S.F.W.

1995 "Fate made them hostages. The media made them stars."
5.7| 1h36m| R| en| More Info
Released: 20 January 1995 Released
Producted By: Gramercy Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

An alienated and misanthropic teenager gains sudden and unwanted celebrity status after he's taken hostage by terrorists where his indifference to their threats to kill him makes news headlines.

Genre

Drama, Comedy

Watch Online

S.F.W. (1995) is now streaming with subscription on Prime Video

Director

Jefery Levy

Production Companies

Gramercy Pictures

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S.F.W. Audience Reviews

AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks
Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
FlashCallahan Cliff Spab doesn't really care about anything. He gets held hostage at a store for 36 days by terrorists, who demand that the entire thing be broadcast on national television. Cliff ends up taking a bullet for fellow hostage Wendy - making him a national hero. The two are the sole survivors of the ordeal, and soon become prisoners of the media. Cliff escapes it all, only to find himself being pushed further away from Wendy when he needs her most....Once you get past the fact that Dorff sounds uncannily like Christian Slater, you get another one of those films from the mid nineties that tried to define good old 'generation X'. And for the most part, it works.Dorff is great as the guy who is having his fifteen minutes of fame, but cannot decipher why people are not mentioning his friend who was killed. But this was a time when media only really dwelled on the good stuff, to sugar coat the public, to get more money behind their new 'celeb'The film doesn't know what genre it belongs to. One minute it's hilarious, next it's soul searching, and then it goes for a Araki/Solondz hybrid that baffles.But it's good, and all the performances are great, I just wish it didn't get lost in its own smugness every now and again.The last fifteen minutes is great though, showing us how fickle the media were/are, and how fame really slips through your fingers, once a new fad has been found.Everything Matters? S.F.W...
Boba_Fett1138 And in the category of most pointless movies; "S.F.W.". A movie that totally fails at trying to make a statement and at leaving a lasting impression.Guess that in potential this still could had been a good movie or at least one that worked out somewhat better with all of its themes. The right ideas seem to be there, which makes some of the choices the film-makers made with this movie seem all the more odd. The story is told real messy. Characters literally pop up out of nowhere and then disappear again and the story is lacking a real point and a good clear main plot line.The movie basically tries to be a social commentary about today's youth (well 1994's youth of course but it's not like much has changed ever since) and the influence and behavior of the media. Problem is that for a commentary the movie isn't either edgy or clever enough. Also as a comedy/parody it falls terribly short.Thing that still kept this movie somewhat going for me was Stephen Dorff, who was perfectly cast for his role. His characters was about still the only good and interesting thing about this movie. Reese Witherspoon and Jake Busey are also in this movie but I wonder why. It's not like their characters get to do much in this movie. Another thing that makes this movie disappointing and lacking is its rushed ending. Basically it's one big long montage and feels terribly out of place. It's as if they were saying; we still have a whole other story to tell but we haven't got the time or money to do it, so here is a fast montage of things. Needless to say, it doesn't work out all that well.I really can't think of any good reason why anyone should ever watch this movie. It's such a pointless and poorly executed one.5/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
bob_meg I saw this movie on release ages ago and it's not hard to fall in love with it at first.Stephen Dorff's performance is really amazing. You never think for a moment he isn't Cliff Spab, with all the pent-up rage, pain, hostility and hilarity that it entails.For the first half of the movie, it's really "the Cliff Spab/Stephen Dorff Show." He goes on a sort of Jack Kerouac road trip, bumping heads and rubbing noses with a variety of characters (and some wonderful actors who play them): Jake Busey (a good movie for once), Joey Lauren Adams (always terrific and smokin' hot here), and Pamela Gidley (quite a complex little cameo).But after his odyssey ends, there doesn't seem to be much of a place to go...the film just stalls. I think the intent was for it to be completely character driven, so I wasn't expecting, well, a story-line or anything, but still.... I was hoping for more of a connection between the final scene, Spab's revelations, and the rest of the movie leading up to that point, but it didn't happen.Never read the book, but it sounds like that ending would have made more sense. A movie this dark doesn't deserve a happy ending....a little too tidy, in my opinion. But SFW?
moner23 my opinion is that this is a great movie! although its dated in 1994, its still kinda up to date. Reese and Steven are young at age but their acting skills are great, for example :reese is 17 but she acts very convincingly! for what i'm worth; i thinks its a cult movie! i've seen this movie for the first time when i was like 17 or 18, but it's still one my favorites. It never left my mind. It's a great story about a guy that's been kidnapped and after all he becomes the hero. the camera work is great, i don't have any objections to this film. I think it's great that a movie of this age still binds me at my seat! I rate it: 8 Go watch it!!