''Igby Goes Down'' is a 2002 American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film that follows the life of Igby Slocumb, a rebellious and sardonic teenager who attempts to break free of his familial ties and wealthy, overbearing mother. The film was written and directed by

Burr Steers Burr Gore Steers is an American actor, screenwriter, and director. His films include ''Igby Goes Down'' (2002) and '' 17 Again'' (2009). He is a nephew of writer Gore Vidal. Family Steers was born in Washington, D.C. His father, Newton Ivan ...

, and stars Kieran Culkin,

Claire Danes Claire Catherine Danes (born April 12, 1979) is an American actress. She is the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2012, '' Time'' named her one of the 100 most influenti ...

, Jeff Goldblum, Susan Sarandon, Amanda Peet, Ryan Phillippe, Bill Pullman and Jared Harris. It was given a limited theatrical release through

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

on September 13, 2002, in the United States, and received generally positive reviews from critics. Culkin and Sarandon received

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

nominations for their performances.

Plot

Jason "Igby" Slocumb Jr. is a misanthropic 17-year-old boy, rebelling against the oppressive world of his strict East Coast "

old money Old money is "the inherited wealth of established upper-class families (i.e. gentry, patriciate)" or "a person, family, or lineage possessing inherited wealth". The term typically describes a social class of the rich who have been able t ...

" family. His

schizophrenic Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social w ...

father, Jason has been committed to an institution. Igby fears that he will eventually suffer a

mental breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

like his father. His mother, Mimi, is self-absorbed and distant and tends to

drink A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies ...

heavily. Igby mockingly describes his ambitious older brother Ollie as a

fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

or a

Young Republican The Young Republican National Federation, commonly referred to as the Young Republicans or YRNF, is a 527 organization for members of the Republican Party of the United States between the ages of 18 and 40. It has both a national organization ...

, and that he studies "

neo-fascism Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration sent ...

" (economics) at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. Igby figures that there must be a better life out there, and he sets out to find it, rebelling against his family at every opportunity. After happily flunking out of several prep schools, he ends up in a brutal military academy where he gets beaten by his classmates. After escaping and spending time in a Chicago hotel courtesy of his mother's credit card, Igby is sent to New York for the summer to stay with his godfather, successful real estate magnate D. H. Banes. While working construction for D. H., Igby first encounters Rachel, his godfather's Edie Sedgwick-influenced,

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and bro ...

-addicted trophy mistress. Rather than return to school, he escapes into the

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

underworld of Manhattan, hiding out with Rachel and her

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

ist friend Russel at her studio owned by D. H. Eventually, he and Rachel have sex. After being found at the studio by D. H. and getting beaten up by Rachel for jeopardizing her living arrangements, he hooks up with terminally bored, part-time lover, Sookie, only for her to later leave him for Ollie. Despite seeming cold and distant, Mimi is not unaffected by her rebellious son. She describes Igby's conception as an act of animosity and therefore believes that it shouldn't be a surprise that his life follows the same course. His name is explained as a family in-joke. As a child, he would blame his toy bear, Digby, for things he had done only he was mispronouncing it as "Igby". To get him to take responsibility for his actions, his family would call him Igby whenever he lied. Igby is informed by D. H. that his mother Mimi is dying from

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

and so he returns to see her. She asks Igby to be present for her death. She has arranged to commit

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

with help from Ollie, who feeds her drug-laden strawberry yogurt before ultimately placing a plastic bag over her head. Before she dies, Mimi makes a final revelation, casually inquiring of Igby, "I take it you know that D. H. is your father?" Igby visits his father Jason in the hospital before leaving for

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

to finally make a clean break by getting 3,000 miles away from his family.

Cast

* Kieran Culkin as Jason "Igby" Slocumb Jr. ** Rory Culkin as 10-year-old Igby *

as Sookie Sapperstein * Jeff Goldblum as D. H. Banes * Bill Pullman as Jason Slocumb Sr. * Susan Sarandon as Mimi Slocumb * Ryan Phillippe as Oliver "Ollie" Slocumb *

Bill Irwin William Mills Irwin (born April 11, 1950) is an American actor, clown, and comedian. He began as a vaudeville-style stage performer and has been noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. He has made a num ...

as Lt. Ernest Smith * Jared Harris as Russel * Amanda Peet as Rachel, D. H. Banes's mistress * Celia Weston as Bunny, Mrs. D. H. Banes * Cynthia Nixon as Mrs. Piggee * Jim Gaffigan as Hilton manager * Gore Vidal as Catholic priest *

Gregory Itzin Gregory Martin Itzin (April 20, 1948 – July 8, 2022) was an American character actor of film and television best known for his role as U.S. President Charles Logan in the action thriller series '' 24''. Early life Itzin was born in Washing ...

as the eulogist (uncredited)

Production

''Igby Goes Down'' was filmed in locations throughout

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, including

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

, Washington Square Park, and

SoHo Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was deve ...

. It is one of the last films to show the Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released on February 25, 2003, by Spun Records.

Additional music credits

Kodo __NOTOC__ Kodo may refer to: Japan * ''Kōdō'' (香道), ceremonial appreciation of incense * Nippon Kodo (日本香堂), an incense company * Kodō (taiko group) (鼓童), a ''taiko'' drumming group * Kodo-kai (弘道会), a yakuza criminal orga ...

– "Ibuki Reconstruction" *M. Tardieu – "Nocturne" * Supreme Beings of Leisure – "Golddigger" *Herman Beeftink – "Flamenco" *

60 Ft. Dolls 60 Ft. Dolls were a Welsh rock trio active in the 1990s, known as the Cool Cymru era. Formation They were formed in Newport in 1992 by Richard J. Parfitt and Michael Cole, who met through Donna Matthews (later of Elastica), who was at the time ...

– "No. 1 Pure Alcohol" *Hans Enrlinger – "Esta Noche" * Liquido – "Narcotic" *Ramsay Midwood – "Waynesboro" * Pete Yorn – "Murray"

Reception

''Igby Goes Down'' received positive critical reaction, with a 76% "fresh" rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

; the consensus states: "In the vein of ''

The Catcher in the Rye ''The Catcher in the Rye'' is an American novel by J. D. Salinger that was partially published in serial form from 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents for its themes of angs ...

'', ''Igby Goes Down'' is scathingly witty and sharply observant" and a 72/100 on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

. Critics have compared aspects of the story to J. D. Salinger's novel ''The Catcher in the Rye''. Film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave the film a positive review and a grade of three and a half stars out of four.

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

selected the film as a ''New York Times'' “Critic’s Pick" and credited it with "ruthless emotional honesty", stating, "Not a false note is sounded."

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Igby Goes Down 2002 films 2000s coming-of-age comedy-drama films American teen comedy-drama films American coming-of-age comedy-drama films 2000s English-language films Films about dysfunctional families Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City American independent films 2002 independent films United Artists films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films directed by Burr Steers 2002 directorial debut films 2000s American films