets face it, being a teen is tough, especially in the 1990's. I do not want to give away the ending, but just want people to look out for it when it hits theatres. I will be there again...Also great editing