Fun (film)
Encyclopedia
Fun is a 1994 independent
drama film
starring Alicia Witt
and Renée Humphrey
, and directed by Rafal Zielinski. Both Witt and Humphrey won a Special Jury Recognition for Technical Acting at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival
. The film centres on the murder of an elderly woman by two mentally unstable girls. It received high critical praise, but failed at the box office
; it has since performed well on subsequent video releases.
The film is based on a play by James Bosley, which was in turn based on an actual murder that took place in Auburn, California
in 1983 by 14-year-old Shirley Wolf and 15-year-old Cindy Collier. The film's title is derived from a diary entry by Wolf, which read: "Today, Cindy and I ran away and killed an old lady. It was lots of fun."
s detailing the girls' relationship (in color), and their time in prison (in black and white). Bonnie, aged 14, (Witt) and Hillary, aged 15, (Humphrey) meet at a bus stop in Los Angeles, California
and begin a friendship. They stroll around their city, chuck rocks onto a highway
from an overpass bridge, run rampant in shopping malls, and play video games.
Their day escalates into an eruption of violence and rage when they brutally stab an elderly woman to death. They then run to a gas station and attempt to wash off the blood from their clothes. After their arrest, they claim that the murder was purely just for "fun". The story moves from the juvenile detention centre where the girls are kept, to the girls on the day of the killing.
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
starring Alicia Witt
Alicia Witt
Alicia Roanne Witt is an American film, stage, television actress and singer.-Early life:Witt was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. Her mother, Diane , is a junior high school reading teacher, and her father, Robert Witt, is a science teacher and photographer. She has a brother, Ian...
and Renée Humphrey
Renee Humphrey
Renee Humphrey is an American actress who has appeared in both film and television.-Career:Humphrey, born in San Mateo, California, but grew up in the Marinwood area of Marin County, worked extensively as an actress in film and television from 1991 through 2000...
, and directed by Rafal Zielinski. Both Witt and Humphrey won a Special Jury Recognition for Technical Acting at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
. The film centres on the murder of an elderly woman by two mentally unstable girls. It received high critical praise, but failed at the box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
; it has since performed well on subsequent video releases.
The film is based on a play by James Bosley, which was in turn based on an actual murder that took place in Auburn, California
Auburn, California
Auburn is the county seat of Placer County, California. Its population at the 2010 census was 13,330. Auburn is known for its California Gold Rush history.Auburn is part of the Greater Sacramento area.- History :...
in 1983 by 14-year-old Shirley Wolf and 15-year-old Cindy Collier. The film's title is derived from a diary entry by Wolf, which read: "Today, Cindy and I ran away and killed an old lady. It was lots of fun."
Plot
The film is told in flashbackFlashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
s detailing the girls' relationship (in color), and their time in prison (in black and white). Bonnie, aged 14, (Witt) and Hillary, aged 15, (Humphrey) meet at a bus stop in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and begin a friendship. They stroll around their city, chuck rocks onto a highway
Highway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
from an overpass bridge, run rampant in shopping malls, and play video games.
Their day escalates into an eruption of violence and rage when they brutally stab an elderly woman to death. They then run to a gas station and attempt to wash off the blood from their clothes. After their arrest, they claim that the murder was purely just for "fun". The story moves from the juvenile detention centre where the girls are kept, to the girls on the day of the killing.