The Wackness (2008)

We see youth and elderness ponder about life's big questions. Disguised in a blanket of faux hip hop culture lie keys to a deeper rooted psychological treasure. This is about all you need to know about this film, to find out whether or not you'd like this. I've found previous reviews to drift too far away from the core of this picture: that is, the simple fact that it's as accessible as it'll make the philosophers among us think. Not about higher class philosophical questions, but the mere basics. And while doing that, one can not shake the feeling that it deemed possible for even he/her to be surprised. Brilliant in its simplicity, brilliant in its raw emotions, brilliant in its humor. But none of that would have been accomplished without being brilliant in its own naivety,by aiming for an acceptable viewer response.

The Wackness is anything but wack. Our protagonist is the coolest kid on the block, as he deals enough weed to supply a month's Woodstock and becomes attached to his psychiatrist whom is also a customer of his. This is a very artsy indie film that can be listed under drama, melodrama, comedy, quirky, witty, and even coming of age.Josh Peck, the once chubby Drake & Josh star, has now evened out and is all grown up as he drops frequent f-bombs and drifted from his Nickelodeon character as far as possible. He plays Luke Shapiro, an outcast in 1994 New York City, who sells marijuana to the town to support his financially challenged family. His counselor he frequents named Dr. Jeffery Squires (Kingsley) is a soft-spoken pothead who gives Luke the oddball advice, and doesn't follow the counselor handbook very well. Luke becomes attracted to Stephanie (Thrilby) who he learns is Dr. Squires' stepdaughter. The two start hanging out, sharing secrets, and well, connecting.Luke enjoys making mixtapes on the outdated, but retro audio cassettes for his counselor and Stephanie. The music, which is composed of mainly Nas, Notorious B.I.G., and Wu Tang Clan hip hop songs, is a huge part of The Wackness. The music sort of parallels with the film because many of the songs "speak" to the film and explain what it doesn't, if that makes any sense.Ben Kingsley and Josh Peck could very well be one of the best duos in any film released in 2008. Their chemistry is formed from drugs and each other's unique way of giving advice. Luke's sense of love and compassion for others is formed from Stephanie's way of broadening his horizons to the world of attraction.Right off the bat, Luke acts like the "everythings-cool-don't-mind-me-homeboy" kind of kid, when really, he is shy and just as scared as we all are of the world. Still, he never comes off as ignorant or heartless in the film. He is one of the few protagonists I really rooted for by the end of the film. And I doubt it was because I was a fan of the Nickelodeon show Josh Peck was apart of.The Wackness is definitely an art-house film, but it shouldn't have been. It should've been released way more mainstream. It is one of the most important coming of age films next to 2010's Flipped. It's like a sponge-cake where the cake is made up of serious drama, and the icing is made up of quirkiness. Word.Starring: Ben Kingsley, Josh Peck, Olivia Thrilby, Famke Janssen, Method Man, and Mary-Kate Olsen. Directed by: Jonathan Levine.

Don't waste your life on this movie. Don't even waste your life on my review of this movie. Save yourself before it's too late.Alas, you're still here. So you might as well readREASONS TO HATE THIS MOVIE#1 The main character's lower lip. What's up with that? It's like the kid just got shot with 10cc of novocaine, and throughout the movie his lower lip is hanging like a flat tire flapping on the road. I suppose this look was supposed to be cool back in 1994. The I-don't-care-cuz-I-just-got-back-from-the-dentist look. But to me it just doesn't fly. Nor is it 'fly'. Which brings us to #2 The goofy, contrived 'urban slang' like using "dope" as an adjective ("Haydn is dope, man!") or using "mad" as an adverb ("You're mad outta my league!" or "It's mad hot!") and the real kicker... pronouncing "all right" as "aaigh". Bear in mind, these aren't kids from the hood we're watching. These are park avenue rich kids trying to act 'phat'. More like 'pstupid'. Normally I can let some exaggerated dialects slip by, but this movie pounds us with it mercilessly, and it really becomes distracting.#3 The preposterous lead character. We begin with the star of the movie (flat tire lipman) who is a college-bound rich kid who is also a big time drug dealer and yet he's as sweet & innocent as Beaver Cleaver, just wants to help his parents pay the rent (on their park avenue flat), and just wants to get his first girlfriend. Did I mention he's a virgin also? Yes, a rich, drug-dealing, wholesome virgin. In New York City. It would be hilarious if this were a Jerry Lewis flick, but no, I think we're really supposed to take the character seriously. Ben Kingsley himself plays a pretty bizarre creature (a rich, uptown psychiatrist who has the mental age & morals of a horny 16-year-old), but in the case of Kingsley's character, it's definitely meant as a comic device, and for that reason I actually consider Kingsley to be one of the reasons to love this film, see below.#4 The hamfisted & hypocritical message that recreational drugs are cool but prescription drugs are square. I'm not sure if the writers were being deliberately ironic, but I really don't think so. Weed is cool. Ritalin is not. That's the moral of the story.OK, now that you've heard the biggest reasons for hating the movie, I'll tell you my...(very few) REASONS FOR LIKING THIS MOVIE#1 Ben Kingsley. As I said above, his character is so bizarre you just have to accept it as comedy and be entertained. His character on screen was 100% entertaining to me, but unfortunately (contrary to his top billing) Kingsley was only a supporting actor, second fiddle to flat tire lipman.#2 Semi-surreal moments of artistic expression. There were a few short scenes where the movie dumped its realistic façade and slipped into tongue-in-cheek genius. For example, there's one scene where the hero, feeling on top of the world, starts dancing on the sidewalk as it lights up like in Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" video. There were also 1 or 2 memorable dream sequences. I think these short scenes were the saving grace of an otherwise commonplace film.Other than that, this movie sucks so hard they should use it to clean up the BP oil spill.

I like movies set in the past, and this didn't disappoint. Definitely my second favorite movie that does this, my first being Donnie Darko. I remember this music growing up and it felt like the 90's. Awesome. Loved how Josh Peck was the main character, it really kicks ass to see nickelodeon stars smokin. I wasn't expecting much from what I've seen of Drake and Josh, although I do check out Nickelodeon daily(spongebob), but he was actually believable and perfect for this role. So funny how he paid for therapy, and I loved when the therapist blew into that paper towel tube with the laundry sheet. Good times. Seriously a good watch though, especially if you grew up then and aren't one of those super happy people. lol