Prozac Nation (2001)

9.14.2005
First viewing
DVD (Netflix)
Movie: D
Audio: C
Video: C+

I'm learning (the hard way) that when a movie sits on the shelf for years without a release of any kind for what seems like no reason, there normally is a reason. More often than not, it's because the movie sucks. Prozac Nation is a good example of this. Filmed in 2000, it was prepped for a 2001 release, but delayed for several reasons. Among those I've heard: negative test audience reactions, the inherent unlikeable nature of the main character, the author's opinion of the movie (she hated it), and the author's negative comments about 9/11.

Prozac Nation fails in just about every way it can. The central character, played by Christina Ricci, is the kind of person everyone hates. She's moody, bipolar, bitchy, and completely crazy. Her life is depressing and her story is pathetic. I felt no compassion for her, and I couldn't relate to the story at all. The end result is an unlikeable main character, and that's never good.

The direction lacked style and looked totally uninspired. Come to think of it, nothing about the movie was unique at all. Nothing stood out, positive or overly negative. The story was incredibly dull, and considering that nothing ever happened, it's no surprise. The script was decent, but never struck me as anything special. Basically, there was nothing good about Prozac Nation at all. Not everything was horrible, but the best you got was simply mediocre. With a boring story and a terrible main character, there's just no substance for a viewer to hold on to.

Keeping with the them of being unimpressive, the DVD was very average. The audio sufficed, but minimal use of the surrounds and flat dialogue makes for a sleeper of a presentation. The video boasted respectable detail levels, but the film itself appeared flat and lifeless. In short, nothing stood out about Prozac Nation in any way, shape, form, or fashion.