This movie presents a biting commentary on meaninglessness and celebrity worship. The film’s production took place in October and November of 1993, when Kurt Cobain and grunge music were at their peak. The central character, portrayed by Stephen Dorff, bears a resemblance to Cobain; the director initially hoped to feature Nirvana songs on the soundtrack, specifically “All Our Apologies.” Although that wasn’t possible due to Cobain's death, he did manage to obtain "Teenage Whore" from his widow and her band Hole. References to Soundgarden are also prevalent throughout, including the use of “Jesus Christ Pose” for the opening credits. The narrative follows a magnetic twenty-year-old (Dorff) who unexpectedly finds himself famous after being involved in an extended hostage situation. He observes this phenomenon with curiosity while expressing his pessimistic views, frequently using profanity and enjoying beer and cigarettes with his friends. Reese Witherspoon appears as a supporting actress, though her part is fairly minor. She was seventeen during filming and wouldn’t achieve significant recognition in the film industry for another seven years, with “Legally Blonde.” The soundtrack captures the energy of the early 1990s very well, and I appreciated the critique of how media sensationalizes things, highlighting society's fleeting attention span. It doesn't matter if the underlying message is about futility or significance; it will be taken advantage of until something new emerges, which demonstrates a superficiality within contemporary culture. I understand that this film aims to blend serious and comedic elements, but I found it insulting to those who experienced their formative years during that time. A prime example is when the character Cliff carelessly destroys his bedroom at his parents’ home while loud rock music plays. The director seemed to want viewers to react with approval, thinking "That's so cool!" However, my reaction was one of disdain for this disrespectful behavior. Ultimately, “SFW” seems determined to be a derivative and pretentious cult film, leading me mostly to feel disappointed about the state of Western civilization. The movie has a running time of 1 hour and 36 minutes and was filmed in the Los Angeles area, including San Fernando. GRADE: C-

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