Thursday, June 4, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The Wackness
I resisted watching The Wackness for awhile based only on the title. It rubbed me the wrong way. I just thought it was a stupid name for a movie. But last night I was sitting around doing what I do every day - listening to a Creative Screenwriting podcast. I decided to check out Jeff Goldsmith's Q&A with Jonathan Levine, writer and director of The Wackness. WELL. I thoroughly enjoyed it and decided that I simply had to see the film ASAP. And so Matthew and I rented it later that evening and let me tell you, it did not dissapoint!
I absofuckinglutely loved this film. I know it wasn't perfect but it resonated with me in a very special way because it reminded me somewhat of my youth. Ok, so I wasn't dealing pot in NYC back in '94 but I certainly was hanging out in '94 and smoking a lot of it.
The Wackness is your typical coming of age story but with lots of hip hop and drugs. It takes place in New York City in 1994 and stars Josh Peck as Luke Shapiro, a newly graduated dope dealer. I loved loved loved this guy. I've never seen him in anything else but I can't imagine how I won't be seeing him all over the place soon enough if any filmmakers and casting directors were paying attention.
The movie opens with Luke trading weed for therapy with Dr. Jeffrey Squires, a psychiatrist. Ben Kingsley as Jeffrey is delightful. I used to think he was kinda gross after hearing a story about him from some hair stylists that worked with him on a movie up here, but after seeing him recently in Elegy and now this I have to say I'm a big fan.
It's the last days of high school for Luke where he spent his time selling drugs to the "cool" kids while remaining a bit of an outsider. One of these kids just happens to be Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby), the stepdaughter of Jeffrey with whom Luke has a mad crush on.
Summer hits and a bunch of the kids from school leave the city for adventures in Amsterdam, everyone that is but Stephanie. How convenient!
It's also at this time that Luke discovers that his parents are in some financial trouble so to save his family from losing their apartment for a life in Jersey he decides to start selling even more pot. He sells it out of an ice cream push cart, his way of fooling his parents.
While out one day with his cart, he runs into Stephanie and naturally things happen. With everyone out of town she has nothing better to do then notice him. As his relationship with Stephanie develops so does his interesting friendship with her stepfather who appears to be going through a bit of a mid life crisis.
I thought this movie looked beautiful. The lighting was gorgeous and soft and romantic at times and I just think that Jonathan Levine did such a great job capturing life as a teenager, summer, NYC, falling in love and having your heart broken for the first time.
Like I said, I really related to this film. At the time this film was supposed to take place I was 15 years old and a bit of a fuck up. And for all the Nirvana and Propaghandhi and ispy I was listening to, I was also heavily into a lot of the music that was associated with this movie - A Tribe Called Quest, KRS One, Biggie Smalls, Biz Markie. Oh! And when Luke and Stephanie got it on to R. Kelly's Bump N' Grind, I was feeling it. I've probably even been there!
Great movie, great actors, great writing, great soundtrack. Nothing like a little nostalgia...
-Amanda
2008
Rotten Tomatoes: 68% (pfft)
IMDB: 7.2/10
I absofuckinglutely loved this film. I know it wasn't perfect but it resonated with me in a very special way because it reminded me somewhat of my youth. Ok, so I wasn't dealing pot in NYC back in '94 but I certainly was hanging out in '94 and smoking a lot of it.
The Wackness is your typical coming of age story but with lots of hip hop and drugs. It takes place in New York City in 1994 and stars Josh Peck as Luke Shapiro, a newly graduated dope dealer. I loved loved loved this guy. I've never seen him in anything else but I can't imagine how I won't be seeing him all over the place soon enough if any filmmakers and casting directors were paying attention.
The movie opens with Luke trading weed for therapy with Dr. Jeffrey Squires, a psychiatrist. Ben Kingsley as Jeffrey is delightful. I used to think he was kinda gross after hearing a story about him from some hair stylists that worked with him on a movie up here, but after seeing him recently in Elegy and now this I have to say I'm a big fan.
It's the last days of high school for Luke where he spent his time selling drugs to the "cool" kids while remaining a bit of an outsider. One of these kids just happens to be Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby), the stepdaughter of Jeffrey with whom Luke has a mad crush on.
Summer hits and a bunch of the kids from school leave the city for adventures in Amsterdam, everyone that is but Stephanie. How convenient!
It's also at this time that Luke discovers that his parents are in some financial trouble so to save his family from losing their apartment for a life in Jersey he decides to start selling even more pot. He sells it out of an ice cream push cart, his way of fooling his parents.
While out one day with his cart, he runs into Stephanie and naturally things happen. With everyone out of town she has nothing better to do then notice him. As his relationship with Stephanie develops so does his interesting friendship with her stepfather who appears to be going through a bit of a mid life crisis.
I thought this movie looked beautiful. The lighting was gorgeous and soft and romantic at times and I just think that Jonathan Levine did such a great job capturing life as a teenager, summer, NYC, falling in love and having your heart broken for the first time.
Like I said, I really related to this film. At the time this film was supposed to take place I was 15 years old and a bit of a fuck up. And for all the Nirvana and Propaghandhi and ispy I was listening to, I was also heavily into a lot of the music that was associated with this movie - A Tribe Called Quest, KRS One, Biggie Smalls, Biz Markie. Oh! And when Luke and Stephanie got it on to R. Kelly's Bump N' Grind, I was feeling it. I've probably even been there!
Great movie, great actors, great writing, great soundtrack. Nothing like a little nostalgia...
-Amanda
2008
Rotten Tomatoes: 68% (pfft)
IMDB: 7.2/10
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