Review of The Wackness (2008) by Arman N — 22 Jun 2009

Initial Score: 6.7.

-A predictable coming of age tale that doesn't ever find a balance between it's serious moments and comic relief and apart from having the worst title of any film I've ever heard of there's nothing here that truly stands out. However, there's enough humor, sincerity, well acted performances, and atmosphere to keep itself from drowning in a sea of wackness.

-Johnathan Levine's choice to have this film take place in the summer of 1994 was very interesting and helped imprint a unique charm indie pics like this tend to have. I liked how the imagery and allusions to the time period made it feel authentic and successfully produced a summertime fun vibe that permeated throughout in contrast to the main characters outlook on life.

-The story is centered on a drug dealer who's unhappy being alone and initially desires nothing more then to lose his virginity. To remedy his unhappiness he offers one of his customers free pot in exchange for therapy and as the film progresses so does the budding friendship between Luke and Dr.Squires. Josh Peck puts on a decent performance as the quiet and apathetic lead with the occasional comedic quip, however the other 2 leads clearly outshine him. Ben Kingsley loses himself in his role as an adolescent minded and supremely self indulgent psychiatrist who although entertaining seems to be a bit too chaotic to fit into the realistic mold that everyone and everything else does. Olivia Thirlby proves her acting chops with a genuinely believable performance of a typical teenage girl who doesn't take things as seriously as Luke.

-The charismatic Dr. Squires warns Luke early on about his step daughter and her tendency to get bored easily but undeterred by his advice Luke seeks her out and to great success his feelings are reciprocated. The inevitable and obvious happen; the relationship culminates in him telling her he loves her after losing his virginity to her so she not being serious about him distances herself from him. So he learns the life lesson heart break teaches and although losing the girl he gains a friend in Squires once again this is incredibly original stuff here.

-Luke's drug dealing is dealt with in a nonchalant tone which I thought was a pleasant change from how pot dealers are usually shown in films to be and I liked how his pot dealing only occasionally intersected but mainly took a backseat to the drama. A lot of the drama was very cheesy and unremarkable at best notably Squire's wife leaving him and the scene where Squires is convinced by Luke not to kill himself.

-it's interesting to note how all the parents here act very immaturely while Luke is the only one who shows any sincere maturity which isn't even until the last 20 minutes of the film.

-I liked this film it was a quirky take on a very well tread genre but it heavily gave in to the genre conventions too many times and the humor didn't gel with the serious drama going on. Nonetheless the overall charm of this film's characters and the city they inhabit barely save this film from mediocrity.