One day Hollywood will call Jonathan Levine and ask him to direct a big budget film not based on his skills as a screenplay writer but as a director. For a first effort one must be impressed by Levine's skill at directing actors as well as working with the cinematographer. The Wackness has some beautiful visual scenes. But as a writer Levine has churned out but another typical Indie flick that will probably win a lot of awards at the film festivals but won't impress more sophisticated critics.
Levine's coming of age tale is set in 1994. He sets the story in that time period in order to pad his soundtrack with various hip hop songs that were coming out at that time. Actually the story could have been set in the present and all the references to that time period seem self-conscious.
Levine's characters are flat, bordering on one-dimensional. For the most part, they don't like themselves. The protagonist, Luke Shapiro, is continually seeing his mentor, a psychiatrist played by Ben Kingsley, and admitting that he is unhappy. Kingsley's character, Dr. Squires, is also unhappy, trapped in a loveless marriage. Sad sack characters are good for soap operas but do not make for good drama.
Levine should have taken a cue from 'The Sopranos' and modeled his shrink on the very believable and confident 'Dr. Melfi'. Instead, Dr. Squires is a loser who trades therapy sessions for marijuana which Luke provides him with. Even less thought out are the supporting characters such as Luke's father who has managed to get the family evicted due to some unexplained business dealings. Similarly, Dr. Squire's wife spends her time bemoaning her poor relationship with the goofy doctor. That relationship is also never explored.
Luke spends a good deal of time walking around the neighborhood pushing an ice cream cart loaded with marijuana. He does get arrested at one point but surprisingly not for selling marijuana (actually it's for making graffiti along with his unstable mentor, Dr. Squires).
The main part of the story involves Luke's romance with Stephanie, Squires's step-daughter, convincingly played by Oliva Thirlby. She has the best part in the script, playing a cynical and amoral vixen who beds Luke and then discards him for the next heavier player that comes along.
There are no surprises at the end of 'The Wackness'. Luke takes his lumps and heads for college, older but wiser. He manages to also set up Dr. Squires with an acquaintance who the writer hints will be a stabilizing influence on him in the future.
Despite all the clichés, Levine is a director who I am certain will go on to take on more challenging projects in the future.
Levine's coming of age tale is set in 1994. He sets the story in that time period in order to pad his soundtrack with various hip hop songs that were coming out at that time. Actually the story could have been set in the present and all the references to that time period seem self-conscious.
Levine's characters are flat, bordering on one-dimensional. For the most part, they don't like themselves. The protagonist, Luke Shapiro, is continually seeing his mentor, a psychiatrist played by Ben Kingsley, and admitting that he is unhappy. Kingsley's character, Dr. Squires, is also unhappy, trapped in a loveless marriage. Sad sack characters are good for soap operas but do not make for good drama.
Levine should have taken a cue from 'The Sopranos' and modeled his shrink on the very believable and confident 'Dr. Melfi'. Instead, Dr. Squires is a loser who trades therapy sessions for marijuana which Luke provides him with. Even less thought out are the supporting characters such as Luke's father who has managed to get the family evicted due to some unexplained business dealings. Similarly, Dr. Squire's wife spends her time bemoaning her poor relationship with the goofy doctor. That relationship is also never explored.
Luke spends a good deal of time walking around the neighborhood pushing an ice cream cart loaded with marijuana. He does get arrested at one point but surprisingly not for selling marijuana (actually it's for making graffiti along with his unstable mentor, Dr. Squires).
The main part of the story involves Luke's romance with Stephanie, Squires's step-daughter, convincingly played by Oliva Thirlby. She has the best part in the script, playing a cynical and amoral vixen who beds Luke and then discards him for the next heavier player that comes along.
There are no surprises at the end of 'The Wackness'. Luke takes his lumps and heads for college, older but wiser. He manages to also set up Dr. Squires with an acquaintance who the writer hints will be a stabilizing influence on him in the future.
Despite all the clichés, Levine is a director who I am certain will go on to take on more challenging projects in the future.