Review of Orange County (2002) by Adrian N — 16 Sep 2010

With the release of the movie Easy A and how it's getting really good feedback as a movie that stands out in the teenage film genre, it reminds of a movie called Orange County. I've got the DVD (then lost it), watched it a few times and it is absolutely brilliant.

Orange County has a lot of unknown actors who are actually the sons and daughters of many Hollywood heavyweights and many Hollywood heavyweights appear as well. So it's suprising that this movie has a veteran all-star cast appearing in a teen flick.

In this movie, Shaun Brumder (Colin Hanks, the son of Tom Hanks) is just your average teenage surfer and he hangs out with his mates surfing and skipping school in which school and his mates, he couldn't handle at the same time. But when one of his mates died in a freak wave, Shaun decides to become a writer after he founded a book called Straight Jacket by Marcus Skinner (an uncredited Kevin Kline). (The whole book somehow parrallels to Catcher In The Rye).

What to do next? He applies to Stanford not only to reach his goals and meeting Skinner, but to escape from Orange County filled with really dumb people. However his transcript was misplaced meaning he can't go so along with his girlfriend Ashley (Schyler Fisk, the daughter of Sissy Spasek), his drug addicted brother Lance (Jack Black) to go to Stanford and appeal their case.

Well Orange County I have to admit is a very short movie. It only runs for 79 minutes so apparently this is too hollow for a feature movie.

But there is something interesting about Orange County during its time. It's really ambitious with Colin Hanks does a convincing performance as well as Schyler Fisk playing Hank's girlfriend. As well as original, Orange County does what no other teen film had never done. There's no gross out humour (although there is some) or teenage angst (even though Hank's character fed up in being stuck in a really crappy world) and there's no shots of girls showing off their boobs.

But what Orange County that really works is the screenplay written by Mike White tells us that sometimes fitting in a really lame place would be better if you have the people you cared around. And even though they're totally dimwitted or plain losers, it's great to live here and not run away to where you don't to anyone to get along with.

Best of all, Orange County shows how charming the movie is and unexpected it can get which is the hilarity of the movie. The casting of the movie makes this movie funny with veteran actors such as Catherine O Hara, Harold Ramis and Chevy Chase all impressive even if their roles are really small. As well as Jack Black this is the funniest movie he gave us before School Of Rock.

Like Easy A, Orange County stands out from its respective genre as it tends to decline or becomes tiring. This is what John Hughes what have wanted in the genre and maybe the OC had nailed it.

7.9/10.