In 2005 Mike Mills wrote and directed the Thumbsucker movie and when you have an independent film with a budget of only around $4 Million then you would probably never think twice about it. Independent films with a budget like that are made every week in Hollywood and most of them usually bomb at the box office. To be fair the Thumbsucker movie also bombed at the box office but it did win an award at the Sundance movie festival and when you look at the cast and read the script you have to wonder why this movie did not get more attention. Remember now this movie was made in 2005 and it has a cast that includes Emmy nominated actor Vincent D’Onofrio, comedic super star actor Vince Vaughn, and Matrix star Keanu Reeves in a cast that includes a lot of people you have never heard of. It is admirable when actors like Reeves and Vaughn decide to do a movie because they believe in the movie rather than believing in the paycheck and that is exactly what they did for the Thumbsucker movie. The Thumbsucker movie did not even come close to making a profit and it never even appeared as a small blip on the Oscar nominating committee’s radar but it should have been there. The Thumbsucker movie more than likely suffered from the same setbacks that many independent movies suffer from and that is no advertising budget. When you have actors the clout of D’Onofrio, Vaughn, and Reeves with only a $4 Million budget then you do not have a lot left over for commercials. But the Thumbsucker movie is something that everyone should see if you have a chance.

Thumbsucker stars Lou Taylor Pucci as a teenager named Justin Cobb who cannot stop sucking his thumb. His condition makes Cobb into a loner and when it comes time to join the debate team, which is something he very much wants to do, he cannot bring himself to do it because he would rather hide in the boys’ restroom sucking his thumb. Vincent D’Onofrio stars as Cobb’s father keeps trying to give his son advice to help him quit his habit but nothing works. Cobb happens upon a spaced out dentist played by Reeves who says he is going to use hypnosis to help Cobb quit his addiction. But before the dentist can perform his ritual the school psychologist diagnoses Cobb with Attention Deficit Disorder and puts Cobb on a regiment of medications that seem to cure his thumb sucking addiction. Cobb joins the debate team and proves to be a brilliant orator and soon his teacher, played by Vince Vaughn, takes an interest in the rising young star pupil and Cobb earns his teacher’s admiration. But throughout the movie we are exposed to Cobb’s home life which includes a mother who is obsessed with an actor she sees on television and his father who is oblivious to most things and is constantly telling Cobb how to quit his addiction even after he did quit. Cobb continues to take his medication even after it seems as though the addiction is gone and soon he becomes an addict which makes all of his home life problems amplified and the movie soon starts to spin out of control.

Thumbsucker is a well done movie and is something that everyone should check out if for no other reason than to see Lou Taylor Pucci give an excellent performance in one of the first movies he has ever made. Pucci is a rising star and has several new releases coming out that many in Hollywood are keeping a close eye on.