Director James D. Stern debuts with this darkly comedic, archly ironic look at America's obsession with guns. The film opens with Helen and Warren Harding (
Joan Allen and
Jeff Daniels) awaking one night to the sounds of their suburban trophy getting broken into. Warren grabs his trusty handgun and blows away the intruder, only to complain about the blood spots on his newly purchased bathrobe from Sundance. The unlucky guy turns out to be Warren's business partner, and it does not take long for him to wonder out loud if his wife and the dead man were having an affair. Meanwhile, Warren's lawyer Tim (
Andre Braugher), whose civil-rights leading father was gunned down when he was a boy, receives a handsome gun from his film fanatic boyfriend Chris (
David Schwimmer). Others involved include the young nymphet Annabel Lee (
Anna Paquin) and her thuggishly violent brother Sidney (
Giovanni Ribisi); Mr. Morgan (
Gary Sinise), an eccentric and extremely paranoid Internet tycoon; and Tennel (
Josh Brolin), a video store manager turned poet. All of these characters have their own personal axes to grind and all have easy access to guns. The result is as violent as it is senseless.
All the Rage was screened at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide