REVIEWS

"AMERICAN HISTORY X"

I use words like "guinea," "spic," "dago," and "wop" all the time. The way I figure it, since I'm ¹/₂ Italian and ¹/₂ Cuban, it's okay. I'd NEVER use any of the racial slurs for a race that I'm not a part of, so it's okay, right? Well, that's what I thought. But then I saw "American History X," a movie where most of the main characters are neo-Nazi skinheads. The fact that I use some of the same terminology that they used in talking about my own ethnic background sickened me. Those who know me well know that I hate racism as much as I hate crime, drugs, and all that. This movie helped me to realize that when I use those terms to describe my fellow Italians and Cubans, I'm no less ignorant than the characters in the movie are.

But...

"American History X" is by no means a great movie. The story is simple, the ending is obvious, the dialogue is lame, and there were some moments of humor thrown in that seemed awkward. There's been some controversy because Tony Kaye (the director of many commercials, in his feature film debut) wanted his name removed from the credits because he was dissatisfied with the end result of the film, which he supposedly had no control over. Word has it that New Line and Edward Norton (the film's headlining star) had the most say in the editing room. Either way, the biggest problems seem to be in the script (by David McKenna, his debut feature film screenplay). Still, I was surprised that he actually gave some intelligence to Norton's character, not so that you agree with his opinions, but so that you can understand where he's coming from.

Tony Kaye is a visual stylist, playing with the camera, putting it low to the ground much of the time. There was nothing spectacular, though. If there's any reason to see this film, it's because of the incredible performances of the actors, especially Edward Norton. Edward Furlong is okay as his brother, but Avery Brooks ("Captain Sisko" from "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"), Beverly D'Angelo, Guy Torry, Elliott Gould, Stacy Keach, and (especially) Fairuza Balk are all magnificent. Remember the movie "Mallrats"? That fat dude who was staring at that 3D stereogram the entire time, trying to figure out what it was? Anyway, his name is Ethan Suplee, and he's in the movie. His purpose seemed to be comic relief, but as I wrote earlier, it just came off as awkward.

There ARE a few really powerful scenes, and you learn to really despise the neo-Nazi skinheads, but I would credit that to the actors. As for anyone out there who regularly uses racial slurs when referring to your own race or (especially) when referring to others, I BEG you to see this movie. See for yourself how stupid you look when you use those words.

Scale of 1-10: 6