It's the summer of 1994 in New York City in Josh Levine's The Wackness, a surprisingly tender coming of age film about a white teenage drug dealer. Mayor Giuliani is cracking down on crime, hip hop is the music of choice, and the hip kids on screen have their own vernacular of the time: "dope" is good, "wack" is bad. There's also "mad crazy" and "word" is an acceptable response to almost anything.
Our hapless hero, recent high school graduate Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck), is just trying to get by. Despite the unmistakeably Jewish last name and the promise of college in the fall, he sells weed, enormous sacks of it purchased from large black men carrying guns.
At first, the drugs seem seem like a hobby; later, Luke increases sales to help his parents who are facing eviction. Pushing an Italian ice cart around Manhattan, he sells to both varied strangers and also his regulars, which include the constantly spinning hippie chick (Mary-Kate Olsen, who unfortunately is barely in the film, despite one buzzed about make-out session with Sir Ben Kingsley), the always quirky and sad Jane Adams, and his high school crush Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby). Perhaps most important of all, Luke is trading product for therapy with Dr. Squires (Kinglsey), the step father of Luke's love interest.
Ben Kinsgley, responsible therapist, in "The Wackness"
Small lovely moments abound in The Wackness -- all of them featuring Thirlby, currently best-known as Ellen Page's friend in Juno . As Stephanie, she captures Luke's heart and also the camera's; it's too bad the film isn't about her. Instead, the story revolves around the unlikely friendship between men: young Luke and his unfortunate mentor Dr. Squires. Neither of these guys seems particularly intelligent - and that's where the film goes wrong. Flawed heroes are a fine and desirable thing, but they need to earn our sympathy. It's difficult to muster much empathy for Luke with his limited vocabulary, or Squires, who chooses to be suicidal on Fire Island, perhaps the loveliest place on the Eastern seaboard.
The Wackness (2008)
- The Wackness wins 2008 Sundance Film Festival Audience Awarda
- The Wackness photo gallery
- The Wackness trailer
Directed by: Jonathan Levine
Produced by: Keith Calder, Felipe Marino (II), Joe Neurauter
Running Time: 95 min.
Release Date: July 3rd, 2008 (limited)
MPAA Rating: R for pervasive drug use, language and some sexuality.
Distributors: Sony Pictures Classics
