I somewhat remember watching this , or bits of it when it came out. But when my wife picked it out to watch, I couldn't remember much of it, which is strange and unusual for me. After viewing it again, I know why. I just didn't buy the premise. I mean, this kid kills his girlfriend, leaves it in a wide open place near a river, openly admits it to his friends, then takes them to see the body. He has now explaination for why he did it, has absolutely no remorse, and could care less about any consequenses, about the murder, or that all of his friends know. This is the basic plot that drives the movie. One of the friends, a bizzare manic played by Cripin Glover (what a shock)tries to protedt his friend, the murderer, by hiding him out and collecting money to get him out of town. Meanwhile Keanu Reeve's character sulks about the revelation, and dosn't waste much time filling the authorities in on what happened. There's a subplot involving Dennis Hopper, a drugged out, seemingly crazy old hippie, whom with Glover hides the murdering boy. Now, you could read this and think, woah, this sounds like something I may want to check out. Trust me, it's not. The premise or potential of it, is never even close to fully realized. Roebuck sleeps through his performance as Samson, the murderer. Crispin (Lane)is (as usual) bizzare and waaaay too over the top for this role, making him seem silly, and impossible to believe. Reeves ( the finker), well, let's face it, has never been the best actor in the world, but for a boy that is so haunted and disturbed by the situation, he shows practically no emotion or depth whatsoever, in a role that screams for those qualities. Skye has little to do except look beautiful, and Hopper, the great Dennis Hopper Feck is practically wasted in his role. The only scene which drew any interest from me at all, was the scene with Samson and Feck by the river, where the two exchange stories about the murders of their respective girlfriends. This is the only scene where Roebuck shows any lifesigns as an actor at all. It was a very enticing moment in an otherwise waste of a views time. What I could not buy is that..see, this takes place in a small town. And I know that small town youth can go a little crazy for lack of something to do, and having a somewhat stagnant life. But, you'd think in a town where nothing happens, a murder of one of their friends, ( not an aquaintence or just a classmate, we're talking about their own close-knit group, here) would draw a lot more emotion and drama than written or acted. These kids are numb. The way the police react to Reeve's story is unbelivable. They spend more time harassing the confessor than investigating the crime. And that's another thing..we're dealing with a small town with a big fishing river (fishing being the main sport in a small town with nothing much to do..and this body is left, over the course of two days, out in the open, and nobody sees it? And it's impossible to beleive that in any town, no matter how small and inactive, that all this bizzare and downright loud behavior can take place within this story, and not have more kids caught or arrested. The parents could care less, and there is a ridiculous subplot concerning Reeves younger brother, supposedly 12, who is the wildest and merciless kid in town. This kid goes around the whole movie with an evil sneer on his face, him and his friend drive all around town in a stolen car and are never stopped once (!!!!), ransack Hopper's house, knock him out, take his weed and his gun, all to get stoned out and kill his older brother who slapped him around a few times. He finally finds his target, then falls into wimp mode weeping when Reeves holds out his arms saying "I'm your Brother". What was all the buildup for? Not only did I expect that little anti-christ to die violently, I prayed for it. And I was cheated, damnit! All told considering the talent involved, and story potential, this was a downer of a movie, a disapointing view and a total waste of time and energy.
