Teeth (2007) | DVD Review

The tagline for writer/director Mitchell Lichtenstein’s debut feature Teeth is “Every rose has its thorns”. It’s a prefect descriptor for a near-perfect little film featuring a strong cast of mostly unknown actors. Lichtenstein takes the little-known but age-old myth of vagina dentata (latin for toothed vagina) and touches upon many themes.

In this female coming-of-age tale, newcomer Jess Weixler plays Dawn, a teenager who is saving her “gift” for marriage and actively promotes abstinence as a way of life. It just so happens that Dawn’s gift sports a set of choppers that takes a piece of her step-brother Brad’s (John Hensley of TV’s Nip/Tuck) finger off during a pre-pubescent game of “show me yours and I’ll show you mine”. This episode physically and emotionally scars Brad and he ends up with a life-long crush on his stepsister. The fact that he’s promiscuous and just plain nasty contrasts nicely with Dawn’s purity. Things take a dark turn when Dawn falls for a like-minded chaste young man named Tobey (Hale Appleton, Beautiful Ohio) who ends up unable to control his teenage hormones and tries to force himself on her. Suffice it to say that more than a couple of naughty guys get their comeuppance at the hands of Dawn and her budding sexuality. Released on DVD by the Weinstein Brothers’ Dimension Extreme label, Teeth is hard to categorize. It’s being marketed as a horror-comedy, but that doesn’t quite describe it properly. Sure, the whole idea of such a thing happening is admittedly horrifying (to guys, at least), and there are a few quick and gruesome dismemberment scenes, but this is anything but a typical horror film. Comedy? Yes, but it’s more of a dark satire of teen coming-of-age films and a metaphor for a girl’s sexual awakening and the realization that she posseses something very powerful that if misused can cause a lot of havoc,for the men in her life as well as for herself.

Teeth can also be seen as a cautionary tale for men to treat women with respect, but Lichtenstein also seems to be poking a little bit of fun at the abstinence movement and in this regard the film can be seen as a warning to youngsters that they should do whatever they can to learn more about themselves and their changing bodies, and not just from textbooks either, but through experience and from experienced people. Having said all this, though, the biggest reason to see Teeth is for the performance of Jess Weixler as Dawn. She won a Sundance Festival special jury prize for “a juicy and jaw-dropping performance”, and she definitely deserved it. Her expressions alone run the gamut from purity and innocence to confusion and disgust, right on through to horror and fury. She captures the very essence of a young woman realizing that her body is changing and all that this entails. All this and she’s got great comedic chops, too, as evidenced in the hilarious scene at the gynecologist’s office. If there’s one problem with Teeth, it’s that there’s not one sympathetic male character in the film. And this is a shame, because we do exist, you know!

Deleted Scenes (with optional Director Commentary)
Four of the five deleted scenes were justifiably cut from the film, as they added nothing to the flow and already tight plot. One scene in which the four chaste kids walk through a mall and discuss how popular culture bombards them with temptation could have been left in, as it shows how difficult it is for them to deal with the choice they’ve made.

Feature Commentary By Writer/Director Mitchell Lichtenstein

A little more insight from Lichtenstein into his cast and crew would have been welcome. After all, there are long stretches where he remains quiet, seemingly enjoying watching his film play out. He does, however, give us some background on the setting and locations, as well as information on how certain scenes were shot.

Behind-The-Scenes of Teeth!
While offering some true behind-the-scenes video of the making of the film, this 30-minute featurette is more a series of talking head interviews where the director, along with the actors and producers, discuss the main theme of Teeth. Some of the actors also discuss their characters and their motivations. This is an informative, if mis-named, featurette. Be warned, though: don’t watch it before watching the film, as many of the important scenes are shown in this mini-documentary. It can almost be described as a condensed version of Teeth with some commentary.

Audio/Video
The film is presented in a 1.85:1 widescreen and has been enhanced for 16X9 TVs. It’s a well-done transfer, if unspectacular. The 5.1 Surround mix is also competent, although there’s not much in the way of extra-speaker action.

Teeth is a must-see satire, a dark comedy with bite, so to speak. If you can stomach the thought of men losing their manhood and the gruesome visuals that go with it, Weixler’s performance as Dawn is a revelation, deserving to be seen by as many people as possible.

Movie rating – 4.5

Disc Rating – 3.5