The 'Other' Superbad
by Flick Chick Vique
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Rocket Science munches 4 Red Vines for being a classy coming of age movie |
It’s crude, rude and hilarious. But while Jude Apatow’s coming of age comedy Superbad basks in the sunshine at the top of the box office, another little indie film is quietly mining laughs from the same fertile ground.
Rocket Science is the brainchild of director/writer Jeffrey Blitz, the man behind the 2002 critically acclaimed documentary Spellbound. In that Academy nominated film he explored the behind the scenes drama of the national spelling bee. This time around he tackles the world of high school debate teams in his first foray into scripted full-length features.
The result is a quirky comedy with dramatic edges. Reece Thompson (Smallville, 3 Moons Over Mildford) stars as Hal Hefner, an undersized, speech impaired teen. One day Hal’s quiet life is brought to a halt when the debate team’s queen bee, Ginny (Anna Kendrick) decides to pick Hal to be her protege and next award-winning partner. That she has decided to bestow this title to a kid who can’t even stammer out the word ‘pizza’ is of no consequence!
From this auspicious introduction, Hal is off and running on a full-blown crush! He works with Ginny around the clock and quickly learns the ins and outs of debate competition.
Of course things do not go as planned. After all, I did tell you that he couldn’t even bring himself to say the word ‘pizza’! So as you can imagine, hauling off to prove your argument in a world where kids talk with the speed of an auctioneer isn’t going to be pretty. Still you root for the impossible, only to have your heart crushed, as Hal does when he finds his female Svengali has been less than honest.
While Rocket Science doesn’t push the censorship boundaries, I should tell you that it is rated R for sexual content and language. I must say I was surprised to see that kind of rating as I thought it was a pretty innocent film. Sexual innuendo seemed to be about as risqué as it got. Reece Thompson and Anna Kendrick shine along with a very competent cast of actors you usually see on the small screen. And ‘in a world’ where voice over narration can get a bit weary, Dan Cashman’s orations add much depth and color.
I won’t tell you more than that, as the movie has many unpredictable twists and turns that I wouldn’t want to spoil for you. If you like coming of age movies this is one you definitely will want to add to your list. It is unlike Superbad in every way though it does have what I would call a glorified cameo from Superbad star Jonah Hill. (I was really surprised by his appearance!) If anything, you might find some gentle comparisons to Rushmore or Napoleon Dynamite. High praise, indeed!
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