Film Review by FIORE
HOUSE
OF TOMORROW is a dramedy based on the tenants of R.
Buckminster Fuller, an architect, inventor and futurist whose ideas and
concepts were used sparingly, never gaining the worldwide acceptance he
envisioned. While Fuller is a mere cameo
in vintage footage in the film, Josephine Prendergast, played by Ellen Burstyn,
serves as the embodiment of his ideology.
She lives in a domed home with her grandson Sebastian, played by Asa
Butterfield. Together, they are most
annoying folk, preaching mantras of healthy, organic foods, communal living, a
Dr. Shelton Cooper obsession with intellect and the lifestyles of Earth Mothers
and hippies, long ago abandoned by society.
This lifestyle makes their home perfect for field trips,
but creates a social misanthrope in Sebastian.
Enter Jared Whitcomb, played by Alex Wolff. Jared believes in a completely different life
philosophy. He is a recent recipient of
a heart transplant and vents his frustration with his plight through punk
music. When the two meet, it causes a
culture and ideological clash, affecting those around them. Nick Offerman also stars as Jared’s father.
HOUSE
OF TOMORROW offers interesting production design of
Fuller’s architecture, but nothing noteworthy in other technical areas. The movie is directed and penned by Peter
Livolsi. He provides a handful of
humorous, laugh-out-loud moments as the cultures contravene. His script is particularly brutal in
parodying the environmental, back to the Earth, organic cults.
The overall theme of HOUSE
OF TOMORROW is better living through punk music and the anarchy it
represents. In the script, Livolsi
manages to bridge the music with Fuller’s architecture and ideology through a
cock-eyed theme of rebellion. The musical
score by Rob Simonsen includes several dreadful punk rock tunes, sure to
irritate everyone.
HOUSE
OF TOMORROW is good for a view, but definitely don’t see
it with someone still living the hippy lifestyle, or anyone convinced organic
is the only path to salvation.
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