This guy stole every scene he was in. Therefore, I shan’t mention him in the review.
Disturbing Behavior (1998) explores an extreme solution to the ups and downs of adolescence: brainwashing. Teenager Steve has moved to Cradle Bay from Chicago following the suicide of his older brother, only to find the high school is mostly controlled by the “Blue Ribbons,” a group of former miscreants, now reformed and full of that old time school spirit.
And the occasional violent outburst.
On the outside, trying not to look in, are Steve’s new friends, an underutilized character named U.V. (he’s albino), Gavin, and Rachel. Falling into the miscreant category, they’ve been watching their former friends slowly being swallowed by the Blue Ribbons, with bitter teenage angst and puzzlement.
But when Gavin is sucked in, Steve and Rachel must cross the bay to Bishop Flats to discover the hazy antecedents of the school psychologist, the man responsible for the Blue Ribbons, and from there the action kicks into high gear.
It’s difficult to extract thematic material from this movie, probably because the vein is already played out. Perhaps the idea that adolescence is something everyone must endure, as a learning experience, is the best I can do.
On a more ulterior level, and doubtless without conscious purpose, one might consider the message that adolescence is not necessarily a barrier which all teenagers can conquer, and that we will lose some to the challenges, hormonal and societal, presented by it. The question then becomes, how do we deal with those losses?
This movie won’t ever tell you, though.
