The Wackness

[MacGuffin]

Trailer here.

Release Date: July 3rd, 2008 (limited)

Starring: Josh Peck, Ben Kingsley, Famke Janssen, Mary-Kate Olsen, Olivia Thirlby
 
Directed by: Jonathan Levine 

Premise: New York, summer 1994, the greatest year in hip-hop, a troubled teenage drug dealer trades pot for therapy sessions with a drug-addled psychiatrist intent on living his life to the fullest. The two form an unlikely friendship, but things get complicated when the kid falls for the doctor's daughter.

[matt35mm]

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE.

[modage]

i will rent this.

i fell in love with this girl. 


(on the right)

oh i found out she's 21!  which is good.  because if she had been like 14, i'd be upset.

[Gamblour.]

Yeah, rental at best. It has a lot to offer, it's well made and the writings good. But it's very uneven. Between whimsy and almost too mundane dialogue, it's hard to love it. But it's still good enough to sit through.

[cinemanarchist]

This movie plays it so safe that it almost hurts but it hits all the right notes and the sex scene is just the right amounts sexy and awkwardly painful. I would have LOVED this movie if I saw it when I was 15 or 16.

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

This movie was just all around bad, I don't quite get the "good writng" part.  It was annoyingly soaked in slang, almost to the point of lampooning itself.

If you rent it, make sure you don't pay for it. 

And make sure you absolutely have no other priorities to attend to.

[El Duderino]

I finally got to watch it today and I thought it was good. I really liked the style of writing and Ben Kingsley gave a great performance.

Olivia Thirlby looked rather horse-like through most of the movie.

[Stefen]

It was fun. I think the best thing this haD going for it is it's nostalgic qualities. It takes place in 1994 and it really feels like 1994. I remember the first time I heard Ready to Die. It reminded me of the indie flicks I used to love to watch in the 90's. Stuff like Hurricane Streets.

The idea of trading herb for therapy sessions is just hilarious to me. Ben Kingsley was my favorite part. His mid-life crisis is epic. Famke Jansen looks hotter than ever. I can't decide if Olivia Thirlby is really pretty or really ugly. She's got one of those faces, ya know? I thought the writing was good. Nothing great. It got it's point across and didn't try to be anything it wasn't. Growing up, I think we all knew flaky girls like that. The type that you fall for, but then realize they were just looking for a good time before moving onto something else. Bitches.

I'd recommend a rental. Anyone who is nostalgic about the mid 90's.

6.7/10.