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Review: Orange County
Shaun is a brainless Orange County surfing dude until he stumbles across a novel and decides he was to use his brain and become a writer. He obsesses on Stanford, doesn't get in because of a paperwork screw-up by his moonie guidance counselor (Lily Tomlin) and, with the help of his perpetually-stoned brother (Black) and girlfriend (Fisk), sets out to gain admission to Stanford. Part of his obsession comes from a desire to get away from his hilariously and spectacularly dysfunctional family (drunken drama queen mother is played by Catherine O'Hara, remote divorced money-obsessed dad by John Lithgow).
Black is by now wonderful at playing the stoned loony, but he needs to be careful, as it's already nearly impossible to imagine him in any other role. And he's great at it. He nearly steals the movie, especially playing against the steady-as-she-goes nice guy Colin Hanks who, like his Dad, has a Jimmy Stewart quality that makes you root for him, even when he's behaving badly.
The plotting and conceit of the movie are both strange. Orange County, a wealthy suburb of LA, is held to be insipid and valueless. Although we get a peek at the dummies who Shaun befriends and who go to his high school, there is little feel at all for the actual place, one of America's early, mythic suburbs. At least at first, all Shaun wants to do is get away, though the writers eventually suggest that wanting to leave arid suburbs and go to colleges like Stanford is a mistake. Creative and interesting people should stay at home where their roots are, all the better to be inspired and keep their needy parents and girlfriends happy.
Shaun's paperwork snafu could probably have been corrected with a phone call, so all the slapstick racing around -- there's an improbably mad dash up to Stanford -- and hysteria seems a bit silly. And the ending -- well, it's original, but also goofy. It lost me.
I think for a total of 15 to 20 minutes this is one of the most inventive and original movies I've seen in awhile. In toto, it's disjointed. It seems as if Kasdan wanted to make a semi-serious, biting movie but either chickened out or was held back. Still, there are more than a few great laughs in Orange County and the parts of the film that portray a complex kid trying to figure out where he belongs while coming to terms with his insane family really work -- at moments.
Well, you already saw the parts you liked. They were funny, right? Well, good. Isn't that all you need?
When I see a joke in a trailer, even if it is funny, I virtually never laugh at it in the final film, because I know it's coming. You should be happy that the filmmakers filled the running time with fresh material, rather than recycle the stuff they used for the trailer. And as long as the film didn't betray the way the trailer marketed it (which I really doubt), you're not being robbed of anything, because the trailer is probably widely available for d/l.
Just some thoughts is all...
/. is not Jon's personal weblog. Are these stories likely to make the
- Let me tell you how much having your wisdom teeth pulled sucks.
- So I went on a date last night.
- I have this great idea for a perpetual motion machine
- I just discovered this really great author. His name is Assimov or something.
Really, it's not that we all don't like you, Jon, it's just that you obviously have a lot of subjective things to say, and you should start your own weblog. Personally, I don't thikn it's stuff that matters.....and it's certainly not 'news for nerds.'
Kevin Fox
For at least as long as I've been reading Slashdot, Jon Katz has posted op/eds and stories investigating many of the social implications of emerging technology and current political trends, that have an impact on both our freedom to use technology and the industry itself. He's gone beyond speculating about the technical limits of supercooled processors, or the Quake 3 engine, to look at some of the things that actually make a dent in our lives.
And for at least as long as I've been reading Slashdot, readers have posted their opinions of Jon Katz, and why he can go to hell, or why his opinion sucks, or some other complaint. Almost all of them request that he take his writing elsewhere, that he is not welcome with their morning news and cup of coffee.
I'm not writing this to support the presence of goofy teen flick movie review on Slashdot. But judging from the way he's received, what did you expect? He's clearly come to the conclusion that, at least about important things, geeks must not like to think very much.
And I don't blame him.
"First you gotta do the truffle shuffle."
Blatanly plagurized material straight from the FAQ just because yall haven't seemed to have read it, or are ignoring it entirely.
Why did you post story X?
Slashdot is many things to many people. Some people think it's a Linux site. To others, it's a geek hangout. I've always worked very hard to make sure that Slashdot matches up with my interests and the interests of my authors. We think we're pretty typical Slashdot readers... but that does mean that occasionally one of us might post something that you think is inappropriate. You might be interested in my Omelette rant.
Personally, I have a pet peeve when people post comments saying things like "That's not News For Nerds!" and "That's not Stuff that Matters!" Slashdot has been running for almost 3 years, and over that time, I have always been the final decision maker on what ends up on the homepage. It turns out that a lot of people agree with me: Linux, Legos, Penguins, Sci (both real and fiction). If you've been reading Slashdot, you know what the subjects commonly are, but we might deviate occasionally. It's just more fun that way. Variety Is The Spice Of Life and all that, right? We've been running Slashdot for a long time, and if we occasionally want to post something that someone doesn't think is right for Slashdot, well, we're the ones who get to make the call. It's the mix of stories that makes Slashdot the fun place that it is.
Answered by: CmdrTaco
Last Modified: 6/26/00
"The Omelette"
Let me try to give you an analogy for Slashdot's homepage. It's like an omelette: it's a combination of sausage and ham and tomatoes and eggs and more. Over the years, we've figured out what ingredients are best on Slashdot. The ultimate goal is, of course, to create an omelette that I enjoy eating: by 8pm, I want to see a dozen interesting stories on Slashdot. I hope you enjoy them too. I believe that we've grown in size because we share a lot of common interests with our readers. But that doesn't mean that I'm gonna mix an omelette with all sausages, or someday throw away the tomatoes because the green peppers are really fresh.
There are many components to the Slashdot Omelette. Stories about Linux. Tech stories. Science. Legos. Book Reviews. Yes, even Jon Katz. By mixing and matching these things each and every day, we bring you what I call Slashdot. On some days it definitely is better than others, but overall we think it's a tasty little treat and we hope you enjoy eating as much as we enjoy cooking it.
Answered by: CmdrTaco
Last Modified: 6/14/00
Why is it that every movie review posted on /. receieves a flood of 'why the hell is this on /.?!??' posts?
If the article doesn't interest you, skip it. I'm sure a good amount of daily slashdot readers are interested in knowing whether or not they should spend the zillion bucks to go see a movie. And believe it or not, nerds don't go see only tech movies.
End mini-rant.
Movie folks work on multi-year timelines, and rarely stay within them
Ceci n'est pas un post
My god, I just realized something:
I find myself ONLY reading Katz stuff for the comments. I don't read anything he writes but I love reading all the colorful commentary that is provided down here by fellow slashdot users.
What is this world coming to...
-
aphex
I Steal Music!
That's really scary ... I just realised I do the same!
...
You've got to wonder where the value is when the replies are more fun to read than the actual article
This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time.
Jeezus Christ, people, you all give Jon Katz a hard time about his views, but could any of you write a better review? Maybe some of you could, but this guy does have a regular review, and he does not rip off Roger Ebert. I'm sure he is just trying to give his opinion on a movie, and you're allowed to have your own, but damn, quit your bitching about him!