Slashdot Mirror
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.
Ah yes, I remember the trailer for this movie. Specifically, I remember it delaying my viewing of LoTR for another 60 seconds. I will never forgive them. Bastards.
--My purpose set, my will defined. Caress the air, embrace the skies.
I guess it may surprise some, but in most cases nerd != 1 dimensional tech person. I sort of like the fact that slashdot runs stories on a range of topics that typically appeal to people that also tend to like "geeky" things.
I still think it's interesting that many types people interested in a given topic, also typically share an interest in another seemingly unrelated topic.
For example, slashdot typically runs significant stories on space exploration / physics topics. What does linux and open source have to do with NASA? Nothing really, but for whatever reason, it seems like the majority of linux enthusiasts are also interested in physics / science stuff.
I guess I'm way, way off topic on the movie review, but I guess my point is something like, "if you don't like a story headline, don't read it." It's most likely posted here because it will appeal to a number of other slashdotters.