Gemma La Mana Jack Black (left) and
Colin Hanks star in the new movie "Orange
County."
“Orange County” Starring: Colin Hanks, Jack
Black, Chevy Chase Directed by: Jake Kasdan
Sometimes the orange falls miles from the tree. Tom Hanks, the
father of “Orange County” star Colin Hanks, would never
do a movie this terrible. But good ol’ Tom probably
wouldn’t have been able to save this dreary script either, as
the story has about as much depth as an Orange County cheerleader.
In the movie, Hanks plays Shaun, a young So-Cal surfer with high
hopes of going to Stanford to become a writer. When his high school
counselor sends the incorrect transcript to the Stanford admissions
office and Shaun gets his rejection letter four months later, his
world crumbles around him. His crazy family provides most of the
comedic attempts as each member wildly attempts to help him with
his situation. For the most part however, the characters
aren’t funny, just incredibly weird. Jack Black, however, who
plays Shaun’s lazy, lard-ass brother, is the movie’s
only semi-redeeming quality. But even his performance is subpar and
his character is mostly just gross and one-dimensional.
Nonetheless, Black deserves credit for the few chuckles the movie
does elicit. So if you want to see Orange County, go there.
Don’t waste your time with this tiresome drivel.
Suneal Kolluri
“I Am Sam” Starring: Sean Penn, Michelle
Pfeiffer, Laura Dern Directed by: Jessie Nelson
Dr. Seuss has never won an Academy Award, neither has Sean Penn,
but put the usually disaffected loner with the buoyant
children’s author and that just might change for one of them.
The brooding actor trades in his death row killer boots for a
character who lives his life one Beatles song at a time. He does it
without losing one ounce of the intensity or genuineness that has
made him worth watching for so many years. Penn’s Sam
provides the pulsing center to this emotionally reaffirming movie.
The film follows a mentally retarded and slightly autistic
man’s struggle to maintain custody of his daughter in the
midst of society questioning his validity as a father with an
illness. Penn’s co-stars are Michelle Pfeiffer, who gives a
surprisingly warm performance, and Dakota Fanning who is well-cast
as his big-eyed, precocious daughter. Also, featured prominently is
Laura Dern. As the movie delves into Sam’s world, the
audience, as well as the other characters, are confronted with
accepting Sam simply as a worthwhile carbon-based life form. The
themes are the simple ones: love, humanity and caffeine. And as in
any decent work of art, they inevitably become the most complex
ones. The filmmaking itself is straight-ahead. It forgoes flashy
cinematography and editing in favor of full frontal
characterization and brutal sentimentality. This could throw off
more pretentious filmgoers (ones who believe if it’s not
depressing or weird, it’s not good), but for everyone else it
is a refreshingly warm piece. Another thing it does surprisingly
well is unoffensively fill the soundtrack with Beatles covers. This
movie breaks no boundaries, is not revlutionary, but it is worth
seeing.
Anthony Bromberg