Stephen Dorff and Reese Witherspoon play Cliff Spab and Wendy Pfister, a couple of kids who were held hostage for 30 days in a convenience store and became unsuspecting media sensations when their ordeal, unbeknownst to them, was broadcast to the world. The film mainly takes place after that and follows them as they navigate the trauma of their experience and their newfound notoriety. Spab's F. U. too-cool-for-school Gen-X attitude becomes a media sensation and his catchphrase during the hostage crisis, "So f---ing what?", the height of Gen-X disaffection, becomes commercialized, along with himself and Wendy. There could have been a great movie here, but an uneven tone spoils that. Dorff and Witherspoon give such good performances, that the audience genuinely cares about what happens to them and feels bad how the media and the public pretend to care about them, but doesn't appreciate or want to understand what they went through. Their trauma is made palpable by their sincere performances, which feels incongruous with the rest of the film's broad comedic presentation of the media circus around them. For example, you have Gary Coleman playing Spab in a TV movie, and the filmmakers also have the same actor playing multiple TV hosts (impersonating Sam Donaldson, Phil Donohue, Ted Koppel, etc.), which only serves to take the audience out of the reality of the film. And the flashbacks to the hostage situation are truly chilling. That juxtaposed with Gary Coleman feels like two completely different movies. That may have been the point, but the comedy detracts and cheapens the rest of the film. The same point could have been made with a realistic presentation of the media circus. Dorff is wildly charismatic and he and Witherspoon have some of the best on-screen chemistry I've seen in a long time. They're pretty irresistible in the scenes they share together. It's no wonder Witherspoon became a huge star, but it makes me wonder why Dorff didn't. The flashback of them singing a duet of "As Long as We've Got Each Other" is such a sad and beautiful moment (to non-Gen-Xers that was the theme song to GROWING PAINS), but it really shows off both of their talent. Besides Reese and Dorff, the cast includes forgotten 90s stars Jake Busey (STARSHIP TROOPERS), Joel Lauren Adams (CHASING AMY), Pamela Gidley (CHERRY 2000), and Jack Noseworthy (BREAKDOWN). There's a great score by composer Graeme Revell and terrific photography by Peter Deming, who's shot everything from EVIL DEAD II (his first film) to David Lynch's MULHOLLAND DRIVE and more recently MCU movies. Overall, while S. F. W. Seeks to condemn the media, consumer culture, classism, and hypocrisy of American society in general, which is ironic given the '90s Gen-X ethos not giving a rip (it's also funny now that Gen-X is in their 40s and 50s and are the establishment), but weakens its message with out-of-place and unnecessary comedy. It's a flawed film for sure, but one I really like and plan to revisit.
