On the Big Board |
| Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
| 28/98 |
David Mumpower |
Engaging story is probably the one The Squid and the Whale meant to be. The Wackness features the best musical accompaniment of 2008. |
| 48/196 |
Max Braden |
I could have done without the title cards and animation, but this was a decent drama/romance. |
Hey, hey! It's time for another coming-of-age story! They're becoming so ubiquitous on the indie circuit these days that it's starting to be difficult to tell them apart, frankly. Sure, it's easy to understand why young directors feel like telling a story about youth is the approach they want to take to movies. It's closest to what they know.
Now that my rant is out of the way, The Wackness is set in the glorious summer of 1994. New York City is a super fun place to live, especially what with the hip-hop music pulsing through the streets and the air filled with the smells of marijuana. But the arrival of new mayor Rudy Giuliani changes all that, because he's cracking down on crime. What a jerk. He's refusing to kowtow to the youth vote, and hoping to eliminate stuff like noisy boom boxes, graffiti and public intoxication. To most people, this means he's trying to get rid of nuisances. Apparently to our hero, Luke Shapiro, it means the end of a glorious era. That young man will spend his last summer before college selling dope, trading it with his shrink for therapy, and then trying to have a relationship with said shrink's daughter.
The lead role in The Wackness will be played by Josh Peck (TV's Drake & Josh), with Ben "I Will Take Any Role for Food" Kingsley portraying the stoner doc. Olivia Thirlby (Juno), Famke Janssen, Mary Kate Olsen (!) and Method Man (natch) are also featured. Really, though, someone should take Kingsley's knighthood back at this point. He and Michael Caine are living proof that once you get a "sir" in front of your name, you somehow lose all discretion. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
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