Explicit Ills

Tasha Chemplavil

Saturday, June 14, 2008 | 1:39 p.m.

I’ve never dropped acid or suffered a concussion-induced state of temporary delirium. But after watching Explicit Ills, I feel like I’ve undergone both afflictions ... simultaneously. With its multitude of stories, Ills proves that the whole is not greater than the sum of its parts—especially when the parts are not that great.

Ills features numerous storylines, some of which interconnect, most of which do not. Characters are introduced at such a fast clip that it’s hard to keep track of them all, and most seem entirely superfluous. There’s the young teenage boy who puts on an act to woo his crush; the spoiled rich girl and her drug-propelled relationship with her drug-peddling boyfriend; and the family of three with their own trio of mini-sagas. The characters are given only snippets of screen time, so viewers never learn to care about their brief moments of evolution. So when those moments do happen they’re neither poignant nor noteworthy.

Only one story appears to come to full fruition during the film, and at least this one complete narrative is mildly moving. This one worthwhile tale is of the sweet, though stiltedly acted, Babo (Burgos) and his mother (Dawson). Out of the plethora of people that writer-director Webber parades onscreen, Babo is the only one who manages to garner event the slightest bit of sympathy. Whether befriending a birthday-party ninja (Dano) or inexplicably bestowing brand-new sneakers upon a bully, Babo is beguiling in his toothless charm.

Unfortunately, all the toothless charm in the world can’t make up for sub-par acting. Burgos’ youth absolves him somewhat from green acting, but Dawson has no such excuse. Overblown and devoid of genuine human emotion, Dawson is boring to watch and even worse to listen to. Only when she pulls back and lets her face take over for her mouth does she stumble upon a hint of artistry.

And while the last 20 minutes of this debacle are sincerely heartfelt and inspirational, it’s not worth the extra hour of your life it’ll take to experience them.