In the Dark-The Wackness
September 21, 2008
Genre: Dramedy
Tagline: Sometimes it’s right to do the wrong things
Ebert gave it: 3 stars
Let’s get a few things straight. The 90s were cool (I wasn’t cool in the 90s because I was in my awkward puberty phase for some of it), Ben Kingsley is cool (and sexy), despite what some say, drugs are cool (low key drugs), new york is cool. Ok The Wackness won the Audience Award at Sundance, my friend, let’s call her Suzanne (because that’s her name) loved this film and recommended it to me. Lucky for me I have a theatre just a few bus stops away that plays great artsy, independent movies so I’m able to see this stuff whenever I want for $10 a pop. Which in the time of stupid people and bad movies is a deal.
The Wackness follows young (and moodily hot!) Luke Shapiro through his journey of leaving the safe confines of high school and entering a new world. He trades pot for therapy sessions with therapist Dr. Squires who refuses to give Shapiro any sort of drug remedy for the so call depression he is convinced he has. Instead he tells him that life won’t get better and you might as well just get laid. These therapy sessions also give Dr. Squires some well needed help with his life that is falling apart. Enter the chick, Squires’ step daughter Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby) that befriends Shapiro and quickly becomes his love interest. After a night of love he decides to confess his feelings only to plummet back into a depression deeper than he felt before called heartbreak. His relationship with Squires also grows and he learns that life doesn’t get better with age. Interestingly enough their problems are the same. One night Squires takes his own advice and gets laid with a young hippie (Mary Kate Olsen)…only to have nothing solved. Drugs and heartbreak leave these two in a numb little world until finally rock bottom is reached.
I’ve never seen a movie like this, maybe it was the hip hop of 1994, maybe it was the pagers or maybe the desaturation of the actual film but the movie has some serious soul. Ironically enough the pothead, who wants to escape reality and walk around in a fog learns a lesson in love and life and gets more clarity than a session on the couch could have given him. Likewise, shrink Squires learns a bit about himself. It seems the only person who really needed rescuing was him and it return it provided a life lesson for Luke.
Ben Kingsley plays such a unique character and does it so well, his stringy hair and bong lighting set him apart from any shrink I had. Olivia, who was in Juno (honest to blog) took a queue in dry wit and portrays this young girl from a broken family flawlessly. Best of all was Josh Peck who plays the so cool he’s probably not that cool Shapiro who is stoned most of the movie. It’s not just the acting that makes this movie so successful though, it’s the backdrop painted by grey tones, graffitti graphics and hip hop music. Oh and the sex scene between Kingsley and our little ‘Michelle’ is nothing-it’s in a phone booth, you hardly see anything…and it really doesn’t even feel that inappropriate since she plays an old soul hippie.
My Rating: 
Entertaining, a new Juno with a fresh pot smoking hero. What else could you want?
