CORNER STORY.

So since I use this blog to talk about all the other things I’m into outside of The Hundreds Land, I’m gonna talk about plays now.  I like to read, I like to watch, I love a good story, and I appreciate creative writing.  A good play handles all of that.

One of my favorite plays is subUrbia by Eric Bogosian.  Bogosian is one of those names that’s just kinda everywhere in entertainment. He’s an established playwright but also a recognizable actor.  He wrote subUrbia in the ’90s and it was produced by the Lincoln Center Theater in 1994.   A couple years later, Richard Linklater directed a film adaptation of Bogosian’s play, with most of the story and script staying intact.

Although set in Texas, subUrbia is partially based on Bogosian’s adolescent life in the small town of Woburn, Massachusetts.  The story revolves around a bunch of friends who waste their lives away at the corner liquor store.  One night, they’re visited by an old acquaintance who’s now somewhat made it as a rockstar in the big city, and as a result, the characters face their own futures and subsequent inhibitions. There are resounding issues of friendship, love, and undertones of anger and frustration throughout.  Although laced with comedic interludes (mostly provided by Steve Zahn in his best role to date), there is an obvious darkness that transcends the storyline, culminating in a sharp and unsettling finale.

The film itself features many actors who’ve continued on, and succeeded, in both the indie and mainstream movie circuit, like Parker Posey, Nicky Katt, the aforementioned Zahn, and Giovanni Ribisi as Jeff.  Jeff also has an important monologue near the end of the script…  In fact, many actors who are going out for the angry, displaced youth roles have used Jeff’s monologue in their audition:

JEFF
You know? And it used to scare me so much that I didn’t know what
was coming in my life.

BEE-BEE
Mm-hm.

JEFF
You know, like, like, I would always think, uh, you know, what if
I make the wrong move? But maybe there isn’t any right move. You
know? I mean, look at us. You know, we all dress the same, we all
talk the same, we all fuck the same, we all watch the same TV.
Nobody’s really different, even if they think they’re different.
“Oh, boy, look at my tattoo, you know?” And see, that’s what
makes me freak. Because I can do anything I want, as long as I
don’t care about the result.

Jeff begins to remove articles of his clothing.

JEFF (CONT’D)
Anything is possible. It is night on planet earth and I’m alive.
And someday I’ll be dead. Someday I’ll just be bones in a box,
but right now, I’, not. And anything is possible. And that’s why
I can go to New York with Sooze because each moment can just be
what it is. There’s no failure, there’s no mistake. I just, I
just go there and live there and what happens, happens. And so,
right now I’m getting naked and I’m not afraid. You know? I
don’t, I don’t need money, man. I don’t, I don’t even need, I
don’t even need a future. I, I could knock out all of my teeth
with a hammer. So what?! You know, I could poke my eyes out. I’d
still be alive, you know? At least I’d know that I was doing
something real for two or three seconds, you know? It’s all about
feat and I’m not afraid anymore, man. Fuck it! Fuck fear!

Jeff is standing in the middle of the parking lot, completely
nude. Tim appears from on top of the roof.

by bobbyhundreds

October 24, 2009