romero8181 I first heard about "Home Room" one night when I was reading an on-line list of The Most Disturbing Movies. I had saved about 5 movies on that list to my Netflix instant queued including this one. When I finally got to it on my list, I was expecting a violent bloody thriller, since most of the movies on that list included Last House on the Left, The Human Centipede, Martyrs, and The Lost. I couldn't have been more wrong. This was a great, emotional, sad, and intense drama about the aftermath of a school shooting. I enjoyed it so much that after streaming it on Netflix, I literally went to my computer and ordered the DVD. I don't know how I had never heard of this movie until 9 years after its release.The movie is about Deanna (Erika Christensen), a smart popular girl who is injured during the shooting and is in the hospital recovering. Not only is she recovering physically, but emotionally too. She still has nightmares and flashbacks of the incident. Alicia (Busy Philipps) is a goth-like loner with an attitude who also was in the room the shooting took place. The police have questioned Alicia due to the fact that she was friends with the shooter. When the principal forces Alicia to visit Deanna in the hospital, both of their lives begin to change. Even though they have nothing in common, they begin to form a bond and realize that they both do have something in common; they both are lonely and appreciate each other's company.The scenes with both Alicia and Deanna are very powerful. Christensen and Philipps do an extraordinary job of acting and its so believable. This, I believe, is both actresses best work in any of their films. I am not ashamed to say that I get very emotional every time I watch this movie; especially the ending. The most frustrating part about it all, is that hardly anybody even knows about this movie. I didn't until a month ago. I was happy to read such positive reviews on this film. Its a movie that will stay with you for a long time in a positive way. I read in the Trivia section that Richard Roeper wrote about this movie in his book, so I purchased his book and he made some great points about this film. It truly is a "Lost Film" that should have gotten more recognition. I think it should be re-released with more advertising. Its a shame that independent films don't always get the attention they should. The acting in "Home Room" is better than the acting in most of the films released the same year. I hope these positive reviews help spread the word about how great this movie is. I only wish I had watched it sooner. Definitely one of my favorites!

mtvshortyy I have to say that this is one of the best movies I have ever seen! I was bored and looked through the t.v. and found "Home Room" and it was already in about 5 min., but I got hooked. It was so interesting and moving. It shows what can happen in anyone's life. I give it a 10, more if possible. The director/ writer and actors did an amazing job. I think teens should watch this movie and will learn from it. It was great, drama, mystery, and more. I cried for hours! I think that the director/ writer should write more movies like this one. I loved it! I didn't even know about this movie, which is sad because it was so good. I wish it could go in the movies for more people to see.

Valtresca At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to watch this movie when it came up on my guide so I looked it up on IMDb and thought the cover looked pretty cool so I thought I would give it a try expecting a movie like Elephant.Once I got past the fact that I am supposed to dislike the Alicia character played excellently by Busy Phillips, I realized what a good job this movie was doing toward setting up the relationship between Alicia and Deanna. Alicia is so mean to Deanna played by Erika Christensen almost throughout the entire movie but we eventually find out that they despite being polar opposites they have one thing in common besides being present at the shooting. They share loneliness and to what extent is revealed as the film progresses.I've just got to say how much I loved this movie and was glad to see all of the positive comments about it. I couldn't even get through Elephant because it just seemed to be exploiting the Columbine tragedy. This movie on the other hand was compelling and realistic. Busy Phillips acting is OFF the CHAIN!!! That is a good thing and I would love to see her progress into some more mature roles.

emfp1 If you're out of high school, and don't confuse screaming with depth, ignore this movie. It has no redeeming qualities, just 90 minutes of stupid, followed by 30 minutes of preachy, with 11 minutes of "who cares?" tacked on at the end. Indie films used to be an outlet for true artists to practice their craft without interference. This, and others of its kind, are little more than a symptom of the continued dumbing down of American culture. Thanks to digital cameras, YouTube, et al., any moron can make a movie these days. The only way to stop it, is to refuse to watch them. Don't waste your time, and please don't assume any movie dealing with school shootings has to have some sort of social or cultural value. Sometimes the topic is just a cheap path to ill-gotten indie "cred."