Thumbsucker

REVIEW: THUMBSUCKER (Sony Pictures Classics) Directed by Mike Mills

Based on a novel by Walter Kirn, this feature debut from Mike Mills tracks the quasi-coming-of-age of Justin Cobb (Lou Pucci), a socially awkward high school senior who can't stop sucking his thumb. With his addiction putting an increased strain on his relationships with both his parents (Vincent D'Onofrio and Tilda Swinton) and his environmentally conscious crush (Kelli Garner), Justin resolves to kick the habit with the aid of his New Agey orthodontist (Keanu Reeves) and affable debate coach (Vince Vaughn). His search for answers--in Eastern philosophy, in pharmacology, in a pot-smoking haze--is an uneven trip, filled with false starts and uneasy bargains, but brought to life by Mills's deft direction and a watershed performance by Pucci.

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COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning