Back on 29 January 2024 I wrote my trenchant, insightful, inventive, nuanced, analytical, and brilliant review of the 2001 cult classic Donnie Darko. My basic argument at the time was that the film was a muddled, confusing mess, full of histrionic characters being romanticized for doing stupid, destructive things. I also made the more difficult-to-prove claim that Donnie Darko contributed to our society’s current glamorization of mental illness, and (less difficult to prove) shaped the lives of countless, uninteresting goth chicks.
My take on the film generated what every blogger wants: outrage. This time, the outrage came from Ponty, a faithful reader and excellent contributor to this blog. Ponty argued that I had completely missed the point of the film (to be fair, that was true—I didn’t see what the point was at all!), and that Donnie Darko is, in many ways, a tribute to the classic John Hughes films of the 1980s, albeit in more gothic dressing. His excellent review also digs into a bit more of the title character’s motivations, making it clear that Donnie isn’t just going on a destructive bender for the fun of it, or even because he has schizophrenia, but because he is growing as a character.
At the time, I was not convinced. I figured that Ponty was still seeing the film through the rose-tinted glasses of his youth (although that’s not fair to Ponty, who is an exquisite and clear-eyed reviewer), and that even if these points were true, the film portrayed them too obtusely. Regardless, readers had two perspectives on the film and could make up their own minds—or, even better, go watch the thing.
I didn’t think about the flick again until last week, when watching The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs on Shudder. Season 6, Episode 6 featured Donnie Darko, as well as guest Bob Berney, an indie film executive who was involved with the production and distribution of Donnie Darko. At first, I moaned audibly, because I was going to have to sit through this film again (my personal rule is that, if Joe Bob Briggs shows a movie, even if I’ve already seen it, and especially if I disliked it, I have to watch it again, with his commentary segments). As I watched and absorbed Joe Bob’s discussion of the film, however, I came to a new appreciation of it.
The Portly Politico 