Katharine

A brilliant comedic gem disguised (much too well for its own good) as a generic, throwaway teen comedy. So tragically underrated, but here's why, I think: Crude, lowbrow humor, and buffoonish, one-dimensional characters were glaringly off-putting to seasoned film critics at the time of the film's 1999 release. It's understandable, given that the nature of the job is to call out unsophisticated work, but unfortunately, that meant missing out on the layers of wicked, biting dark comedy that less-discerning audiences enjoyed right alongside "cheap laughs" guaranteed to make a seasoned critic wince. But upon repeated viewing, the "cheap laughs" (raunchy gross-out humor, VERY un-p.c. jokes from very un-p.c, closed-minded, small-town characters), reveal themselves to not be so "cheap" at all -- in fact, they set the scene for hundreds of weirdly funny, subtle moments of character development and spot-on background details that are easy to miss the first, or even second time around, sandwiched somewhere between the big punchlines. A critic who is unable to check pretension at the door to get past the seemingly "poor taste" of the film would likely never like the characters enough to notice the richness of the trashy, lowbrow, incredibly tasteless world they exist **** which their dialogue reflects. The film excels at "exploiting" the "documentary subjects" and their lack of grace in front of the camera, especially in the vulnerable moments, ever-present in real documentaries, where the subject, waiting for a follow up question or feeling the need to fill the unending seconds of silence, reveals just a little too much. Had marketing execs not tried to pit DDG against the other, more polished and typical teen comedies of the late '90s -- the ones about sex, makeovers, drinking/drugs, making oneself over until reaching the intended social status -- perhaps DDG would have understood its strengths as a niche film, or found an audience with a more nuanced sense of humor, the ones that appreciate a high school movie that's not really about high school at all. A film written by a woman that passes the Bedchel test with flying colors. Perhaps they wouldn't have left Allison Janney, who steals every scene as Ellen Barken's wise-cracking, sexed-up best friend, off of the poster and promotional products. For me, a girl not edgy enough for Heathers, completely unaware of the notion of being "too cool" for a typical blockbuster teen flick, the film had all the appeal of any other lighthearted comedy -- tacky pageant dances, slapstick humor, totally out-of-touch adults -- so much that I did not notice the (now obvious) darkness of the story at age 13, 14, 15. I enjoyed the silliness and quotable one-liners. As an adult with a broad taste in film, I can now see that a story about a desperate teenager whose only glimmer of hope of escaping an exceptionally dismal future of generational poverty lies in risking her life for a chance to achieve a depressingly meaningless "victory," is, ****'s some dark **** remain amazed that it doesn't need to make the film any less comedic. We laugh at misfortune, misplaced anger, violent death. DDG, for me, served as a sneaky introduction to black comedy, probably because no one told me what that was. Is it perfect? No way. But it's an all-time favorite. Excellent, early performances from recognized star actors, memorable script, enduring appeal, and lines to quote for decades to come.