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Orange County 2002 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Jake Kasdan
PG-13, 80 min. (sexual situations, crude humor, profanity) |
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Starring: Colin Hanks, Schuyler Fisk, Catherine O'Hara, Jack Black, John Lithgow
Producers: Scott Rudin, David Gale
Screenplay: Michael White
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Released: 1/11/02 (Wide) |
Rating:
 (out of ) |
Sometimes no matter who's involved in a film, it's still bound for ineptness. Such is the case with Orange County, another
entry in the bloated "teen comedy" genre, a film that leaves you more or less asleep by its closing credits. Despite a cast that
includes rising star Jack Black, Colin Hanks (son of Tom Hanks), Schuyler Fisk (daughter of Sissy Spacek), and cameos by
Chevy Chase, Kevin Kline, and Ben Stiller, the film is eventually doomed by a lame script that is typical of most in the genre.
It's also directed by Jake Kasdan (son of Lawrence Kasdan), in an effort that can gently be called disappointing considering
his effective debut in 1998's Zero Effect. Invariably, Orange County finds itself somewhere between American Pie
and Road Trip, but with tepid results.
Shaun Brumder (Colin Hanks) is a typical senior in high school with an uncertain future. After finding
a book on the beach, he is determined to become a writer, and wants to study under the book's author, Marcus Skinner (Kevin Kline),
at Stanford. He has the qualifications to get in, but his guidance counselor sends in the wrong transcript, making his
acceptance impossible. Now he must find another way to gain admittance - either through his father's considerable bank account,
or impressing one of the school's board members, or even begging the dean of admissions to reconsider his application. Of course,
nothing turns out the way he'd hoped, but his brother, Lance (Jack Black), and his girlfriend, Ashley (Schuyler Fisk), are there
for suppport along the way.
Predictably, we are bombarded with the tried and true formula for teen comedies - make a joke of everything, including
inserting jokes about urine, old people's misfortunes, and ridiculous sex scenes thrown in for good measure. Nothing in this
film is something we haven't seen before, and maybe that's the point. What scores a few extra points for this particular picture
is its few scenes of worthwhileness, including a scene in which Shaun speaks at length with Skinner about what it means
to be an effective writer. But, unfortunately, after a quick detour we're back to tiresome jokes and tedious plot devices.
To be fair, I think reviewing films in this genre should probably be abandoned, because there's no point in evaluating something
that's only interested in amusing teenagers while raking in the money from the movie industry's largest market. But what
we should expect is at least a few laughs and maybe something to think about when we leave the theater - then there may
be a point to such a futile exercise in stupidity. Orange County actually flirts with this idea for about five minutes, then quickly
steers itself back to the pallid endeavor of satisfying its growing target market. A comedy, no matter what its genre, has to
be funny, and in this case, it's not.
© 2002 Jonathan Cornwell
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| Masterpiece - Classic; Movie perfection |
 | Excellent - A Must See; One of the year's best films |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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