The Wackness Is Anything But

By Justin Velasquez
September 27, 2008

With the summer almost over it's nice timing to see The Wackness help ease the transition into autumn.  Wackness is the story of a lonely teenager's quest to answer questions he has about himself.   Set against the tortuous summer of '94 in NYC, the teenager receives a few life lessons that he may not be able to handle.

Newcomer Josh Peck plays the leading role of Luke Shapiro, a hip-hop lovin' high school graduate preparing for his eventual departure for college.  In spite of this career path, Luke has no real direction or goals.  He also has no friends and thus spends his summer selling pot.  One of his clients is maligned psychiatrist Dr. Jeffrey Squires (Oscar winner Ben Kingsley - in a strong performance). In exchange for marijuana, Squires sees Luke as a patient (just how maligned is that?).  Their therapy sessions surprisingly evolve into friendship, one in which the roles of teacher and pupil are indistinct, at best.  Luke's growing desire to become a man is ironically offset by Squires' growing fascination to become a teen again (watch him put the moves on co-star Mary-Kate Olsen!).  As a result both individuals learn a few new things about life - and these new lessons help them to flourish, both spiritually and emotionally. 

One aspect The Wackness explores very well is the theme of love - or lack of it.  Luke, being a typical teen, is looking for love and sees it in Jeffrey's step-daughter, Stephanie (Juno's Olivia Thirlby).  In spite of Squires objections, Luke and Stephanie begin a friendship that quickly blossoms into much more - or is it?  His hopes for love open up his heart & emotions to an unchartered path that could lead to disaster.  At the same time, Squires tries to save his failing marriage to Kristin (X-Men's Famke Janssen), his cold wife.  He, too, is lost in a sea of emotions, caught between what he wants and what he actually deserves.

The beauty of The Wackness lies within the parallels between young Luke and older Jeffrey.  Both men are at a crescendo in their lives by which the decisions they make will impact greatly upon their individual and collective futures.  Both Luke and Jeffrey see a bit of themselves in each other and that similarity forms what looks to be a lasting friendship.  One can easily chalk up their bond to their simple desire for weed, but as the film progresses you can see that their relationship is farther along than that. 

The Wackness is a terse, moving and humorous production.  The drama is very relatable and not too sappy and while the humor is not over-the-top or slapsticky.  Jonathan Levine directed from his own script and with this clearly shows great potential.  To complement the film is a great hip-hop soundtrack that will raise pulses and nod some heads.  Beyond that the music is a great example of the odd commonality between the two main characters and serves as a reminder of that genre's "golden age."

3 STARS