vchimpanzee Jimmy and James have rich parents and live in a nice apartment in a big city. Jimmy has long hair and a beard, and he takes a lot of pills because, he says, he is dying. But he also abuses drugs that aren't prescribed for him, sleeps when he wants, acts like a maniac, does impressions of celebrities and pretty much does whatever he pleases. He even made up his own language and has told people his name isn't Jimmy any more. It's something that makes about as much sense as Prince's symbol.James, on the other hand, tries to be responsible, though he too seems to smoke pot. He has gotten a job as a paid intern and isn't sure how Jimmy is going to take it.Sharing their apartment is a dog named Billie who doesn't seem to do much of anything, and yet the camera focuses on Billie every now and then.There are works of art all around the apartment, ranging from what kids would put on their parents' refrigerators to copies of the great works such as The Mona Lisa. Classical music is playing throughout most of the movie, and Jimmy pretends to conduct in at least one scene. It's not clear whether the music is really being played in most of the scenes, or if it is just the audience hearing it.Most of the movie involves a visit from two pretty girls, both named Angela. The blonde one is a lot like Jimmy, casually dressed and carefree. The brunette one dresses like she has a clerical job in an office and seems more uptight. Yet both girls are willing to smoke pot, and both show evidence of being somewhat like we thought the other was.The guys and the girls have fun playing games and even decorate for Christmas despite the fact it is August. A song obviously based on "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" plays, with a vocalist that sounds like Brenda Lee.But the movie is not all fun. Eventually it gets serious, such as when Jimmy finds out the truth about James' job, and at one point Jimmy has to rant about just about everything that is wrong with the world. At some point, he does have to face the fact that he is dying. Or at least he says he is.Is this a quality production? It sure feels like a low-budget film, and often these are some of the best. In fact, the man playing Jimmy directed and wrote it too. He does quite a good job with the impressions and the crazy behavior. Whether you have the patience to get through the more serious scenes depends on your taste in what are called "art films", which I guess this one is. It starts out as a crazy comedy, but that just can't continue.The other actors do a good job.The classical music does make this more pleasant than some movies which can't get along without today's hits.I saw this on broadcast TV, but I could tell the language had been cleaned up A LOT.Is it good? I've certainly seen worse.

zif ofoz before watching i read the summary, then reviews by other watchers. then watched the film. so i was prepared for this odd film. not a particular good art film but definitely a tour into the mind of the director.first i believe jimmy is already dead at the beginning of this movie! why? because i cannot accept the 'acceptance' of his behavior by his roommate or the two girls. even if someone is dying there are limits to what others will tolerate. and jimmy exceeds this limit in every frame. as 'not blonde angela' kept saying "you're acting like a crazy person".yes jimmy was erratic and peculiar in life but what we (the viewers) are seeing is the friends memory of him and their personal interactions with him in the past. jimmy is gone and his reconciliation with death is their acceptance of his passing. everyone remembers others quite differently. james has his own issue with jimmy because he actually never told jimmy about his job. james merely imagines how jimmy would react to this because james broke "the agreement".i could write more but i think most people (if they actually read these reviews) will take my assessment of this film as 'too off the wall'!

Eric Wolfe Words like "wild" and "madness" are cliché, but there's really no other way to describe American Animal. Just like Jimmy's (Matt D'Elia) more straight-laced roommate James struggles to voice his own concerns, ambitions, and feelings in the face of Jimmy's relentless energy; it's hard to describe the film as anything other than completely mad. Ultimately this is what made it so challenging at times, but also so engaging. This is no holds-barred madness that refuses to be channeled in a single vein, and the film jumps from one bizarre scene to the next; each a different manifestation of Jimmy's deranged psyche brought to life. Jimmy is Fight Club's Tyler Durden reinvented; half as violent and twice as zany, obsessed with Hollywood actors and costumes instead of Project Mayhem and underground boxing. But like Tyler Durden, Jimmy fights what he perceives to be the conformist indoctrination of the masses with his own extreme doctrine and is mercilessly intolerant of his friends' more "normal" views. He leaps before he looks. He acts, then asks for forgiveness, or doesn't. The film drags and is at times overly dramatic, but the whole thing builds and builds until it spirals out of control. It offers some severe gut-checks amidst the chaos, offering clarity in the confusion, and it gives the film the uncompromising point it searches for.

Nicole Hamilton AA was definitely an experience... One of the most unique art films I've seen. At times it reminded a lot of American Psycho and Requiem for a Dream. Some parts seemed a little over the top and melodramatic but overall I thought it was a very interesting and well done film. It was also interesting to make the connections with the various movie nods within the film itself (for example: Gangs of New York). Whenever I consider writing a screenplay I always want it to center around a main character whose mental health is questionable but he can't be called outright crazy, I think that the writer/director/star Matt D'elia did a superb job of it in the film and it made for a very entertaining and layered story that seemed somewhat one dimensional at first.