Lightning Bug Update

I recently checked up on the Amazon rental and purchase link and it shows the item out of stock, here is a new link for it.

New Lightning Bug amazon link...

Lightning Bug

Lightning Bug

Written and Directed by: Robert Hall

Featuring: Bret Harrison, Laura Prepon, Kevin Gage

Rating: Unrated       

Runtime: 97 mins.

Release Date: 2004 (Anchor Bay Entertainment)

           

            Many times I have gone to the video store on a lonely Friday evening and just glanced around for something new, unusual, or even just a risk of a rental; surprisingly, I have found many really good films by doing this; films that I normally would never have given a second thought if I only followed previews on TV or looked at the Top 10 release listings. Lightning Bug is one of these great unknown films.

            The beginning of the film is a bit confusing. A swerving car barreling down the road, a woman falls from the passenger side door, and the car comes to a screeching halt. The driver gets out and grabs a tire iron from the trunk. Fading to black this has brought us to the opening credits. Thankfully this scene is explained later, but the movie plays on showing Jenny Graves (Ashley Laurence of Hellraiser fame) pulling up to a rundown trailer in the middle of the night. Her oldest son, Green (Bret Harrison) wakes up to see the dump his mother has brought him too. Jenny assures Green this is only a temporary home.

            Flash forward several years to a vision of Green, now 18, and his preteen brother, Jay (Lucas Till) getting off the school bus in front of the same rundown trailer that is now even more dilapidated. The boys enter the house to meet Earl (Kevin Gage Strangeland and Heat). Earl is their mother’s new boyfriend. Jenny hopes he will be the answer to her financial and life problems. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

As time goes on we learn more about the world of Green; he is a fairly talented make up effects artist, and he spends a lot of time with his brother and their two best friends, Billy and Tony. The boys are firm supporters of Green’s talent, and his hope to move to Hollywood and pursue a career in horror movies. They seem to have a strong bond between them, but you can tell Green seems to have a distance towards Billy and Tony, maybe because he knows he is leaving soon or maybe because Tony seems dimwitted and Billy has an unhealthy urge towards his first cousin; I know this sounds ridiculous, but it’s only played for laughs and for character development. However, when Green needs these boys the most, they prove their loyalty to their comrade.

Green has a plan to finance his move to Hollywood. He had applied the previous year to run the Halloween spook house in their small Alabama Town, but was turned down by Mr. Tightwiler, who runs the event. This year Green has a plan. He convinces old man Tightwiler to hire him, this time, by putting on a show of his talents. Nearly giving the unsuspecting man a heart attack, Tightwiler agrees to hire Green and pay him part of the ticket sales.

            The next several weeks become the most trying times of young Green’s life. He meets a girl, Angevin Duvet (Laura Prepon). I know this sounds promising, and in ways it is, but Angevin’s mother. Ms. Duvet is a member of the local church that is protesting the haunted house Green is working on; she thinks Green should be using his gift for doing God’s work. She is willing to go to many lengths to stop Green from running the horror house and also from ruining Angevin’s life, who we learn already has a tainted past. Green’s stepfather turns into an abusive drunk; his brother joins the church with Ms. Duvet trying to find some kind of stability in his life; and it just continues getting worse from there. Will Green be able to pull off the Horror Show?  Will he be able to help his mother overcome her abuse? Will Billy make whoopee with his cousin? Guess you have to watch to find out.

            The back cover of this film refers to it as “semi auto-biographical.” I don’t know how much of this film is real and how much is fictitious, but this film is very good at tackling some very realistic life issues. Domestic violence, physical and verbal abuse, and the power of love, as well as hate, are just a few of these problems. One of my favorite parts of the movie comes in the form of proving that brains over brawn is a very true aspect in life. Green uses his make-up effects to take care of a burly physical tormentor.  I find it inspirational to see all the adversities Green faces and still treks on toward his dreams in Hollywood. This movie is also great in the sense that almost every character in the film is battling their own personal dilemmas. The characters are not just one dimensional people; they help show that when people put you down for going after a goal it is usually because of their own short comings. The lightning bugs are referenced quite a few times in this movie, but they are also symbolic. The bugs are trapped in jars by inquisitive children, and no matter how hard they try they can’t get out of the jar. As people, we live in this jar of life, and sometimes it seems no matter how hard we try we aren’t going to make it out, and we are just forced to make it work where we are. However, Green is one of the exceptional “bugs” that is able to escape the jar.

            The ending of this film isn’t the typical “happily ever after” finale. It is a sad and troubling ending and does leave a few unanswered loose ends, but I have to say all in all this is a great movie.  The film’s acting isn’t bad, has a well written and inspirational message, and is relatable on many levels. The film is not the easiest to find. After renting it, the only place I could find the title to purchase was online, which some sights are now offering it as a digital rental (See link below). I strongly suggest giving it a shot.

Rating: 4.5/5

Body Count: 2

0 Bare breasts (though we do get a close encounter with Laura Prepon)

Amazon: Lightning Bug Purchase or Digital Rental Link