What's in a smile?

Remember the sense of relief you experienced when you learned that you weren't the only kid in braces who had to wear headgear at night? How that feeling of freakish un-belonging seemed to evaporate into the unexpectedly light and sunshiny air? Yes? Well, after reading about the recently released movie Teeth, that's pretty much how I'm feeling right now.

Mitchell Lichtenstein, son of pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, learned of the age-old vagina dentata myth in a lit class taught by my very favorite cultural zeitgeist, Camille Paglia. Lichtenstein became obsessed with the notion and, over a series of years, wrote and rewrote his quirky tale. He finally made his directorial debut with Teeth at last year's Sundance Film Festival.

Lead actress Jess Weixler won a Sundance Special Jury prize for her juicy and jaw-dropping performance. Ha. That fact, coupled with the knowledge that the movie escaped an NC-17 rating because studio executives felt that the movie had an important cautionary moral appropriate for teens, may be enough to lure me to Tinseltown this weekend.





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