ridiculous rating

Fantastic!

Blistering performances.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Having seen most of Solondz' films (including the tepid Storytelling and the frankly unfortunate Life During Wartime), I think Palindromes may be his second finest, after Happiness. It isn't as funny as Happiness, but it is also less judgmental of Western humanity than that film (a good or bad thing, depending on your perspective), and has plenty of other things going for it besides.Just about all I knew about Palindromes going in was that it was to some degree based on or inspired by Solondz' best-known film, Welcome to the Dollhouse. Unlike his more recent Life During Wartime, which fails because it tries (unconvincingly) to make too many various direct connections to its "prequel" Happiness, Palindromes is much less literal or obvious in those connections. Despite the occasional character reference to / recurrence from Dollhouse, it succeeds as an entirely separate and independent work, and one that I personally find much more sophisticated and interesting than the original that semi-inspired it.Unlike most of the IMDb reviewers here, I was also totally unaware of the "multiple Avivas" device going into the movie. Quite late in the film, once Solondz starts alternating his various Avivas within the same "chapter," I finally realized the multiple actresses playing Aviva were all intended to be representations of *the same character*. To that point, I'd viewed them as separate but effectively interchangeable characters simply sharing the same name, along with a handful of obvious motivations and personal connections (even the fact that they wore the same outfits didn't throw me a clue; I figured it was just an attempt at semi-opaque metaphor, or maybe just an interesting way of improving continuity).I felt pretty dumb about this when I got it all sorted, but perhaps I had been biased going in by the more disconnected vignettes that comprise Solondz' prior effort, the questionably uneven Storytelling. I ultimately think it was a good thing anyway, as it allowed me to experience additional layers of possible meaning that I know I would not have experienced had I known the full story throughout the film.Palindromes is much less about black humor than Solondz' '90s films, but it's not to say there aren't quite a few flinch-worthy funny moments. By far, the hardest stretch to sit through-- but also the most entertaining-- is the long chunk of Palindromes that takes place at the Sunshines' compound for disabled, brainwashed children. This interminable but wonderful chapter has some of the funniest / skin-crawlingest scenes involving kids that have ever been laid to non-documentary film (upping the ante, without the humor: the real kids interviewed in Jesus Camp).Mostly, Palindromes is a semi-realistic and touching art film about teen identity and sexuality, thankfully without the creepy quasi-pedo voyeurism of Larry Clark. There are plenty of moments where you'll find yourself shaking your head and saying "no" under your breath, but unless you live in the kind of permanent state of denial that would find you rooting for the likes of the Sunshine "family," it's an eminently watchable and moving film with an interesting and well-crafted linear narrative that comes together at just the right time.Palindromes deserves to be seen by more people, and I can see it being much more broad in its mainstream appeal than much of Solondz' earlier work. I really hope Solondz can find his way back to making films like this and Happiness in his future filmmaking.

Where to begin.... I feel as though my soul has evaporated from watching this movie. My friend and I were planning on watching a feel-good movie -- it was between step brothers, august rush, and this one. We thought, "any movie with cartoon back fat on the cover can't be that bad." Oh, how wrong we were. Now I am an empty shell and will not be able to sleep for a very long time. In fact, even our friendship is in question due to this movie, and we're not even sure why. There's just this air of...emptiness. I don't even know what to say. There's nothing left but silence. Thank you Todd Solondz for bringing meaning (or lackthereof) to my life. I can never look at a coathanger again. Amen.

Let's get one thing perfectly straight before continuing in what is about to be a well-balanced and thorough beating-about-the-brow of this movie: There is literally *no* reason for anyone to watch this mess. It has been mentioned that the director, Todd Solondz, spent his *entire life's savings* to create this film, because no studio would back it. And why wouldn't those awful, money grubbing, corrupt SOBs back it?Why, because "Palindromes" is utter, festering drivel. Quite truly, its one redeeming quality is that it ends.Let us forget the fact that the main character is bewilderingly played by eight different actresses, that the cinematography is a step below what you'd expect to find on Youtube, and that the entire plot basically takes the audience on a snore-inducing non-adventure. What truly drives me to hate this movie is that not one single cast member can muster up the ability to actually act. I felt like I was watching cardboard cutouts with dumbstruck little faces scrawled on them.If there was ever supposed to be a deeper meaning to this rubbish, it was lost somewhere between Solondz's inner thoughts and what he actually ended up producing. There are people moving, talking, partaking in awkward sex scenes, and being shot to death, but when it's all said and done, there is truly nothing to be gleaned from this movie save for the ice-cold assurance that you just wasted an hour and forty minutes of your life.

I am beginning to wonder at this point if Todd Solondz is himself a pedophile. But don't get me wrong; if he is then he at least understands whats wrong with it and at the same time he understands people, both victims and perpetrators. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he is in fact not a pedophile and this is somewhat supported by the Mark Weiner character who for all intents and purposes may as well be Todd Solondz himself. Mark Weiner in a moment of what I believe to be total honesty declares to the Aviva character that he is in fact not a pedophile. It would have been safe enough for him to admit to her that he is a pedophile if he is. You'll have to watch the film to understand why. I was totally blown away by the film and actually watched it twice in a row because I needed to understand it more thoroughly. I highly recommend it for anyone who is a Todd Solondz fan and also for David Lynch fans as well. I'm not sure what to make of his portrayal of the Christian family, the Sunshines. I think it shows both the good and bad of the Christian right in America. I actually did spend sometime being good friends with a very similar family and eventually had to cut my ties with them after their illusion of Christian family bliss was shattered by the wife/mother's sexual advances toward me. An additional group of people I would recommend this film to is current or former right-wing Christians who are questioning their faith. This is where I come from and the movie definitely resonated with me because of that. I also appreciate Solondz' brave study of abortion. One could almost see it as a pro-life movie if it weren't for the fact that most pro-lifers would probably be horrified by it. I'm of the rare-breed that is a pro-lifer but not over-sensitive to controversial media. Still I would not say that this film proves Solondz' to be pro-life, rather it probably shows that to him the subject can never be completely black or white, which of course is a very wise and healthy viewpoint to have. Great job Todd Solondz!