Review of The Wackness (2008) by Hans L — 13 Mar 2009
Josh Peck (as Luke Shapiro) spends his post high school summer of 1994 on the streets of New York listening to hip-hop and selling weed from an ice cream cart (because his father lost all the family money).
In between kicking it on the streets he also trades marijuana for therapy with familial psychiatrist Ben Kingsley whilst lusting after shortie Olivia Thirlby (who is also his stepsister). Surrounding all this are vague references to Rudolph Giuliani's fascist social policies but the film makes no attempt to explore them or explain how under the weight of such authoritarianism someone can push an ice cream cart around a city selling marijuana.
It settles instead for a simple Oedipal trajectory through male bonding, dawning (hetero) sexuality and the usual hubris associated with rights of passage. In a word it's whack. Proper fucking whack.
This review of The Wackness (2008) was written by Hans L on 13 Mar 2009.
The Wackness has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
