Ahh.. 1994. World Series Canceled, O.J. makes a run for it, the U.S. invades the Persian Gulf, and Hip-Hop is sweeping the world. The Notorious B.I.G. is topping charts, and Nas releases Illmatic, the Hip_Hop Bible.
I have to admit, after seeing trailers for this movie, I was extremely excited at the potential it had at it’s fingertips. Seeing the final product though is a sobering experience, which is ironic considering the drug addled subject matter. But bad writing aside, The cast hit the marks where they need to.
The Wackness has a great look to it. In addition to being well filmed, the cast is awesome as well. Ben Kingsley, Fakme Janssen, Olivia Thirlby (Juno), & Josh Peck. Too bad the writing doesn’t match the caliber of the cast.
First of all, Josh Peck, best known as the bumbling moron half of the Nichols Brothers from Nickelodeon show Josh & Drake, plays our main character, Luke Shapiro. Luke is a socially outcast burnout loser, selling weed out of an Ice Cream cart. Luke is a conflicted, depressed kid looking to find himself amidst the sea of emotional train wrecks that are his parents, his shrink and his friends. He stumbles through life feeling incomplete, and meaningless. His only real passion is for music, and his infatuation with Stephanie, the stepdaughter of his Shrink. His only redeeming quality seems to be his exceptional taste in music, (This soundtrack is phenomenal), and his grip on the culture. I would assume this is helped by the fact he is a product of Hells Kitchen. The kid is talented, trust me, and he definitely has some great potential beyond his Nickelodeon roots. He has a great look to him, and some decent chops, and hopefully he learned from this flick. Not that he isn’t great in his part, but perhaps he is betrayed by the fact this is his first non-nickelodeon part. It is still hard to make the separation between Nickelodeon’s Josh and Luke Shapiro.
Luke’s shrink Dr. Squires, played by Ben Kingsley, is probably the best part in the movie, and this happens to be because it is played by the incomparable Ben Kingsley. He is a shrink that has lost his way. As he struggles to maintain interest in the problems of his patients, all the while thinking of how seriously screwed up he himself is personally. It is an ironic and humorous situation, albeit fairly sad to watch. The guy is a complete mess, and never gets any better. He dishes out questionable advice and his candor is always a bit of a chuckle. Luke’s unique relationship with Dr. Squires is even more hilarious, because he thinks he is a joke, but truly needs his guidance, making it even more hilarious that Luke pays for his sessions in weed.
Luke’s love interest Stephanie is played by Olivia Thirlby, who was great in Juno, and she does as well here. She is a beautiful, but slightly quirky girl, another kid in a screwed up family. And to make things interesting, she is also the step-daughter of Luke’s srink.
The sad part about this film is missed opportunity. As you watch it, you constantly get the feeling there is just a little more there that is about to be thrust upon you, abut it never does. It never gets deeper, never becomes less of a cliche. Sad really, as it could be so great if not held back by bad writing. Luke’s wigger wannabe character spews the a-typical lingo of the day. “I’m mad depressed Yo”…. lol. Overall, the cast plugs the wholes in a ship the writing did it’s best to try and sink. Watching Peck and Thirlby together in the film, I am curiously anticipating another project due for this year yet, a film called Safety Glass.
Though the film breaks no ground or barriers, it was not entirely un-enjoyable. In fact, I really liked this film. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely has problems. But after watching it for the 3rd time, I realized that I enjoyed the overall experience. It is just a feel good film. Which is interesting considering that nothing good really comes out of anything that appens in the movie. But at the end, it is a film about how messed up we all are, and that no matter how clueless we are, none of us is incapable of love. The last 15 minutes of the film are better than everything that precedes it. I loved the ending, and the final 15 minutes Peck is at his very best.
I was tempted to say that nothing in this film is perfect, but that is not accurate. If the director got anything right, it is the mood and feel of the year 1994. He captured it perfectly. from the music to the lingo, it is right on the money. As this is a bit of a period piece, taking place in 1994, I absolutely HAVE to mention the Soundtrack. The soundtrack is a PHENOMENAL collection of 90’s hip hop. Absolutely amazing, but unfortunately, if you buy the official version, you will only get about 1/4 of the AMAZING tracks in the film. I would advise watching it and making a list, then compiling them all into your own play-list. Either way, you will see the 90’s relived Vibrantly in hip-hop here: LL Cool J, Wu-Tang Clan, Total, the entire Notorious B.I.G. Ready to Die album, KRS-One, Tribe Called Quest, Craig Mack, & Ice Cube.
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