Gummo, 1997 (Independent, showing on Independent Film Channel) ----------- The film that proves that white trash is scarier than Rumpelstiltskin. No need to buy a ringside seat to view freaks; just hop on the ride to rural Ohio. It's the wheel of teenage angst spinning from the evil triumvirate spokes of satanism, heavy metal, and cat torture, motored by the fumes of wood-glue sniffing. The true horror comes in knowing that such people exist and knowing that you will happen upon them at Kroger, the bowling alley, Tigers' games, bars, and house parties. The film is well-made and worth seeing if you can stomach it. No cats were actually toasted in the making of this film (they got stiffs from the humane society) and you don't actually get to see a cat buy it, but some of our more sensate viewers might be bummed out anyway. One 'highlight' includes a beer-drinking party where scraggly burnouts stand around shirtless in a brightly-lit kitchen arm-wrestling and acting macho. The situation degrades as more studly displays are undertaken to keep the ball rolling, including a subhuman male breaking a card table and chairs; he pounds and pounds the furniture as his jeans roll off his beergut down past his asscrack. For some reason, a man dressed like the lead singer of Loverboy ineffectively attempts to break furniture, but our sub-hero jumps in to help him out. This is not a feel-good movie unless you have a somewhat grim, sick sense of humor. Features various mullet hairdos, a Krokus t-shirt, and bad peroxide jobs. Not for the faint of heart. The film also includes vignettes containing racism, incest, a child molester, and poor table manners, so be forewarned. On the plus side, contains several transvestites and a dwarf. I give it a 10/10 (raging boner) on the bone-a-rama scale.