The Misfortunates

It's perfectly plausible that you might never want to visit Belgium after seeing Felix van Groeningen's offensive '80s tale of familial dysfunction. The Strobbes are an impoverished family of beer-swilling, chain-smoking dumb-asses who barely look after their youngest member, a 13-year-old boy named Gunther (Kenneth Vanbaeden) who grows up to become a novelist. The band of profanity spewing brothers love Roy Orbison, naked bicycle races, and participating in near-lethal beer drinking competitions. Things get especially nasty when a subplot with an underage girl takes hold. Based on Dimitri Verhulst's semi-autobiographical novel, "The Misfortunates" is a movie that makes you wonder why Darwinism doesn't seem to apply to the extremely mean or ignorant. One thing's certain, you will be forced to wallow in grotesque misery if you choose to waste your money on this disgusting piece of cinematic irresponsibility.

Not Rated. 108 mins. (D) (One Star - out of five/no halves)