Review of Orange County (2002) by Nick G — 28 Oct 2008

"It's not just a place. It's a state of mind.".

Some cast and crew from NBC's highly acclaimed, little-seen series Freaks and Geeks reunite for this teen comedy that also marks the first starring role for Tom Hanks' son, Colin. The younger Hanks plays Shaun Brumder, a high schooler eager to propel himself out of the land of surf bums and ranch homes to which the film's title refers. He's had his sights set on Stanford ever since he read the works of professor Marcus Skinner (Kevin Kline), and his transcript is stellar enough to gain him admission. Shaun is understandably furious, then, when he receives a rejection letter in the mail; after some detective work on his part, he realizes that his flaky counselor (Lily Tomlin) mistakenly sent the university the wrong papers. It's up to him to get to Stanford within 24 hours to set the record straight -- literally -- and he enlists the help of his slacker brother Lance (Jack Black) to do so. Orange County co-stars Catharine O'Hara and John Lithgow as Shaun and Lance's slightly unhinged parents; the film was directed by Jake Kasdan and written by Mike White, both of whom contributed to several episodes of Freaks and Geeks.

Review.

Considering how bad this film could have been, I consider "Orange County" to be a real triumph. It combines solid performances, likeable characters, gross-out humor, brainy dialogue, an excellent soundtrack, and Jack Black sans trousers. That may be enough for most people, seeing a doped-out Black frantically vacuuming his room wearing nothing but his skivvies. It was certainly most of the initial appeal for ME, being the huge Tenacious D fan that I am. An added bonus is an appealing lead performance by Colin Hanks, son of the legendary Tom Hanks. I was very pleased to see that the younger Hanks sports the same easy-going, everyman persona as his dad. He carries the film on his slight shoulders very easily, aided immensely with a predictable but smart script and a very able-bodied cast. I definitely have to recommend this one.