The Anarchist Cookbook

Running time: 101 mins

Puck is a good-looking honor student: All-American type. He is also a self-professed anarchist. Not the violent kind of anarchist, but from the fun-seeking Abbie Hoffman, Marx Brothers branch of anarchy. Living in a commune, Puck and his friends are out to change the world-of course, this is assuming they can stay focused long enough to figure out how to do it. Enter Johnny Black, a self-described nihilist. Armed with his Bible, The Anarchist Cookbook, Johnny gradually takes over the household, leading the group down the slippery slope of what their ideology actually means if taken to its logical conclusion. Mix in Puck's attraction to Jody, a beautiful Young Republican with a fetish for leather and George W. Bush, and Puck's life is radically turned upside-down. Lead Devon Gummersall (My So Called Life) gives a dry, comic performance that resonates with the reality of a young adult coming to grips with his world. A dark comedy with political overtones, The Anarchist Cookbook is a cautionary tale that shows, to paraphrase Barry Goldwater, extremism is, in fact, a vice. - Sandy Wolf