The Wackness

The Wackness is not so much a film, but more of a marijuana-induced hazy reminiscence of that perfect summer. In the Wackness it's the summer of 1994. A summer of hip hop and dope. A summer of mad 100 degree sunshine, and a fly girl.

Writer/director Jonathan Levine quite obviously grew up in the mid-nineties. This is a love letter to 1994 and to perfect summers. This is the quintessential pot movie. Indeed it may play even better if you watch it whilst stoned. Going far beyond the fact that the main character deals pot, all of the main characters smoke it frequently, and that plots and subplots of the film deal with either selling or using the stuff, everything about this film is all about pot, and I do mean everything. Long stretches are shot slightly out of focus, the cinematography is deliberately saturated at times, at others, underlit. The score, punctuated by hip hop classics of what some have described as the greatest year in hip hop history, is a sun-drenched, chill-out beat. Marijuana is so interwoven in the tapestry of this film that you would not be in the least bit surprised that the entire cast and crew were permanently high during shooting.

Everyone can remember that summer after high school when finally, after years of relentless study, you have no more exams, no more deadlines and no more lessons. Long-awaited freedom. College seems light years away. The feeling is bliss. How do you make such a momentous time in your life even more perfect? You hook up with a girl waaaaaay out of your league, who by some miracle of fate not only bothers to acknowledge your existence, but actually invites you to spend time with her. Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck) is not the biggest loser in the school, but is perhaps the biggest loser out of the cooler kids. He sells dope, which gives him a little more street-cred, but is not on the radar of the pretty girls. This is his summer though, and all that changes when he starts hanging with Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby), the step-daughter of Luke's psychologist Dr Squires (Ben Kingsley). Squires smokes more dope than anyone else in the film, and when he and Luke develop something of a friendship, Squires is quick to warn him to be careful with his step-daughter who Squires believes is "just bored."

By necessity the plot is threadbare, since this is very much an exercise in style, and a film about character. It would not be at all appropriate for a dense, complicated narrative and in fact for 45 minutes I was wondering whether there was going to be any plot at all. Thankfully the merest hint of one does shows up when Josh and Stephanie hook up. When the loser gets the girl, as seems to be obligatory in the Judd Apatow school of comedy, it usually makes you roll you eyes and sneer at the implausibility of it all. Here though it is surprisingly convincing. Peck, who had appeared in nothing of note prior to this, is genuinely accomplished in his role. Thirlby, a movieyears nominee by Matt for her turn in Juno, shines once again, but it is the chemistry between the two that is most enjoyable. Josh is lame, awkward and nervous - Stephanie, confident, sexy and cool, yet somehow, they work together, and you actually find yourself rooting for the drug dealing loser, even though you know you shouldn't, and even though you know the Squires' words of wisdom will prove prophetic in the end.

The Wackness is decidedly not for everyone. In fact unless your male and born between 1974-1979 I'm not sure there's that much to enjoy here. Despite fitting that demographic, I was very close to bailing after half an hour. None of the humour worked for me and the stylistic choices were rather grating. By the end of the 99 minute running time, I was pretty much won over however, and this was almost exclusively down to Peck and Thirlby. Ben Kinglsey gets top billing, and although he is his usual excellent self, this is a film that belongs to the two young actors, on whom the film's success or failure depends. They don't let it down.

B-