Fun
Director: Rafal Zielinksi Run Time: 105 min. Format: 35mm Rating: NR Release Year: 1994
Starring: Alicia Witt, Renée Humphrey, William R. Moses, Leslie Hope
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When boisterous ginger-locked Bonnie (Alicia Witt) and sullen, black-lipstick-wearing Hillary (Renée Humphrey) meet at a bus stop, they quickly catch fire, feeding off of each other until the antics escalate from throwing rocks at cars to spontaneously murdering an old woman in her home. At a juvenile detention center after being convicted of the crime, Bonnie and Hillary are interviewed by a journalist, much to the consternation of Jane, a chain-smoking, long over-it counselor who is reliably blunt with her charges. Shot on black-and-white 16mm, with flashbacks in color, the film moves between their present-day reckoning and the pivotal day that brought them there.
Fun was a festival darling that eventually had a theatrical run at Film Forum, with Sundance awards recognizing the actresses who embody these girls with visceral naturalness. They are not depicted as glamorous, nor as broken victims, but as two impulsive figures who get caught up in a moment.