Kiss the Girls Goodbye

A standard theme, truly well-handled. Another variation on the old one about a guy whose resentment against his emasculating mother turns him into a psycho. In this one, he seeks revenge on the world by kidnapping and imprisoning a college girl, chosen at random. What puts this film a cut above is the clever dialog and fine acting. The psycho, Carl, is confident and pathetic at the same time, and his social gaffes are often hilarious. His mother is so casually relentless in her abuse as to make Carl's conduct seem almost reasonable. There is a group of college kids dimly trying to deal with their colleague's disappearance, while at the same time pursuing the usual collegiate pursuits, i.e., getting laid and getting high, resulting in some pretty funny exchanges. Almost all the gory and extreme events happen off screen, which I appreciated (though I am sure there are other viewers would prefer to have seen them for themselves). There is also some stuff about the effect of the kidnapping on the victim, and on the feelings she develops about Carl -- this part is not particularly believable, but makes for hilarious dialog when she tries to talk about her experience with classmates. I really enjoyed this film, although I hadn't expected to think much of it. Surprisingly entertaining -- try it!