Prozac Nation (Erik Skjoldbjærg, 2001)

Prozac Nation (Erik Skjoldbjærg, 2001)
Rating: 1.5

This film was based on the life of Elizabeth Wurtzel as documented in her book of the same title. It was actually never released in theaters due to the unlikeable nature of the central heroine, and the fact that Wurtzel herself hated the movie, among other reasons. It actually made debuted on the Starz! network in 2005. After watching this film I can see why Mirimax films shelved it indefinitely. Christina Ricci plays a young aspiring writer who battles depression. The film wreaks of stereotypes and cliché characters including an overly emotional mother (Jessica Lang), a deadbeat dad who suddenly reemerges, the sweet boyfriend (Jason Biggs), the understanding friend (Michelle Williams), and hip young doctor (Anne Heche). I also found the voice-over narration to be shallow and unoriginal, considering the main character is supposed to be a brilliant writer. The dialogue often seemed trite and forced at times. It seems "Prozac Nation" attempts to keep our attention by use of either flashy camera effects, or gratuitious scenes and/or references involving sex, drugs, and rock n' roll. In one scene we see Ricci sitting on her bed completely nude for no apparent reason. What was even more disappointing was when it's all said and done, the film doesn't take a strong stand either way on whether antidepressants are positive or negative.