I don’t care what anyone says, The Shroom is an underrated masterpiece. And people are still saying that director Timmy Wizzo’s comments about the whole thing being satire are just a way for him to cover up how terrible it was. Don’t people know that movie directors are an honest breed, always telling the truth in both word and on camera? Yes, a few of the editing decisions were a bit…awkward, but if you peel away the caustic outer layers, it’s a heartbreaking glimpse into the world of drug abuse and one man’s attempt to escape the reality he’s created for himself.
That’s why the main character acts so erratically; this perfect reality in which he’s a successful burger chain owner, beloved by all, is actually a parallel to the real world. You can see it in the scene where he takes his child to the indoor play centre in Perth. Jimmy doesn’t even live in Perth, so why are they going there? Because Perth was where he grew up; it’s a place of safety, and the indoor play centre, with its colours and fun activities, represents Jimmy’s childhood innocence trying to break through the murky shroud of the shrooms. And then there’s the part where it’s an entire scene of him and Liza trying to decide on a kids birthday party venue, and the conversation goes absolutely nowhere. Such a tacit and subtle look into the psyche of two lovers desperately trying to keep the flames of their passion alive, as represented by their inability to decide something so simple! They were just at the birthday party venue in the scene before, which speaks to their lack of commitment. Obviously.
Oh, and don’t even get me STARTED on the much-maligned scene where the two of them sort-of-almost break up. When Jimmy yells to Liza that she’s crushing him to death, it’s a manifestation of his inability to control his drug habit, and the effect it’s going to have on their child. It wasn’t bad acting; it was pathos. Drug-addled pathos.
People just don’t recognise art. Personally, I’m still a believer. Every time I take my child to a birthday party venue in Perth, I shall think of Jimmy. He may be a strangely-acted fictional character, but I believe we all share his struggle. There’s a bit of Jimmy in all of us.
-Klein