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Don Reviews "I Saw The TV Glow"

Writer's picture: Rob ErvinRob Ervin

For those not familiar with the “bait and switch,” it is where a business tries to get you to their store by advertising a great deal but once you get there, they only have one of the item (or are sold out) and then try to upsell you on a another product that is more expensive.  This also happens in Hollywood in a different way with a trailer that shows a film or TV show in a way that shows a certain style or plot, but after watching it finding it is something completely different. This is how I felt when watching I Saw the TV Glow.

 

Jane Schoenbrun (We’re All Going to the World’s Fair) directs here with a cast that includes Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Ian Foreman, Helena Howard, Lindsey Jordan, and Danielle Deadwyler.  Owen (played at different times in his life by Foreman and Smith) is a quiet and secluded teen who has a tough home situation.  As he starts up a friendship with fellow outcast Maddy (Lundy-Paine), he finds out that they are both fans of a certain TV show.  As their friendship grows, strange events begin to happen with the show seeming to be blurring the line between reality and entertainment.

 

If there is one thing I liked about this film, it is the performance of Justice Smith Ian Foreman as the two different versions of Owen.  Their portrayals were done so well that it seemed like only one person played the role, with mirroring mannerisms and characteristics and really understanding who Owen is in order to bring him to life on the screen.

 

In the end, plain and simple: this film is horrible!  It is totally different from what the trailer shows, with the trailer portraying I Saw the TV Glow in a way that had me expecting film that was scary with the TV and the show taking over Owen and Maddy’s lives like in Poltergeist.  The film itself just ends up being a boring new-age style story combined with a coming-of-age plot.  It’s way too long and confusing; I found myself a number of times trying to figure out what exactly the message it was trying to get across was. I lost track of the number of times I thought to myself “What is the point of scene”.  Now, is this a plot that is as bad as Under the Skin or Knight of Cups?  No, but it is not that far behind them.  Please do not waste your time on this film, in fact, I am giving I Saw the TV Glow the un-coveted Maze Runner promise where it will make my ten worst films of the year come January. I can not recommend this film or watch it ever again.

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