Thumbsucker Page #2

Synopsis: Justin is a teenager boy, who has an oral obsession with his thumb. His mother seems to be a normal housekeeper, but she has her own obsessions as well, like a crush on a TV-star. The only person who's aware of Justin's problem is his father, manager in a store, but none of his advices seem to be working for Justin. The kid is signed up in a debate workshop, but the thing isn't going well, because he has his mind in a pretty classmate and, of course, in his thumb, affecting all the rest of his classes. So, Justin is a loner kid in the school, who prefers to lock himself in the bathroom and suck his thumb. Justin's dentist, a mystical-hippie person, will try to help to overcome his thumb problem, through the hypnosis. But the school's psychologist will diagnose Justin with the Attention Deficit Disorder, and will prescribe him some drugs. Suddenly, Justin's problem with his thumb will disappear, becoming an hyperactive genius, winning several debate contests and the admiration from his
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director(s): Mike Mills
Production: Sony Pictures Classics
  5 wins & 4 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.6
Metacritic:
69
Rotten Tomatoes:
71%
R
Year:
2005
96 min
$1,111,641
Website
295 Views


You should stop.

I want to.

I'm trying.

Well...

Don't you think I want to?

Things are gonna be different.

Why can't you trust me?

The Sierra Club made them

turn this back into a refuge...

...because it was going to be

used for a development.

How do you know so much

about the environment?

My parents were activists.

See, humans think that we're the centre

of the universe, but we're not.

I guess we're trained

to think that way.

Yeah. It causes a lot of problems.

Yeah.

- It's hot today.

- Yeah.

Think I'm gonna take my shirt off.

Yeah?

- Go ahead.

- You should too.

What are you trying, Justin?

No, really. We're so uptight

in our clothes.

It's just like wearing

a bathing suit at the beach.

No. My stomach would get sunburned

and my mom would get mad.

Your mom looks at you naked?

Well, yeah.

I mean, don't your parents?

Audrey? Mike? No.

Why do you call your parents

by their first name?

Mike says when I call him " Dad,"

he feels old...

...and I sound like a child

or something.

And when I call Audrey " Mom,"

she seems old to him.

So are you gonna

take your shirt off?

You?

Yeah.

What's " MFC"?

Justin?

Justin?

Nothing.

It's nothing?

Well, then why don't you

just tell me?

- Justin.

- " Motherfucking cocksucker. "

Why you acting like this?

What's the point of us spending time

together if it can't lead to openness?

I'm sorry.

Maybe you should go.

I'm sorry.

- Should I call you?

- When you're ready to be open.

You don't think it's okay for me

to be worried about this?

We spent a fortune on the braces

to try and fix what he did.

- He's 17.

- Yeah, but he's sucking his thumb.

Let's see you fix it.

You seem to have all the answers.

I think we need to get this thing

under control, that's all.

Yeah, that's all.

It's time we were honest

with each other.

Yeah?

I don't wanna fix your teeth

all over again.

It's time to confront

the underlying issue.

What do you mean?

I know what your problem is.

It's an understandable habit.

In fact, what's strange

is that people ever quit.

It's nature's substitute

for your mother's breast.

How were you fed as a baby?

- From a bottle?

- I can't remember.

Any tension at home? Anxiety?

Any bad memories?

- Justin.

- Justin.

No conscious ones.

We never remember

the big things anyway.

Some babysitter holds your mouth

shut so she can watch...

...her soap operas in peace. At 40, you

wonder why you can't stay married.

There's only so much I can do

with traditional orthodontics.

Justin.

Justin.

Are you ready to let go

of your thumb?

- Why are you talking like that?

- Answer my question.

- What are you gonna do?

- I wanna try hypnosis.

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Walter Kirn

Walter Kirn (born August 3, 1962) is an American novelist, literary critic, and essayist. He is the author of eight books, most notably Up in the Air, which was made into a film of the same name starring George Clooney. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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