Review of Struck by Lightning (2013) by Manny C — 28 Jan 2013

Making his screenwriting debut, Glee's Chris Colfer, 22, shows he's got an ear for sassy lines laced with heart, and he's not quite thinking in the box, which is promising. Struck By Lightning is hardly a homerun though.

Colfer's character, Carson Phillips, dies in the very first scene, a victim of the titular action. What weighs the script and the film down is that Colfer gives himself pretty much all the best lines.

Through flashbacks Carson is revealed to be too good for most everyone else, long for a career as a journalist and thumbs his nose at the usual high school stereotypes (jocks, cheerleaders, closet cases and the like) and their stupidity.

It helps tremendously to have the inimitable Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect) on hand as Carson's loveably clueless best friend. Pity she's just filler, since the whole film basically works as a vanity project for Colfer.

Not even director Brian Dannelly (Saved!) can get a first-rate cast, including a priceless Allison Janney as Carson's divorced, boozy mother, to transcend Carson's ego. You find yourself trying hard to root for and feel for Carson, but Colfer does most of that for you.