Storytelling (2001)

Director Todd Solondz is always confrontational, as seen in films like Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995) and Happiness (1998). But he really looks for trouble in the two tales told in Storytelling (2001). The first story is "Fiction," which centers around Vi (Selma Blair) and Marcus (Leo Fitzpatrick), a pair of graduate students who are dating. Marcus has cerebral palsy, which he tries to write a short story about, only for his teacher Mr. Scott (Robert Wisdom) to mercilessly assault it for not being up to snuff even when the other students give him pity praise. When it ends up Mr. Scott likes to sleep with his students, Vi and Marcus have to decide whether to take revenge on him or not. The second, “Non-fiction,” is all about documentarian Toby Oxman (Paul Giamatti) who is following around the Livingston family, including teen slacker Scooby (Mark Webber), angry dad Marty (John Goodman), jerky son Mikey (Jonathan Osser), and homophobic football star Brady (Noah Fleiss). Marty is awful to the family maid Consuela (Lupe Ontiveros), which eventually leads to her murdering them all while Scooby's checking out the movie, which makes him seem like a total moron. But, honestly, what’s most disturbing about this flick is the blatant censor-bruising it took following its premiering at the Cannes film festival. On top of an entire James Van Der Beek subplot being left on the cutting room floor, some of Robert Wisdom’s best single-eyebrow raising scenes were cut out. But not everything. Mr. Solondz very wisely left in a scene where Robert takes his clothes off and flashes ass while he does Selma Blair against a wall. He's her writing teacher, but it looks like he's teaching her what it feels like when a man does you right! We're telling you; you really need to see that scene in Storytelling!