When we first see Jeffrey, he is seated toward the back
of the school bus, alone, noticing roadkill and a male jogger through the
window. He soon retrieves the dead cat, surprising two classmates when they ask
what’s in his trash bag. The kids follow him to a little shed on his property which
he uses as his laboratory, and they watch as he pours acid onto the cat to
dissolve its skin. One kid asks, “Why are
you doing this?” (a line, by the way, that is so many movies). Jeffrey
answers frankly, “I like bones.” And
indeed he does, for he has quite a collection in that shed.
He has only one friend in school until one day when in
class he
imitates someone with a speech problem. That gets a laugh, which leads Jeffrey
to give a full-blown performance in the hall, seizure and all. A crowd gathers
around him, and soon he is approached by Derf, who invites him to become
friends with him and his pals. They create the Jeffrey Dahmer Fan Club, and
they would often encourage Jeffrey, “Let’s
do a Dahmer,” which meant spazzing out in front of people to get a
reaction, not killing and dismembering people. But that, as you might imagine, becomes disturbing too.
We see not just his troubles in school, but also his
less-than-ideal home life, with a mother who apparently isn’t quite stable
herself. (Anne Heche is absolutely wonderful as Jeffrey’s mother.) She is
sometimes delightful in her lunacy, like when she’s proud about buying a new
car. (Oh my, the glass she drinks from at one point made me laugh, as my parents
still have a set of those exact glasses.) Jeffrey’s father, however, is concerned that
Jeffrey is spending too much time alone with skeletons in his shed. You feel
for his dad, who admits to having had trouble making friends himself.
There are some funny lines, like when Jeff tells another
student, “I have to pick up roadkill, but I’m trying to quit.” And I love that
after Derf warns Jeff to stay away from a particular guy, saying that he’s a
total psycho, the next shot is of Jeff and the guy walking together in the
woods. I also love the moment when he asks the one black kid if his insides are
the same color as his. And the doctor’s examination scene is really good. Stuff
like that is humorous. But the film is not a comedy. There are moments when you
really feel for Jeffrey, and other moments when you’re frightened of him. Ross
Lynch gives an excellent, captivating performance.
Special Features
The Blu-ray includes a short interview with actor Ross
Lynch, who talks about the film and about getting information from Derk. “I
think the hardest part of playing Jeffrey Dahmer was actually shaking him off,”
he says. He would take long showers at the end of each day to shake off the
character. He also talks about shooting in the actual Dahmer house. The special
features also include a behind-the-scenes slide show and the film’s trailer.
My Friend Dahmer
was directed by Marc Meyers, and was released on Blu-ray on April 10, 2018 through
MVD Visual.
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