We are all doomed... On first viewing, the third and final installment in Greg Araki's teen apocalypse trilogy seems a strange cocktail indeed. What appears as an immediate grade-B romp through pop culture and television washout laden subconscious hallucinatory landscapes is in actuality a cleverly disguised commentary on the coming of age experience as it exists in the 90's. As in Totally F**cked Up and Doom Generation, Greg Araki presents us with the confusion and angst of what it means to be a teen in an age of blurred outlooks on sexuality, religion, and ethics. Araki's underlying message always seems to be that of the heartache and pain involved in the search for love and self in an ever pop-polluted environment. Leaving no stone unturned, Nowhere takes us on a journey into a day in the life of one teenager, Dark, as we are slowly introduced to a seemingly endless variety of cast members associated with Dark in a Spellingesque onslaught. The main source of plot beneath this onslaught is the need for Dark to find himself a single person whom he can love and have for himself in the midst of an environment of libidinous teen polyamory. During his soul searching Dark and his friends encounter a day filled with hallucinogens, alcohol, murder, heroin addiction, date rape, alien abduction, S&M, and extreme relationship based confusion and ambiguity as well as a relative overdose of trendiness and fashion. These heavy topics are presented smattered with seemingly surreal cameo appearances by television icons including, but not limited to, Lauren Tewes (Loveboat), Christina Applegate (Married with Children), Traci Lords (um, you know where she came from), Shannen Doherty (Beverly Hills 90210) as well as John Ritter, Christopher Knight, Eve Plumb and many many more. In the tradition of the two earlier films in the trilogy, the film ends in what could be happiness but soons reverts to complete tragedy (this time in a Kafkaesque transformation of an object of Dark's desires).
Greg Araki has proven with each and every one of the films in the "Teen Apocalypse" trilogy that he can present an audience with both poignant and disturbing images and effectively gloss them over with the magic of dark pop culture humor. He perfected this craft and applied it so effectively with Nowhere that much of the message risks being lost in the novelty. However, for those aware of the dark message carried in past Araki endeavors there is plenty of heartbreak, doom, and futility. Nowhere is, at least, an oddball film that somewhat defies categorization but may be Araki's most accessible feature to date due to his novel approach. With Nowhere, Araki makes us laugh when we should be worried and quickly makes us feel content when we should be disturbed -- this alone makes the film a unique social and ethical commentary.
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