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''Affluenza'' is a 2014 American
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by Kevin Asch and written by
Antonio Macia Antonio Macia is an American screenwriter and actor. The son of Argentine and Chilean immigrants, Antonio was born and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. He graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in International Studies. He then served a ...
. It is loosely based on ''
The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts First-person narrative, first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious mil ...
'' by
F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...
. The first leading role for
Ben Rosenfield Ben Rosenfield is an American actor and musician, best known for playing Willie Thompson on the fourth and fifth seasons of HBO's period crime drama series '' Boardwalk Empire'' (2013–2014). His first role was in the Off-Broadway stage adapta ...
, it also stars
Gregg Sulkin Gregg Sulkin (born 29 May 1992) is a British actor. He made his film debut in the 2002 ''Doctor Zhivago'' mini-series. He later starred in the 2006 British release '' Sixty Six'', and subsequently appeared in the Disney Channel comedy series ''A ...
,
Nicola Peltz Nicola Anne Peltz Beckham (born January 9, 1995) is an American actress. Primarily known for her roles in dramatic film and television, she has performed in some blockbuster adaptations and has since been nominated for a Young Hollywood Award. Sh ...
and
Grant Gustin Thomas Grant Gustin (born January 14, 1990) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his roles as Barry Allen (Arrowverse), Barry Allen / The Flash on The CW series ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash'' as part of the Arrowver ...
.


Plot

In 2008, Fisher Miller (
Ben Rosenfield Ben Rosenfield is an American actor and musician, best known for playing Willie Thompson on the fourth and fifth seasons of HBO's period crime drama series '' Boardwalk Empire'' (2013–2014). His first role was in the Off-Broadway stage adapta ...
), a young photography student, has a meeting with a wealthy businessman Mr. Carson (
Roger Rees Roger Rees (5 May 1944 – 10 July 2015) was a Welsh actor and director, widely known for his stage work. He won an Olivier Award and a Tony Award for his performance as the lead in ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby''. He also re ...
) to help him get into art school, only to be told his work reflects the decline of a generation rather than its future hope, Carson laments this as he declares his generation are going out of business in a "fire sale". It then flashes back a month before the financial crash as Fisher moves in with his aunt Bunny and uncle Philip (
Samantha Mathis Samantha Mathis (born May 12, 1970) is an American actress and trade union leader who served as the Vice President, Actors/Performers of SAG-AFTRA from 2015 to 2019. The daughter of actress Bibi Besch, Mathis made her film debut in '' Pump Up t ...
and
Steve Guttenberg Steven Robert Guttenberg (born August 24, 1958) is an American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. He is known for his lead roles in Hollywood films of the 1980s and 1990s, including ''Cocoon'', ''Police Academy'', ''Three Men and ...
) in
Great Neck, New York Great Neck is a region on Long Island, New York, that covers a peninsula on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore and includes nine villages, among them Great Neck (village), New York, Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, New York, Great Neck Es ...
, to escape his middle-class life for the mansions of the young, beautiful elite of Long Island's moneyed class. With a stash of high-quality
marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...
and a vintage camera, he gains access to his gorgeous cousin Kate's (
Nicola Peltz Nicola Anne Peltz Beckham (born January 9, 1995) is an American actress. Primarily known for her roles in dramatic film and television, she has performed in some blockbuster adaptations and has since been nominated for a Young Hollywood Award. Sh ...
) circle of wealthy and indulged friends. Fisher befriends the stepson of the community's richest resident, Dylan Carson (
Gregg Sulkin Gregg Sulkin (born 29 May 1992) is a British actor. He made his film debut in the 2002 ''Doctor Zhivago'' mini-series. He later starred in the 2006 British release '' Sixty Six'', and subsequently appeared in the Disney Channel comedy series ''A ...
), an insecure outsider in his own world who uses his money in an attempt to gain the acceptance he craves. Central to his pursuit is the love of his former flame Kate, now dating the preppy Todd (
Grant Gustin Thomas Grant Gustin (born January 14, 1990) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his roles as Barry Allen (Arrowverse), Barry Allen / The Flash on The CW series ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash'' as part of the Arrowver ...
). Through Fisher's help, Dylan attempts to regain Kate's affection only for the triangle to come crashing down, just as the financial system around them, with devastating consequences for all those involved.


Cast

*
Ben Rosenfield Ben Rosenfield is an American actor and musician, best known for playing Willie Thompson on the fourth and fifth seasons of HBO's period crime drama series '' Boardwalk Empire'' (2013–2014). His first role was in the Off-Broadway stage adapta ...
as Fisher Miller *
Gregg Sulkin Gregg Sulkin (born 29 May 1992) is a British actor. He made his film debut in the 2002 ''Doctor Zhivago'' mini-series. He later starred in the 2006 British release '' Sixty Six'', and subsequently appeared in the Disney Channel comedy series ''A ...
as Dylan Carson *
Nicola Peltz Nicola Anne Peltz Beckham (born January 9, 1995) is an American actress. Primarily known for her roles in dramatic film and television, she has performed in some blockbuster adaptations and has since been nominated for a Young Hollywood Award. Sh ...
as Kate Miller *
Grant Gustin Thomas Grant Gustin (born January 14, 1990) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his roles as Barry Allen (Arrowverse), Barry Allen / The Flash on The CW series ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash'' as part of the Arrowver ...
as Todd Goodman *
Steve Guttenberg Steven Robert Guttenberg (born August 24, 1958) is an American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. He is known for his lead roles in Hollywood films of the 1980s and 1990s, including ''Cocoon'', ''Police Academy'', ''Three Men and ...
as Philip Miller *
Samantha Mathis Samantha Mathis (born May 12, 1970) is an American actress and trade union leader who served as the Vice President, Actors/Performers of SAG-AFTRA from 2015 to 2019. The daughter of actress Bibi Besch, Mathis made her film debut in '' Pump Up t ...
as Bunny Miller *
Valentina de Angelis Valentina de Angelis (born June 12, 1989) is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Young Bo in the 2003 film '' Off the Map'', her first major acting role. In 2009, she had a recurring role as Carmen Fortier in the serie ...
as Jody *
Danny Burstein Danny Burstein (born June 16, 1964) is an American actor and singer, most known for his work on the Broadway stage. A seven-time Tony Award nominee, Burstein won the 2020 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance as Har ...
as Ira Miller * Adriane Lenox as Professor Walker *
Roger Rees Roger Rees (5 May 1944 – 10 July 2015) was a Welsh actor and director, widely known for his stage work. He won an Olivier Award and a Tony Award for his performance as the lead in ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby''. He also re ...
as Mr. Carson *
Patrick Page John Patrick Page (born April 27, 1962) is an American actor, low bass singer, and playwright. He originated the roles of Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in '' Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'', the Grinch in ''Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christm ...
as Jack Goodman *
Carla Quevedo Carla Quevedo (born 23 April 1988) is an Argentine actress. She is most known for her limited but crucial role in ''The Secret in Their Eyes'', in which she played Liliana Coloto. Career Her acting debut was in the year 2009 in Argentina film ...
as Gail *
John Rothman John Mahr Rothman (born June 3, 1949) is an American film, television, and stage actor. Life and career Rothman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Elizabeth D. (née Davidson) and Donald N. Rothman, a lawyer. He is the brother of film ...
as Rabbi Cohen * Kevin Asch as Picha Photographer * Joe Cross as Shamanalarana * Taylor Gildersleeve as Beth *
Barry Rohrssen Barry "Slice" Rohrssen (born June 24, 1960) is an American college basketball coach and the former head men's basketball coach at Manhattan College. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he was named the 22nd head coach in Manhattan Jaspers basketball ...
as Detective


Production

In July 2012, ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' announced that
Grant Gustin Thomas Grant Gustin (born January 14, 1990) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his roles as Barry Allen (Arrowverse), Barry Allen / The Flash on The CW series ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash'' as part of the Arrowver ...
had landed the lead role. The main role eventually went to
Ben Rosenfield Ben Rosenfield is an American actor and musician, best known for playing Willie Thompson on the fourth and fifth seasons of HBO's period crime drama series '' Boardwalk Empire'' (2013–2014). His first role was in the Off-Broadway stage adapta ...
, with Gustin taking a supporting role.
Gregg Sulkin Gregg Sulkin (born 29 May 1992) is a British actor. He made his film debut in the 2002 ''Doctor Zhivago'' mini-series. He later starred in the 2006 British release '' Sixty Six'', and subsequently appeared in the Disney Channel comedy series ''A ...
was later cast as the film's Jay Gatsby character Dylan and
Nicola Peltz Nicola Anne Peltz Beckham (born January 9, 1995) is an American actress. Primarily known for her roles in dramatic film and television, she has performed in some blockbuster adaptations and has since been nominated for a Young Hollywood Award. Sh ...
was cast as Rosenfield's cousin, completing the main cast.


Release

The film premiered at the SVA Theater in New York City on July 9, 2014, and was released in the United States on July 11, 2014 in a
limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...
and through
video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...
.


Reception

Review aggregator website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reported that 23% of thirteen surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 3.5/10.
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
rated it 30 out of 100 based on twelve reviews. Andrew Barker of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' described it as "an empty recasting of ''
The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts First-person narrative, first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious mil ...
'' among Long Island rich kids." Frank Scheck of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' wrote that the film "attempts to tackle weighty themes but ultimately feels as shallow as the lives of most of its principal characters." Ben Kenigsberg of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called it a "
millennial Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000 ...
-chiding takeoff on ''The Great Gatsby''" whose "vapid moralizing owes more to
Bret Easton Ellis Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author, screenwriter, short-story writer, and director. Ellis was first regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack and is a self-proclaimed satirist whose trademark technique, as a w ...
than to F. Scott Fitzgerald."


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Affluenza 2014 drama films 2014 films 2014 independent films 2010s teen drama films American independent films American teen drama films Films about social class Films based on The Great Gatsby Films set in 2008 Films set in the Great Recession Films set in Long Island 2010s English-language films 2010s American films