Ham on Rye

A film that resembles the American Pie franchise as reimagined by conceptual artist Matthew Barney.

Very individual work, as creepy as a ghost story.

"Ham on Rye" exists behind glass, but it isn't cutely coy. There's something angry about it and hard to parse.

Ultimately, Ham on Rye's best point of reference is itself. It is, like the people therein, one of a kind and completely unforgettable

A puzzling but artful look at teenage alienation.

"Ham on Rye" will frustrate literal-minded audiences, but it's a work of gentle, genuine American surrealism - a lo-fi love song to those left behind by character and chance.

[For] Ham on Rye ... narrative is deliberately sidelined from the get-go, abstracted in order to focus on an adolescent milieu at once brazenly generic and poignantly specific.

Seamlessly weaving a satire on intergenerational high school comedies and suburban rules, Taormina's film is about one fateful day in the life of teenagers in a small community.

With over 100 actors, many of whom are performing for the first time, this is an incredibly ambitious first feature. It signals the arrival of a new voice, emerging with something like a scream.

The final truths of the affair may be slightly muddled, but the journey there is worth the trip, helped along by excellent naturalistic performances from the large cast.