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During a final checkup, Dr. Lyman reveals to Justin his discovery that thumb-sucking is not a medically debilitating problem, and says that everyone has their own flaws and nobody has all the answers—that in fact learning to live without having the answers is (perhaps) the answer. On his flight
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is quite a few cuts above many teen angst movies and the film boasts several impressively nuanced portrayals as well, it is not sufficiently distinctive to stand wholly apart from the pack. Furthermore, its literary roots peek through rather too often in dialogue that might play well on the page but
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Lou Taylor Pucci was cast in the lead role of Justin after director Mills auditioned around 150 teenaged actors. Swinton was cast as his mother, Audrey, after meeting director Mills eighteen months prior to the production: "I met Mike 18 months ago. We started a conversation, and it kept going."
460:. During their smoking sessions, Rebecca blindfolds him and engages with him in kissing and other sexual activity, which Justin interprets as a relationship. But when he broaches the subject, Rebecca tells him otherwise, calling their meetings an "experiment." He quits both her and the drugs.
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gave it three stars out of four, writing "I have focused on Justin, but really the movie is equally about the adult characters, who all seem to have lacked adequate parenting themselves. We talk about the tragedy of children giving birth to children; maybe that can happen at any age."
433:. This works, and Justin finds his thumb distasteful, but falls deeper into frustration without the crutch. After Justin conspires with his brother to disrupt Dr. Lyman in a bicycle race with Justin's father, his school counselor prods the Cobbs to give him
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D'Onofrio was cast as Justin's father, Mike, after being impressed by the script, as he felt it "was a tough story to tell." Reeves was cast in the supporting role of Perry Lyman, and completed his work in the film over a four-day period. Initially,
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facility where
Schramm has been committed. Attempting to catch his mother in the act, he instead meets Schramm sneaking a smoke in the bushes, and learns the unromantic truth. The next day, he receives an acceptance letter from NYU.
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Almost immediately after beginning treatment, Justin begins to have elevated energy, confidence and focus. He begins to excel on the debate team, unseating
Rebecca from the star position; she quits the team and drifts into the
414:, led by Mr. Geary which he joined to get closer to his environmentalist classmate Rebecca. He tries to start a relationship with her, but she rejects him after he cannot open up to her about his thumb-sucking habit.
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praised the performances in the film, adding that "Mills, who wrote and directed, keeps the film from slipping either into melodrama or facile satire, the two traps into which this genre is most apt to fall."
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a score of 71% based on 108 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's consensus is: "Though quirky coming-of-age themes are common in indie films, this one boasts a smart script and a great cast."
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is that, unlike so many movies in which a character changes in order to propel the plot forward, this one stops to follow up on the consequences of those changes."
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were then chosen to compose an original soundtrack after Mills attended one of their shows and was impressed. Three of Smith's songs remain on the soundtrack.
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After rambling incoherently at the state debate championship, Justin quits the debate team, throws away the pills, and seeks out
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At a regular checkup, Justin's orthodontist, Dr. Perry Lyman, indicates he can tell that Justin is still sucking his thumb, and attempts
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to find his thumb in his mouth and an attractive girl smiling at him. Slightly embarrassed but self-confident, he introduces himself.
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to New York, Justin dreams of reaching his goal of being a TV anchor, "sharing the truth with the world". He wakes up after
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crowd. Justin's newfound aggressiveness nets the debate team repeated awards. Simultaneously, he begins to challenge the
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Both Justin and his father suspect that Audrey is having an affair with
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of the adults around him, especially their struggles with aging. With a somewhat deceitful cover letter, he applies to
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The film is set in the fictional town of
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in
Tualatin. During filming, Swinton had her twin sons on set with her, and spent time in-between filming at
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605:(2004), another independent film, was shot in the area at the same time, taking advantage of this rebate.
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gave it three-and-a-half stars out of four, calling it a "quiet, quirky gem" and "terrific".
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s Ken Tucker commented on the film's poignancy, writing: "One of the wonderful things about
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437:. While his parents wring their hands over the idea, Justin insists that he needs the help.
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in
January 2005. It received a limited release in the United States on September 16, 2005.
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was attached to star as Justin's debate team coach, Mr. Geary, but was replaced by
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was less laudatory of the film, noting: "Although the intellectual level of
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campus was shot in New York City, and the only scene not shot in Oregon.
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Justin Cobb is a shy 17-year-old in a family of four in suburban
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doesn't sound real when coming out of the mouths of actors."
591:. Initially, the producers had planned to shoot the film in
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promised a rebate matching the filming costs of Canada.
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to the film was originally to consist of a number of
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325:in his feature directorial debut. The film stars
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27:"Beaverwood" redirects here. For the tree, see
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369:. The screenplay was adapted from the 1999
1531:Sundance Film Festival award-winning films
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1152:"A boy and his thumb, the sadness at hand"
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379:The film was shot on location in the
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832:British Board of Film Classification
632:. The school sequences were shot at
1571:English-language comedy-drama films
494:Mason Bromberg as 4-year-old Justin
491:Colton Tanner as 10-year-old Justin
1566:English-language independent films
1496:Films about dysfunctional families
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1150:Rea, Steven (February 29, 2008).
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1010:Busse, Phil (October 16, 2003).
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365:and subsequent experience using
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429:that his thumb will taste like
1526:Films shot in Portland, Oregon
1511:Films based on American novels
1501:Films about high school debate
1343:"Mike Mills Makes Thumbsucker"
953:"Oregon draws stars for movie"
875:Cowan, Ron (August 23, 2003).
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421:, coaching Justin to find his
383:in 2003, and premiered at the
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877:"'Thumbsucker' wraps filming"
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1546:2005 directorial debut films
1536:Sony Pictures Classics films
1070:Mohan, Marc (June 4, 2014).
251:September 16, 2005
1059:– via Whoa Is Not Me.
1012:"Portland Wants More Keanu"
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610:Portland metropolitan area
535:Chase Offerle as Joel Cobb
381:Portland metropolitan area
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209:Bull's Eye Entertainment
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538:Kit Koenig as Principal
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1228:(September 16, 2005).
1178:(September 22, 2005).
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222:Sony Pictures Classics
1561:2000s American films
1521:Films shot in Oregon
1506:Films about hypnosis
1230:"Insecurity blanket"
1204:Tucker, Ken (2005).
1164:on October 20, 2012.
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904:"Thumbsucker (2005)"
762:The Polyphonic Spree
634:Tualatin High School
200:Bob Yari Productions
174:The Polyphonic Spree
1516:Films set in Oregon
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573:Matthew McConaughey
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29:Celtis occidentalis
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514:as Dr. Perry Lyman
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1183:
1176:Ebert, Roger
1170:
1162:the original
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717:Kevin Thomas
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569:
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542:Nancy O'Dell
532:as Mr. Geary
530:Vince Vaughn
518:Kelli Garner
512:Keanu Reeves
508:as Mike Cobb
474:sleeptalking
470:
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423:power animal
416:
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351:Keanu Reeves
347:Vince Vaughn
339:Kelli Garner
319:comedy-drama
310:
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267:Running time
131:Keanu Reeves
78:
1448:C'mon C'mon
1416:Thumbsucker
1321:Thumbsucker
1310:Thumbsucker
1299:Thumbsucker
1288:Thumbsucker
1277:Thumbsucker
1206:"Kid Fears"
1051:. p. 2
932:Thumbsucker
839:December 4,
825:THUMBSUCKER
785:Scott, A.O.
750:cover songs
727:Thumbsucker
700:Thumbsucker
680:Roger Ebert
663:Thumbsucker
548:Walter Kirn
412:debate team
401:orthodontic
371:Walter Kirn
316:independent
311:Thumbsucker
295:$ 3 million
154:Haines Hall
92:Produced by
86:Walter Kirn
80:Thumbsucker
57:Directed by
40:Thumbsucker
1471:2005 films
1465:Categories
1396:Mike Mills
1326:Metacritic
1241:August 24,
1189:August 22,
1136:2008-03-12
1106:2018-09-28
1081:August 24,
1055:August 24,
1023:August 24,
992:August 24,
938:2019-08-17
800:August 23,
768:References
746:soundtrack
734:Soundtrack
706:A.O. Scott
670:Steven Rea
602:Mean Creek
561:Production
544:as herself
520:as Rebecca
427:suggesting
323:Mike Mills
300:Box office
271:95 minutes
255:2005-09-16
240:2005-01-23
189:Production
158:Angus Wall
70:Mike Mills
61:Mike Mills
18:Beaverwood
1424:Beginners
1408:Paperboys
915:March 10,
618:Beaverton
593:Vancouver
589:Minnesota
431:echinacea
191:companies
148:Edited by
116:Lou Pucci
1293:AllMovie
1211:New York
626:Vernonia
622:Sherwood
614:Tualatin
447:neuroses
419:hypnosis
284:Language
246:Sundance
167:Music by
109:Starring
75:Based on
986:Variety
719:of the
682:of the
648:Release
583:Filming
566:Casting
443:stoners
435:Ritalin
367:Ritalin
287:English
276:Country
253: (
238: (
1451:(2021)
1443:(2019)
1435:(2016)
1427:(2010)
1419:(2005)
1411:(2001)
661:gives
630:Tigard
628:, and
616:, and
397:Oregon
355:Oregon
349:, and
292:Budget
244: (
1357:(PDF)
1346:(PDF)
827:(15)"
696:'
553:cameo
465:rehab
1282:IMDb
1243:2018
1191:2018
1101:IMDb
1083:2018
1057:2018
1025:2018
994:2018
917:2018
841:2015
802:2018
760:and
744:The
480:Cast
391:Plot
363:ADHD
1324:at
1313:at
1302:at
1291:at
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708:of
672:of
458:pot
451:NYU
84:by
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