The Wackness (2008)

Written and Directed by Jonathan Levine

Nostalgic period films are rare in today's film market, mostly because they tend to be smaller, original, character-driven films, and with the success of mega-blockbusters like The Dark Knight, it might seem to the regular moviegoing populace that there isn't enough room for both types of movies to exist. That's why I'm overjoyed to report that there is room for both, and that while a film like The Wackness might not get the same recognition, or even close to the same size release, it is the type of counter-programming the moviegoing world needs to see when they aren't watching over-marketed action films.

The Wackness is the story of Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck), a pot peddling recent high school graduate that isn't sure what to make of his life in New York City in 1994. He tries to find solace in his customer/confidant/psychologist Dr. Jeffery Squires (Ben Kingsley) and just wants Dr. Squires to tell him that everything will be fine, what he is going through is normal. Unfortunately for Luke, Dr. Squires isn't your typical shrink. After all, he does let Luke pay him for his sessions in marijuana, so immediately his legitimacy is called into question.

The triangle is completed when we learn that Luke met Dr. Squires through Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby), Squires' step-daughter, whom Luke also sells marijuana to. Luke has a serious crush on Stephanie, while he also deals with his feelings of inadequacy, rejection, and teenage rebellion. When he is paged for a party after graduation Luke thinks he's finally made it, instead, he is merely there to supply the party with weed, the kid throwing the party insists he hides out so no one sees that he was there, the loser that he is.

However, upon spotting Stephanie there, Luke decides to stay, where he watches everyone stare at him and wonder why he's still there. And so Luke's summer begins. As he makes progress in Dr. Squire's office, Luke realizes that maybe Dr. Squires isn't quite right himself, having never thought before that maybe a pot smoking psychologist isn't the best person to be taking advice from in the first place.

Over the summer, as Luke deals with his unstable homelife, his inadequate parents, and his personal lonliness, all the while peddling his weed throughout New York City. One day he runs across Stephanie while he's out and about, and since no one from their school stayed in the city for the summer, Stephanie and Luke strike up a friendship.

At the same time, Luke strikes up a personal relationship with Dr. Squires, who is facing his own personal crisis as his marriage to Stephanie's mother is dissolving right before his eyes. As he realizes that pills and avoidance can't change his happiness level, Dr. Squires and Luke begin to set out on a spiritual journey together to find out what it is that has made them so unhappy in their respective situations.

Ben Kingsley as Dr. Squires is a real revelation. As he often does, Kingsley doesn't merely hide behind a character, he truly lives it onscreen. The bulk of the film is about how these two characters are from such different places, at such different times in their lives, but how they have connected and recognized each other as kindred spirits in such a strange time. The two bond over their mutual feeling of being lost, how everything they have come to believe about their lives might possibly be a big lie. For Dr. Squires, it is easier, he has lived, loved, lost and still managed to survive. For Luke, the uncertainty is harder, he doesn't see a light at the end of the tunnel, so the two points of view connect in their search for something more.

Luke's family life is what leaves him feeling lonely; Dr. Squires feels the same way, but he is forced to deal with the fact that he is at least partly responsible for his predicament. They squabble over their individual relationships with Stephanie, Dr. Squires tells Luke he is no good for Stephanie, but at the same time he actually knows that it is Stephanie who is no good for Luke. Meanwhile he has to deal with his wife Kristin (Famke Janssen) who, like Stephanie, is no good for him. However, this realization is harder for him to make since it would be an admittance of failure.

As Luke longs to be with Stephanie, he copes with it by spending time with Dr. Squires, who he enlists to help him in his marijuana selling operation. Luke also has to deal with his parents, who are good people that just can't seem to do right.

The story is a great coming of age tale set in a strange time period, that being the first few months of a Guiliani-cleaned New York City. The two main characters have to deal with the changes that are happening around them, and how it affects them. The script is realistic and true to the characters, it isn't always right, but that's what this film is about, coming to terms with the things you cannot change.

The soundtrack is a pitch perfect portrait of life in New York at the time, setting the tone of the streets with tracks from the Wu Tang Clan, and a then brand new Notorious B.I.G. Every other technical aspect of the film, the settings, the wardrobe, and the cinematography all speak honestly about the time and place in which the story takes place.

By the end of the film, the audience comes to identify not only with the characters, but also their plight in the world, and understands where exactly they fit in, if anywhere, to their surroundings. Often period films are set in the times they are set purely as a plot point, or to display a certain notion, but not this film. This film is set in 1994 not only because the director obviously remembers it fondly, but because it is the only time in which this story could take place. This is the male version of Juno, only the story is not about a process, it centers on the characters, their surroundings, and how these elements all fit together. In a time when it seems like characters are often the secondary focus of films, this is a breath of fresh air, a close examination of what exactly makes this environment tick and why. You'll be hard pressed to find a better film this year, as soon as you get the chance, check out The Wackness.

9.3/10