Main Cast: Angela Bettis, Jeremy Sisto, Anna Faris, James Duval, Nichole M. Hiltz
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 94 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A young social outcast goes to great measures to find the perfect friend in this debut horror feature from director Lucky McKee. Set apart from her peers as a child due to her lazy eye, May's only friend and confidant was a delicate doll encased in glass. Though as a young adult May has learned to control her lazy eye with glasses and contacts, her introverted tendencies always seem to hinder her search for the perfect friend. Walking down the street one day, May happens across a young man tenderly caressing the damage of a wrecked car and falls in love with his seemingly perfect hands. As May and Adam (Jeremy Sisto) begin to spend more time together, the quirky couple seem to have much in common, and May believes that she might have finally happened across the perfect boy. Her deep-rooted psychological problems slowly surface, however, and Adam is gradually driven away, leaving the vulnerable May in the company of amorous co-worker Polly (Anna Faris). It soon becomes obvious to May that, though various acquaintances seem to have perfect traits, they never add up to a perfect whole -- leading the creative and demented young girl to her own unique method of creating the perfect friend. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Review
Though it may not be the high body-count slasher film the trailer made it out to be, the debut feature from director Lucky McGee does, when all is said and done, offer some intriguing psychological horror and an interesting modernization of the Frankenstein mythos. Alternately funny, sad, and disturbing, McGee strikes a commendable tone by means of smart pacing, while offering lead Angela Bettis a chance to shine and never giving viewers quite what they might expect. At times too self-consciously quirky for its own good, the film may have been more effectively horrific had it not been straining so hard to be hip, and some scenes straddle the line of unintentional humor by delving into surreal excess. As previously mentioned, Bettis' portrayal of the troubled titular character is rich and complex, convincingly shifting from somewhat sympathetic loner to menacing misfit, and peppering her descent into total psychosis with just the right amount of detached self-abandonment. Once she realizes that she has crossed the line, all bets are off. Though the final shock could prompt knee-jerk laughter in the hands of a less-talented director, by the time the viewer has followed May down her dark path, it offers a chilling moment viewers aren't soon to forget. While May might not be the best horror film of recent years, as some claim, it does merit a space near the top of the list for its unique tone, and it signals director McGee as a talent to watch for. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
The month May has been named for the Greek goddessMaia, who was identified with the Roman eragoddess of fertility, Bona Dea, whose festival was held in May. Conversely, the Roman poet Ovid provides a second etymology, in which he says that the month of May is named for the maiores, Latin for "elders," and that the following month (June) is named for the iuniores, or "young people" (Fasti VI.88).
In both common Western calendrical systems, no other month begins on the same day of the week as May. This month and June are the only two months that have this trait. (See: Months in various calendars)
In Germany it is an old custom to plant a "Maypole" to honor someone. Often young men set up an adorned birch in front of their girlfriend's house in the night before May 1.
In Japan, the period from April 29 to May 5, which includes 4 different holidays, is called "Golden Week". Many workers have up to 10 days off. There is also 'May sickness', where new students or workers start to be tired of their new routine. (In Japan the schoolyear and fiscal year start on April 1st)
3rd May the Polish Constitution Day is Celebrate in Poland.
Under the French Ancien Régime, it was of habit to "plant a May" or a "tree of May" in the honor of somebody. The County of Nice saw girls and boys "turn the May" with the sound of fife and drum, i.e. to dance rounds of May around the tree of May planted on the place of the village.
