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Thumbsucker

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Plot and Summary

Justin Cobb (Lou Pucci) still sucks his thumb at 17. He wants to stop and knows that it’s disrupting his family, his love life and his identity. But thumbsucking is only a symptom of a deep-seated fear: that he and his father (Vincent D’Onofrio) aren’t good enough for his mother (Tilda Swinton), and that she’ll leave them. Justin spirals into manic behavior, is diagnosed with ADHD and put on Ritalin, which becomes a substitute for his thumb.

His mother wonders how she could possibly be “grown up” with a son going to college. In her early 40s, she is, like Justin, struggling to find out who she is and to accept her shortcomings. Audrey hides from these realities through an obsession with a TV heartthrob, Matt Schraam (Benjamin Bratt), whose TV character seems to have all the neat answers.

Little brother Joel (Chase Offerle) is mostly oblivious to the family’s dynamics, and thinks his older brother is embarrassing. Justin turns to others outside his family to help. His New Age orthodontist, Perry Lyman (Keanu Reeves), seems to mirror Justin’s ups and downs. They both try on different personas that hide their doubts and fears.

At school, Mr. Geary (Vince Vaughn), Justin’s debate coach, initially tries to help. Striving to act as a peer to Justin, Mr. Geary eventually finds that he can no longer control him when Justin reaps great success

Information

Director: Mike Mills
Writer: Walter Hirn & Mike Mills
Genre: Drama, Comedy

Released on October 28, 2005

Cast

Lou Taylor Pucci … Justin Cobb (as Lou Pucci)
Tilda Swinton … Audrey Cobb
Vincent D’Onofrio … Mike Cobb
Keanu Reeves … Perry Lyman
Benjamin Bratt … Matt Schramm
Kelli Garner … Rebecca
Vince Vaughn … Mr. Geary

Related Photos

• Screencaptures, Stills, Posters

Trivia

Scarlett Johansson was originally cast as Rebecca Crane, but she dropped out shortly before filming and was replaced by Kelli Garner.

The director saw over 100 actors for the role of Justin.

Quotes

Dr. Perry Lyman: There’s only so much I can do with traditional orthodontics. Justin, are you ready to let go of your thumb?
Justin Cobb: Why are you talking like that?

Dr. Perry Lyman: I want to try hypnosis. Imagine you’re deep in the forest. Call on your power animal.
Justin Cobb: Come here!
Dr. Perry Lyman: [pause] Do it in your mind.

Dr. Perry Lyman: I stopped trying to be anything. I accepted myself in all my human disorder. You might wanna do the same.

Dr. Perry Lyman: That’s ’cause we all wanna be problemless. To fix ourselves. We look for some magic solution to make us all better, but none of us really know what we’re doing. And why is that so bad? That’s all we humans can do. Guess. Try. Hope. But, Justin, just pray you don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ve got the answer. Because that’s bullshit. The trick is living without an answer. I think.

Justin Cobb: What’s your power animal?
Dr. Perry Lyman: That’s personal.

Dr. Perry Lyman: You are not alone. You are not afraid. You don’t need your thumb, and your thumb doesn’t need you.

Links and Goodies

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Videos and Trailers

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