Your Friends and Neighbors (1998) - The fallacy of naturalism has always been that the more degraded moments of life are more real and authentic than the sunnier sides; i.e., to find reality look in the gutter. Neil LaBute's second film is a considerable regression from his first, the disturbingly cynical In the Company of Men. Unlike Men, this movie has no plot, and all that's left is an hour and a half's worth of unpleasant company. The characters are morally repulsive by design, reflecting LaBute's complete disgust with the human race; an admittedly effective strategy - as you walk out of this movie, the way you look at other people really is changed, quite an accomplishment. However, the question nags: what's the point of LaBute's misanthropy, other than to vent some unhealthy anger? Why would Jerry (Ben Stiller) put up with that bitch dyke Terri (Catherine Keener) for one nanosecond after she keeps whining, "Don't make any noise during sex"? And if she finds Jerry so boring, and is a lesbian to boot, why is she still married to him? Why would anyone put up with Cary (Jason Patric), a psychopathic rapist who constantly verbally abuses everyone around him, period? The movie works as unsettling corrosion, for sure, but real life isn't like this; I don't know anyone like this people, and you probably don't either. LaBute hasn't stepped out of the shadow of his obvious model, David Mamet, quite yet.
Grade: C+