Review of Rocket Science (2007) by Benjamin F — 04 Apr 2008

I went into this pretty much on a short online trailer, the plot premise - which has a lot of echoes of the recent Thumbsucker in concept - and people arguing over the Wes Anderson influence on the internets.

(Serious business, as always.) I'm an indie film junkie, and if it's a quirky comedy, sign me up. (It goes without saying, naturally, that I love Wes Anderson movies.) I just got the DVD, since I figured it'd naturally fit right into my collection with my tastes - I was right.

The film DOES run parallel to Thumbsucker in a lot of ways in terms of plot, however, as much as I enjoyed Thumbsucker, Rocket Science outdoes it. I didn't recognize anybody in the cast aside from Jonah Hill - who turned an unusually more subtle performance in his relatively small role - and Nicholas D'Agosto, and I find that a cast full of more small names and virtual unknowns can often be a good thing.

(See: Burning Annie. Next to nobody's seen that movie, its cast is pretty much all no-names, and it's fantastic.) A cast full of larger names can be a bit on the distracting side at times, and Thumbsucker definitely had that issue to deal with, though it was a good introduction to Lou Taylor Pucci and Kelli Garner.

But I digress - this is a review of Rocket Science. Both films had excellent soundtracks, but while I am an admitted huge fan of the Polyphonic Spree, its music was more intrusive at times - even overbearing - in Thumbsucker, while Rocket Science's soundtrack has some nice little hooks throughout and a general good sound to it that complements the film well.

Despite its largely small name cast, Jeff Blitz found a lot of immensely talented people - everybody turned a strong performance, contributing to the very natural feel of the movie and its progression.

Reece Thompson's certainly a memorable lead - hell, he struck me as being a lot like myself in high school, though I didn't have a stutter (And his awkward experiences are so realistic that no doubt most who watch this movie would have no trouble relating to him and the ordeals he faces.

In a sea of artificial high school movies, Hal is a relatable everyman.), and Anna Kendrick is a wonderful fresh face that I'd love to see more of in cinema, playing a character you both find yourself loving and hating at the same time alongside Hal.

The directing is good and effective, there's no part of the film that I felt didn't work with the choices Blitz made. Though the narration is a little jarring to hear at first - as largely, I wasn't expecting a narrator - but you get used to it quickly.

It isn't used too much, and when it is, it serves its purpose well. All in all, while Rocket Science won't blow your mind or change the way you think about cinema - and few films out there ever will, if your standards are high anyway - but it will make you laugh (It does have many, many very funny moments, some of which are extremely subtle and well done.

), it will make you feel, and if you were as awkward as I was in high school (And admittedly, I'm no great bastion of sociability now.), you'll be able to relate, no question. If you like your quirky indie comedies, Rocket Science belongs in your collection.