Kaboom

Directed by Gregg Araki

(Not Rated)

***

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It seems almost wrong to propose that this sassy, “postadolescent sex comedy/mystery” is about something, said Noel Murray in the A.V. Club. The latest from aging bad-boy director Gregg Araki “at times seems to exist only so Araki can get his beautiful young cast to strip off their clothes and pair off in every conceivable combination.” But even if Kaboom is principally a spoof of teen thrillers and an “unhinged ride through the sensuous pleasures of movies,” it also offers a pretty smart take on the ways that “people try to reinvent themselves when they get to college.” Thomas Dekker stars as a “cute, awkward” freshman who is actively “undecided” about his sexuality, said David Fear in Time Out New York. He beds a “comely” British coed (Juno Temple), lusts for his straight, surfer-dude roommate (Chris Zylka), and turns to his lesbian best friend (Haley Bennett) for comfort when people from a recurring dream begin showing up in real life. It’s here that Kaboom “morphs from strange to sci-fi surreal,” said Peter Travers in Rolling Stone. “Don’t sweat it” if not everything makes sense. Kaboom is all in good fun.