February192008
movie review
Teeth
1 OUT OF 5 RATING: 2.5
Writer-director Mitchell Lichtenstein’s (artist Roy Lichtenstein’s son) feature debut is a horror comedy combining elements of atom-age 1950s horror films with mythology and feminist theory. The result is a B-movie satire—with a few funny and gross moments. A risky idea that in my opinion has turned into a lower-tier Troma production. Dawn (Jess Weixler) lives the life of a normal suburban teenager, except for the two nuclear reactors looming over her house. A goody two-shoes by any measure, she leads the local chapter of a chastity group, lecturing younger children on saving themselves for marriage. The set is staged for an awesome feminist discourse, but in literalizing the myth of vagina dentata, Lichtenstein trivializes it. Though good for a few laughs, the one-note Teeth is just another trite rape-revenge fantasy, the promise of its fierce premise unfulfilled because Lichtenstein fails to adequately account for Dawn’s pleasure as she goes on her chopping rampage. I felt the film took many wrong turns and I was sadly disappointed.
