Kat Edwards I saw the A-list actors in this and thought wow, this has got to be an amazing film! Wrong, wrong, wrong. I'm not sure what Jeff Goldblum, Susan Sarandon, Claire Danes, Amanda Peet, Ryan Phillippe, were thinking when they did this one. I saw a bratty, whiny, rich teen who constantly complained about everything, when he had nothing to complain about. (Kieran Culkan) And his mother (Susan Sarandon)? Neurotic, eccentric, drunken, druggie doesn't even come close to describing his crazy-ass mother. I could go on and on about these annoying characters with nothing redeemable them, but that would "spoil" this movie. It was so choppy. A scene would be thrown in, like the crazy-ass mother sitting on the maid's head, with no intro...why was she sitting on the maid's head? The only thing good about this movie is the New York City scenery. If you want to see a bunch of rich, whiny people on drugs, all cheating on each other and basically being a**holes, then this is your movie. Just know that you will waste 98 minutes of your life. Minutes that you will never be able to get back.

jbirks106 This movie has the initial feel of "Harold and Maude," at least in its portrayal of a young man of privileged upbringing, hell bent on defying his parents, who are daft, overbearing or, in the case of "Igby" certifiably insane. Just two problems: one, Kieran Culkin is no Bud Cort, and two, Burr Steers is no Hal Ashby. And a third problem: if there is a plot to "Igby" I couldn't find it. Or maybe I just couldn't be interested enough to find it.There are plenty of good actors in the film -- Susan Sarandon, Claire Danes, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman -- but their characters are mostly one-dimensional. None are particularly likable, or even dis-likable. They simply exist for Igby to respond to (usually in a sarcastic, juvenile manner that does not age well). Igby himself is interesting enough for awhile, but there comes a point in a picture where the central character has do do something worth watching. Aside from a fling with Sookie, which you know from the start has no future, Igby does little but project an ironic pose. Until the end, that is, when he beats his mother's corpse. Had we seen more of that side throughout the film, this could have been an effective scene; instead it's just ludicrous.Maybe a good actor could've filled that character with more than mordant wit. But Culkin is not that actor. I can't believe he was Steers' first choice, but then again Steers must have approved the script too. He may aspire to be Hal Ashby but the Nora Ephron in him is too much to overcome.The only reason to give this movie a shot is the photography. The scenes of downtown New York, and the interior set design, are truly marvelous.

SnoopyStyle Igby Slocumb (Kieran Culkin) is from a crazy dysfunctional family. The movie opens with him and brother Oliver (Ryan Phillippe) smothering their sleeping mother (Susan Sarandon) with a plastic bag. Then it dives back into their lives before. Igby is a rebellious f-up who is sent to military school. His father Jason (Bill Pullman) suffers from mental instability. His domineering mother Mimi (Susan Sarandon) is a mess. His older brother Ollie (Ryan Phillippe) is a republican. D.H. Banes (Jeff Goldblum) is his godfather. Then there are Banes' drug-addicted mistress Rachel (Amanda Peet) and the wonderfully charming Sookie (Claire Danes).Kieran could be a great actor. He does a great slacker rebel. Something about his character just rubs me the wrong way. I don't like this character. I don't like anybody in this movie. Don't get me wrong. I love all the actors here, but I just don't like any of the characters. Everybody is mean-spirited and selfish. I can't bring myself to liking this movie.

wes-connors Boarding school drop-out Kieran Culkin (as Jason "Igby" Slocumb) and his Columbia-educated brother Ryan Phillippe (as Oliver "Ollie" Slocumb) put a plastic bag over the head of their bedridden mother Susan Sarandon (as Mimi), and watch as she suffocates. Next, we see them as young boys witnessing father Bill Pullman (as Jason Slocumb Sr.) expose himself, demonstrating cleanliness to the family. These two incidents occur during the opening credits; the former is foreshadowing, the latter is a flashback. The story's protagonist is Mr. Culkin. Other significant people in his life are vacantly sexy Claire Danes (as Sookie Sapperstein), "godfather" Jeff Goldblum (as D.H. Baines), his junkie lover Amanda Peet (as Rachel), and indeterminate Jared Harris (as Russel)...The interesting thing about the opening is how it sets up Mr. Culkin's character as both physically (via his mother) and mentally (via his father) threatened. However, this fodder for a literary-type analysis is disposed of by a later plot admission. The intent was for a "sane" future, possibly - in this case, the story is richer without the revelation. And, while it's certainly not a mistake to compare Burr Steers' "Igby" to J.D. Salinger's "Holden Caulfield" (from "Catcher in the Rye"), the conclusion they are very much alike is in error - most obviously, one is incredibly appealing and the other isn't. There's the rub - little or no admiration for our anti-hero. Appearing briefly, the thought-provoking Gore Vidal (as a priest) and the always spot-on Bill Irwin (as a lieutenant) are appreciated.***** Igby Goes Down (5/23/02) Burr Steers ~ Kieran Culkin, Ryan Phillippe, Susan Sarandon, Claire Danes