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| Orange County
Year: 2002
Classification: Comedy
Directed:
- Jake Kasdan
Actors/Actresses:
- Colin Hanks
- Jack Black
- Carly Pope
There's no "ecscaping" Orange County
I have to admit that I didn't really expect much from "Orange County", but having now watched it several times I can happily say that my expectations were entirely wrong. Not only is "Orange County" a very funny movie, but it is also a biting satire and a touching look at family, albeit through absurdist lenses. Moreover, the DVD is a great value featuring quite a few extras and well laid out, appealing menus.
"Orange County" presents the tale of Shaun Brumder (Colin Hanks), and his relentless quest for a spot at Stanford, which he views as the key stepping stone in his burgeoning career as a writer. Helping (or at least attempting to while frequently hindering) him are a superb ensemble cast that includes another newcomer, Schuyler Fisk, as Shaun's girlfriend, Catherine O'Hara and John Lithgow as his parents and Jack Black who brilliantly plays his drug addled, lunatic brother. When you combine them with cameos from Harold Ramis (the dean of admissions), Chevy Chase (Shaun's principal), Ben Stiller (a fireman) and Kevin Kline (the author/professor whose work inspired Shaun) you have the makings of a great movie.
The cast doesn't disappoint, but it is the younger actors who really make the movie. Hanks shows all of comic timing and sensibility his father displayed in his early years as a comedic actor and Fisk shows a down-to-earth sensibility and honesty that could have easily been treacly but comes across as sincere. Black, however, steals the show; the stoner role has been done to death, but somehow he manages to inject a manic edge to it that makes it fresh. A perfect example is when Black, wearing nothing but underwear and socks, stops to take off said socks before jumping into a pool to save his brother from drowning.
What elevates "Orange County" above any other teen movie, however, is the biting satire that fills every scene. By setting the movie in Orange County, and then populating it with clichés, the directors have created a film that takes a swipe at the very culture that spawned it. Moreover, it is no coincidence that Shaun ultimately finds himself through his flawed, but devoted, friends and family. While they may be caricatures, they are still the only people whose emotions are honest; and what is more important to a writer than emotion?
My only complaint about this film is that Chase and Stiller are rather underutilized. Chase in particular is perfectly positioned to take a larger role in the film, but is rather jarringly ignored after one brief, but classic scene. Likewise, Stiller, who is one of the few actors who can match Black's mania, is oddly subdued in his appearance.
However, these are minor complaints about an otherwise superb film. "Orange County" manages to be both funny and heartfelt at the same time, as it deftly blends an engaging story with excellent performances from as strong a cast as one is likely to find. There are a lot of movies with funny jokes that get watched once and then tosse
A very funny movie!
Oh, what a delightful movie "Orange County" is, with its wonderful brand of situational humor and use of Hollywood's underrated actors who bring out the best in the material. One could almost call this film the anti-"American Pie," considering the PG-13 rating and its somewhat toned down brand of comedy, but it's just as humorous as that previous winner, and comes out as a terrific exercise in non-stop laughs.
The story takes place in Orange County, California, where high school senior Shaun Brumder (newcomer Colin Hanks) spends his days cutting class to go surfing with his three best friends. As his story goes, his friend's drowning death while surfing in a tropical storm leads him to change his goals; after finding a popular book on the beach and reading it 52 times in a single month, he makes the decision of becoming a good writer, something he feels he cannot achieve while living where he does.
And who could blame him? His mother, Cindy (Catherine O'Hara), spends her days living in a drunken stupor, the product of a marriage for material wealth who wants nothing more than for Shaun to remain at home. Her husband is an elderly man who requires a wheelchair and a daily dose of various medications to keep him docile, while Shaun's brother Lance (Jack Black) is a connoisseur of illegal substances. His father (John Lithgow), who divorced his mother for a 20-year-old toothpick, is appalled by his son's future plans.
This leaves him one option: going to college out of town, and so he applies to Stanford, a school he yearns for with every fiber of his being. After he is rejected through a comedic series of mishaps and misunderstandings, he becomes desperate, and so he, his girlfriend Ashley (Schuyler Fisk), and Lance drive out to Stanford to set things straight.
What will follow in the second half of the film is a very funny sequence of events that are refreshingly humorous and sometimes meaningful. Such scenes as the dinner at which Shaun attempts to impress a prestigious Stanford couple (played with great gusto by Garry Marshall and Dana Ivey), and that involving the Dean of Admissions and a bottle of Lance's "pain killers," are nothing short of side-splitting, some of the funniest moments in a movie in quite some time. Those looking for something in the vein of the recent outpouring of gross-out flicks will be disappointed in "Orange County's" reluctance to go over the edge, but it does succeed in tickling one's funny bone.
The best aspect of this film is its shining cast, which includes the best work of some untapped resources that have been missing in action for years. O'Hara and Lithgow turn in quirky, delightful performances as Shaun's parents, while newcomer Hanks makes his mark on Hollywood as teenage boy surrounded by insanity. Jack Black practically steals the show as Lance, taking a turn from his character's in last year's "Shallow Hal" by portraying one of the most detestable human beings in a most enlighten
Delightful comedy that everyone should see!
Whenever Jack Black's name can be found on a movie, you know you're in for some genuine laughs that usually result in you on the floor holding your chest til it hurts. Black is this way in this movie, and, unlike some of his other movies (Saving Silverman, for example), he is backed by a talented cast that knows how to generate some laughs. While the script seems to be a bit weak, which is starting to become an unfortunate trend in Holywood movies nowadays, the cast definitely makes up for it.
Basically, Shaun Brumder (Colin Hanks), is trying to get into Standford University to become a professional writer, but his dysfunctional family and moronic guidance counselor seem to be preventing him from doing so. Now, I've been hearing a lot of critics complaining about Colin's style of acting, and quite frankly, I don't see what all the fuss is about. Colins, for a new actor, is great in this movie, kinda like my brother and I are around our family (he plays the whole "why does all this crap happen to me; God must hate me" role very well, and it's hilarious). I especially like the scene where he argues with his guidance counselor, exclaiming "because you are a moron!" when she doesn't quite grasp his frustration with sending the wrong transcript to Stanford. Lily Tomin, who plays this guidance counselor, is hilarious the brief time she is on screen, and made the confrontation between her and Shaun that much more enjoyable. Shuan's family, however, takes the cake in this movie.
Like I said earlier, your chest will hurt from laughing whenever Black, as Shaun's stoner brother, is on screen (though he could have been on more). He nearly kills Shaun and his girlfriend while driving down the road high on drugs and discussing his job idea to open up a Hawiian clothing store (hilarious scene!). Catherine O' Hara plays Shaun's drunken mom who wants the world to revolve around her; she also does a brilliant job with her given material. Jo
efers to Linus as "the only livi
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Buy Orange County at Amazon.com
Buy posters at Allposters.com
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