Detention, the newest film by Torque director Joseph Kahn, is going to turn a lot of people off. While there is an overall story that does eventually pay off and make sense, there’s no denying that this feels like a mess, a hodge-podge of a bunch of interesting ideas put together when they probably shouldn’t have been. Part slasher movie, part science-fiction movie, part John Hughes teen comedy, it’s all presented with a heavy self-referential humor. While some of the jokes were obscenely unfunny and the movie felt like it was just trying to do too much at once, I still managed to enjoy Detention due to its originality and willingness to go balls out.
Detention follows high school outcast Riley Jones (Shanley Caswell) who is a snarky and typical angsty teen. She harbors a secret crush on Clapton Davis (Josh Hutcherson), the coolest kid in the school who’s dating her ex-best friend Ione (Spencer Locke). After a relatively crappy day, where she loses out on a debate to a Canadian exchange student who insists that chickens get no respect in the United States, she decides to hang herself in the school lobby in front of their giant grizzly bear mascot. After starting the hanging process, she realizes she wants to live and gets the chance, ironically, when a serial killer dressed as horror movie icon “Cinderhella” decides to help her along with her suicide. After escaping her doom at the hands of a knife (and a rope too), things begin to go off the rails, resulting in time traveling bars, brain swapping, and a teenager who has fly blood and acid vomit.
I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I saw Detention, and I’ll give Kahn and company credit; I still didn’t until about 30 minutes into the movie. It plays itself off like it’ll be just any normal slasher movie, albeit with characters breaking the fourth wall and tons of youth references strewn about, but it goes completely off the rails. Filled with tons of side plots and constant switching from story to story, before telling the story that happened before that one, it’s liable to make anyone’s head explode who doesn’t have A.D.D. At times, this can get aggravating, but on the whole, it’s actually fun. Detention is many things, but boring it isn’t, and it does its best to keep you entertained and involved through out its run-time.
The absurdity of Detention is laced with a self-referential sense of humor and a zealous love of the 90’s, 1992 in particular. While some of the jokes can be pretty clever, it feels at the same time like it’s trying really hard to appeal to a younger demographic. Trying really really hard. And at those moments, it becomes grating, as you want to scream at the screen “I get it, you’re clever and hip, get on with it!”. In terms of the demographic it is aimed at (18-24 would be my best guess considering the 90’s love), I think Detention has the chance to become a cult classic that future bloggers talk about being a movie they loved growing up.
The performances work (especially Dane Cook, who puts in the best movie performance of his short career), and the jokes do hit more than miss, but when they do, it’s painful. Although it’s filled to capacity with side-plots and crazy notions, Kahn does an excellent job tying up all the loose ends by the end of the movie, leaving no plot unfinished. Detention isn’t a great movie, but you can’t discount balls-to-the-wall energy and commitment in being something completely original. Give it a shot, but don’t be surprised if you absolutely hate it…or absolutely love it.