
Genres: ComedyRomanceDr
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Mary-Kate Olsen, David Wohl, Famke Janssen, Jane Adams, Olivia Thirlby, Joanna Merlin
Available Quality: DivX, Hi Def, iPod, Hi Def
Director(s): Jonathan Levine
Country: USA
Year: 2008
IMDB Rating: 7
Friendship, love, and coming of age in New York City, summer of 1994. Luke Shapiro has just graduated from high school, sells marijuana, and trades pot for therapy from a psychologist, Dr. Jeffrey Squires. Luke is attracted to a classmate, Stephanie, whos out of his league and Squires step-daughter. By July, hes hanging out with Stephanie, taking her on his rounds selling pot out of an ice-cream pushcart. Then things take a turn. In the background, Squires and his wife as well as Lukes parents are having their troubles.
Movie_Muse_Reviews (12 May 2013)
Coming-of-age stories come in all forms, though one would expect a NewYork City drug dealer at the height of hip-hop in the mid '90s to havealready experienced a loss of innocence. For Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck),however, dealing pot is just a summer job, and for all his street cred,he's a lonely dude unexperienced in the ways of love.Jonathan Levine's "The Wackness" tells that typical story of a lastsummer before college, but clichés don't run wild thanks to are-calibrated the moral compass. Something's off with each of his threemain characters; they're not the most likable or at the least morallysound, which provides a challenge for the actors in terms of generatingsympathy.Sir Ben Kingsley seems to really enjoy that challenge. He plays Dr.Squires, Luke's shrink whom Luke pays in pot. Unconventional doesn'tquite describe Squires; everything about Kingsley's performance feelsunpredictable and spontaneous, but deeply rooted in a mid-life crisis.He projects a desire to be in Luke's place in the way he offers advice,which sometimes is misguided and sometimes spot-on. Both, however,share loneliness at different stages in life and therefore becomefriends.As much as Dr. Squires urges Luke to sow his oats, however, he alsowants Luke to stay away from his step daughter Stephanie (OliviaThirlby) for unclear but certainly hypocritical reasons. A popular girlwith inattentive parents, Stephanie's well-versed in many things,including boys, but she takes interest in Luke's charms. Theirrelationship doesn't necessarily feel right in the fairy tale sense,but it does feel true-to-life because more often than not, there's adiscrepancy in the amount of life experience two people have,especially at 18.This dictates the essence of Levine's message, though one wrapped in acomplicated shell built of excessive drug use and morally misguidedactivities. For Levine, coming of age is about accumulating experience,both positive and negative, the "dopeness" and the "wackness" asStephanie tells Luke. The challenge is finding the right perspective,not unlike the perspective with which we need to view some of thecharacters and their questionable activities in order to appreciate thefilm.~Steven CVisit my site at http://moviemusereviews.com
(12 May 2013)
Really good movie...Just watched "The Wackness" and I really enjoyed it. Josh Peck lands his 1st lead role in a film and does a great job, however I thought Ben Kingsley stole the show as Dr. Jeffrey Squires, M.D.The movie is fun and fast paced, with alot of real life coming of age drama in it. A great soundtrack and some nice New York City scenery. Mary Kate Olsen also plays a small part in the movie.Dr. Squires offers up some great advice towards the end of the movie when he says, "never trust the following people"-people who don't smoke potpeople who don't like Bob Dylanpeople that don't like the beachpeople that don't like dogsI can personally only agree with the last two, but I thought it was a hilarious & touching part of the movieDon't miss out on "The Wackness"....
(05 May 2013)
THE STORY: Luc Shapiro is a teenage drug dealer in Manhattan, circa 1994. He is friends with his pot smoking shrink, and wants his step daughter. THE GOOD: The music in the film is great. It's the kind of music you never hear in movies. Also, the acting is great. Ben Kingsley makes a very unbelievable character on the page, very believable on screen. Also, Olivia Thirlby is gorgeous. THE OKAY: The story is very formulaic and it definitely feels 'Sundance'y. It's a cliche 'coming of age' tale and it really does nothing new with that.THE BAD: Famke Jansen has nothing to do in this movie, but she still sucks. Every time she's on screen, the movie comes to a halt.GRADE: Rent It.
(05 May 2013)
Item was as promised. A coming of age story of a young man in Manhattan. Well-acted. Bitter sweet. I highly recommend.
quelindofilms (05 May 2013)
This might get me into trouble with the film elite, but I found thisfilm so much more real and absorbing than David Gordon Green's "All TheReal Girls." They both deal with young men coming of age thanks tofirst love, but this film has such superior performances and writing.Expertly directed and stacked with some of the best hip hop of thenineties, it's a film that is hilarious, sad and moving, populated withgreat characters you'll enjoy spending a couple of hours with.I really wish a film like this had found me in my teenage years,because it's so refreshing and honest. It's nice to watch a movie thatcelebrates the time honored art of owning and embracing the pain thatmakes you who you are.People whine and bitch about the glut of hollow Hollywood formulaflooding the marketplace, but a great little film like The Wacknesswith a strong voice is not getting the support it deserves.The entire theater loved it, as did my friends I brought along who knewnothing about it.Do yourself a favor and go see The Wackness. You won't be disappointed.
dee.reid (04 May 2013)
"The Wackness" is an amusingly clever film from writer-directorJonathan Levine. It's a comedy, it's a coming-of-age story, it's a lovestory, it's about hip-hop, it's about selling pot and it's also aboutlearning to see things in a more positive light, seeing things in "thedopeness" as opposed to "the wackness." It has a cast of fresh youngfaces mixed with seasoned pros. It's just a fun time all around.In the summer of 1994 in New York City, the girls were still fly, themusic was still dope, and Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck of TV's "Drake &Josh") is a lonely pot-dealing teenager running around the streets ofNYC applying his trade in a beat-up ice cream cart and boombox by hisside the summer before he heads off to the university. Between sellingpot, dealing with his bickering parents and off-beat sessions with histherapist Dr. Jeff Squires (Ben Kingsley, whose Dr. Squires probablyneeds more help than Luke does), he is also carrying on a buddingromantic relationship with the man's party-girl stepdaughter Stephanie(Olivia Thirlby). And somewhere in there, Stephanie shows Luke to seethe brighter side of life in NYC, the dopeness, as opposed to thewackness side of life in NYC."The Wackness" is one of the better coming-of-age stories to come outin recent years. I guess it's because of the movie's freshness and itsfirst-rate performances, and its music, which includes beats fromold-school hip-hop legends such as A Tribe Called Quest, DJ Jazzy Jeff& the Fresh Prince, Nas, Method Man (who also appears as Luke'sJamaican drug connection Percy), the late Notorious B.I.G., and Wu-TangClan. (And there's even a few passing references to the then-recentsuicide of tragic Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain.) I know that I'mprobably going to have to find this soundtrack somewhere. Every song onthe soundtrack, while fitting of the time and place, also fits neatlyinto the background of every scene where it's featured; like when "TheWorld Is Yours" by Nas plays as Luke fantasizes on the subway, "Can IKick It?" by A Tribe Called Quest plays as Luke deals pot around thecity and Squires tries to kick his drug habit, and Wu-Tang Clan's"Tearz" plays as Squires goes on a bender at his beach house.I think I found a new screen hero in Josh Peck. Josh Peck is great in aperformance that makes good use of his innate nerdy-boy looks, his eyeswhich are continually at half-mast, and perpetually skewed view of life("the wackness"). It's also interesting to note that as he is a whiteJewish teenager who has a deep affinity for hip-hop music (or justmusic in general), he still listens to cassette tapes as opposed to themore technologically proficient compact discs (CDs). I connected withhim the most, probably because I felt like him so much, especially inhis relationship with Stephanie. The development of their relationshipis portrayed as a gradual process that really lets us get to know andunderstand both characters and their feelings toward each other.I also really like how they spend so much time together during thesummer of '94, and how she even instructs him in the ways oflove-making, eventually leading to one of the most tender love scenesI've ever seen in which someone loses their virginity to someone thatthey truly love. (How many Hollywood sex scenes between teenagers wouldbe so true-to-life in the fact that the characters don't actually getit right the first time?) Also, there's Ben Kingsley, who's just greatand phenomenally funny as the problematic shrink who's intent on livinglife to its fullest and probably needs more help than any of hisclients.OK, so I had a lot of fun watching this movie. The music was dopebeyond compare; it took me back to 1994 when hip-hop was stillproducing dope beats and still had some dignity. Music in general wasgood back then, period, not boring and over-produced like it is now.And that's also what makes this movie so appealing: the nostalgiafactor. A lot of pot-shots are taken at then-NYC Mayor Rudy Giulianiand his cracking-down on the city's drug trade. It just really takesyou back to simpler times, "the dopeness."I finally see "the dopeness" in "the wackness."10/10
(04 May 2013)
a good film for all those unlikely outsiders...it's funny to finally be of an age where people are making coming of age stories about my youth. An ideal film for those who found themselves growing up in the mid 90's. Very funny, very honest, very much in touch with itself. You will most certainly find value here. Enjoy.
(03 May 2013)
This movie was great! It took me back and I loved it! I would recommend this to anyone who was a teen or young adult in the 90's or a parent of a teen in the 90's. It was so accurate had me laughing out loud. I actually had the same dress as one of the actresses on there lol. I am definitely glad I watch this one. My dh also loved it we are definitely going to get the soundtrack and the movie.
dave-sturm (30 April 2013)
This movie is so New York. Set mostly in the Upper East side (theswankiest part of Manhattan), is is steeped in the language, mores andattitudes of that peculiar American tribe called New Yorkers. Thesepeople sweat stuff that most folks don't give a second thought to, butthey blithely disregard things that others would worry about. They areamazingly blunt. They drink, use drugs and smoke cigarettes (teenagersare welcome in any bar). They have sex in phone booths.Set in the summer of 1994, the movie's main characters are a confusedhigh school grad, Luke Shapiro, who's making money selling pot out of arefreshment cart in Central Park, and his therapist, played in BenKingsley, who's basically an old hippie. This would be an amusingcharacter study all by itself but for the third main character, playedby Olivia Thirlby (who played Juno's best friend Leah), who is both thedoctor's stepdaughter and Shapiro's clandestine love interest.The dialogue is killer. The soundtrack is dead on. The acting is sharp.It's both funny and sad.To writer-director Jonathan Levine: Please, sir, may I have some more.
John Smith (30 April 2013)
I was having some doubts about this movie before i watched it, a dramaset in the summer of 1994 on the streets of New York about a teenagedrug dealer who is into hip-hop, that definitely doesn't seem one ofthe most interesting plots i ever saw, in fact i thought that thismovie could be a bit boring and unenjoyable, mainly because i'm notexactly into 90's drug stuff and hip-hop. Fortunately, every doubt ihad about this movie got shattered pretty soon as i started watching'The Wackness'.And that title suits this movie pretty well, it can be consideredpretty wacked by any person. I thought that this movie gets title from"wacked" drug dealer Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck), but i soon saw that thecharacter who is the most wacked of them all is the psychiatrist, Dr.Jeffrey Squires (Ben Kingsley), he grants this movie a "comedy" tag. Ican't remember when was the usage of profanity (F-words mainly) thisfunny and quite necessary in a "drama" movie like it was in 'TheWackness'. Soundtrack to this movie is good, i'm not much into hip-hopmusic, although i don't despise it, and hip-hop in this movie istop-notch as far as my taste in that genre is concerned. There is alsoa great conflict between music genres in this movie, as Luke Shapiro isas he says "loyal" to hip-hop, much older Jeffrey Squires prefers goodold classic rock (e.g. Pink Floyd, David Bowie), and i think on the endthis movie sends a great message about music: don't limit your musicexperience on one genre, always be open to new experiences, new genresand new styles. That is well shown as we see on the end that both ofthe lead characters enjoy listening to music they weren't familiarwith, Luke Shapiro made hip-hop mix for Squires and Squires madeclassic rock mix for Shapiro. The "outro" song going from last scene tocredits is very great and good for the end of this movie, 'All TheYoung Dudes' by Mott The Hoople. So what's the reason i'm giving thisamazing movie 8/10? Well, because at some points there is a lack ofdrama and entertainment, and sex scenes aren't convincing.Absolutely everyone should give this coming-of-age drama-comedy-romancemovie a chance and see it, and then after you do you can decide if it's"doped" or "wacked" or something else.
larry-411 (27 April 2013)
"The Wackness," director Jonathan Levine's eagerly-awaited followupfeature to "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane," premiered at the 2008Sundance Film Festival and was immediately acquired by Sony PicturesClassics. I wasn't able to catch it at the time. Fortunately, "TheWackness" was presented in a special midnight screening not on theofficial SXSW Film Festival schedule. It was a special treat and quitean unexpected surprise."The Wackness" is basically a two-man show, with Ben Kingsley and JoshPeck as psychiatrist Dr. Squires and his patient Luke Shapiro. Thetwist? One deals drugs and the other takes them. But guess who buys andwho sells? And did I mention that Luke not only doles out weed to hisdoctor but also dates his daughter? Ahh yes...the plot thickens. YetSquires and Shapiro forge an unlikely friendship not unlike two collegebuddies -- the boy is just a bit too mature for his age and the man abit too immature, and they meet at about the same intellectual level.Penned by director Levine, it's a complex storyline but "The Wackness"is ultimately a character-driven piece. Kingsley's performance is atour de farce in a daring and risky role unlike anything we've seen --this ain't your father's Gandhi. Josh Peck, best known as television'sJosh of "Josh & Drake" and to indie lovers as George, the tormentedvictim in "Mean Creek," is the biggest surprise here. He carries thisfilm on his shoulders like a veteran. Olivia Thirlby ("Snow Angels,""Juno") is delightful as the object of Luke's affection.Production values belie the film's modest budget, especially given thecost of a location period piece -- "The Wackness" is set in New YorkCity 1994. Music of the era naturally provides the backdrop for theduo's drug-dealing days and party nights. Drugs (selling and taking)seem to be ubiquitous in the films I've seen here at SXSW and "TheWackness'" overindulgence can be hard to watch at times. But what couldhave strayed into a silly variation on "Dazed & Confused" (or therecent "Charlie Bartlett") is, instead, a touching coming-of-age storyas relevant today as ever. The fact that the film remains grounded insemi-reality is a tribute to the talents of Kingsley and Peck in thehands of director Jonathan Levine. This director is a force to bereckoned with now that he has "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane" and "TheWackness" under his belt.
tieman64 (27 April 2013)
Jonathan Levine's "The Wackness" stars Josh Peck as Luke, a Manhattanteen growing up in a mid 1990s New York. Levine's tone is one ofnostalgic romanticism, with its washed out visual palette, sun-flares,slow-mo sequences and lyrical camera-work. Trinkents of 1994 arelittered about (mix tapes, hip-hop tracks, 90s fashion, cumbersomestreet vending cars, Biggie, Method Man, VHS, our hero who blows airinto the bottom of his Nintendo cartridge), such that the film at timesfeels like, say, a filmed version of the Smashing Pumkin's 1979; an odeto adolescence lost. This is a pre-Giuliani New York, before mayoralmuscle cleaned up the streets and gentrified the colourful city.The plot? Luke's a troubled teen who sells drugs from his vending cart.One of his clients is Jeff Squires (Ben Kingsley), a psychologist towhom he sells weed in exchange for therapy sessions. Both charactersturn to drugs, sex and booze as a means of escaping what Luke calls"The Wackness", the tribulations of their daily lives. Both eventually,however, opt to live lives which joyfully take in the good with thebad, a clean up effort which is mirrored to Giuliani's purging of NewYork City and Times Square. Much of the film revolves around Luke's budding romance with Stephanie(Olivia Thirlby), Squires' stepdaughter. He's rejected by her, butlearns to embrace this wackness rather than nosediving further into aplacating haze of marijuana. Many of Squire's speeches equate sex withdrug addiction, and the film even goes so far as to equate the wackness bad stuff which happens  with a failure to score, be it sexually ora stash of drugs. If all humans are creatures of addiction, Luke muses,governed by biochemical rushes, then maybe the wackness is a goodthing. Nobody wants to be high all the time.While its tone is handled better (or more interestingly) than istypical of this genre  nice near-sepia cinematography, 90s streetslang, another weird performance by Kingsley, a coming of age plotwhich juggles well sap and heart  it's actor Josh Peck who makes thefilm work. Peck's a troubled child actor who's himself battling obesityand drug addiction problems. With his forlorn eyes, mouth breathing,odd facial mannerisms, unconventional style of line-reading, mix ofvulnerability, depression and his sexily wounded puppy-dog look, thefilm wouldn't work at all without him.8.5/10  Worth one viewing.
Kaitlyn (25 April 2013)
This was an excellent movie the acting was good and the storey line was even better. as long as you can get Josh Pecks "good boy" image out of your head I WOULD SEE IT AGAIN
Caitlyn B (25 April 2013)
It was so good! it was one of those movies that you can watch over and over again. Okay and who thought JOSH WAS THAT GOOD OF AN ACTOR! he and the whole cast were great!
William (22 April 2013)
I loved the casting, their acting, the story, and everything about it. I wish I would have been able to see it in theaters and It had more advertising!
Enchorde (21 April 2013)
Recap: Luke is depressed, kind of loner, virgin and worrying about hisparents constant arguing and financial troubles. So he goes to see ashrink, Dr Jeffrey Squires, who fortunately for Luke accepts marijuana,something Luke as a small time dealer got plenty of, as payment fortheir sessions. Problem is, Squires is probably just as depressed asLuke. His marriage is practically over and he has lost touch with hiswife completely. He is also depressed over his lost youth and uses tomuch prescription drugs. The both of them form an odd friendship, notclear who is the adult one. And finally Luke falls for Squiresstepdaughter, Stephanie.Comments: A peculiar movie, mostly with the characteristics of a dramabut quite a few elements of an odd humor and comedy in it. Especiallythe character of Squires and his manners are often both irrational andabsurd, and oddly funny. Not at all a movie that I laughed at, or with,but a movie that I couldn't help smiling at at times.Josh Peck plays the lead as Luke, but it is the veteran Ben Kingsleythat really steals the show as Squires. It is indeed an odd character,but somehow he manages to pull it off as completely believable, anddespite his massive faults, someone I actually sympathized with. Thecharacter of Squires and Kingsley's portrayal of him makes it all worthseeing this movie, even though the other parts are a bit slow.Something to see on a slow day.6/10
Lemniscate433 (18 April 2013)
Josh Peck, going away from his stupid behavior as being a step-brotherin Drake and Josh, and entering into a stupid behavior as being a drugdealer, virgin, and a ghetto rat in the middle of New York City.Do not take the little blurb about Josh Peck to seriously, I kid Peck.I thought he acted well in this movie along with the other supportingactors. What really attracted me to this movie was Ben Kingsley (Ghandiand Shindlers' List) and that told me that something was good about themovie like any other moviegoer.So this film takes place during the mid 90s were a few things werehappening. Rudy Guliani was just elected mayor and everyone was againstthe way he acted as a mayor. Also, hip-hop was really flowing throughthe streets with the younger crowd. Two occurrences that were the mainbackground of this film. Oh, yeah, and the large amount of scenes ofdrug use. The Wackness is about a kid named Luke who just graduatedfrom high school. He makes his money by selling weed to men and womenaround NYC. But then he comes across a customer, Dr. Squires, whohappens to be a therapist and makes a deal with Luke: Luke gives someweed to Dr. Squires and Dr. Squires will dedicate time out of his lifeto help Luke become an overall good human being. After this deal ismade, Luke goes to his graduation ceremony and he sees Dr. Squires'sstepdaughter, Stephanie, and Luke develops a crush with her. In thispart of the film, we understand that Luke is a virgin like I saidbefore and having a crush with a girl, being a virgin, and havingothers make fun of you because you can not get laid equals to Luke andhis romance with Stephanie in this movie. And I say this once: do notwatch this film if you like romantic movies, because in my opinion,this is not a romantic movie.And I will leave the story at that and let the rest of the movie unfoldfor you. Now this movie had some good qualities such as Josh Peck'sacting. Now, I do not know about you, but I grew up watching Drake andJosh and seeing Josh Peck act like a total goof-ball. So to see himtake on a role of being a kid in the middle of the urban streets of NewYork City was surprising from the time I saw the ad in the subway trainto the moment I finished this movie. Also, I enjoyed some of the themesthey talked about such as young love and having to grow up. Thosethemes were well displayed. But there were a few errors in this filmthat I have to address. For one thing, I do not know why they have toput a character acted by Mary Kate Olsen because this just gives proofthat she can only act as Michelle in Full House and that is pretty muchit. She was basically one of Luke's weed customers in this film and allshe does is dance around stoned and act like a pointless head case.There were some parts of this film that were not needed as well. Theraunchy dialogue was thrown in there just to show how Luke'sneighborhood was grungy. Those scenes were only there because in casesome suburban kid watches this movie, he/she would get the ideastraight on that the setting in this movie is not only a ghetto, but aplace that you did not want to hang out in. I am not stupid, I got theidea that the place was not the place to be in when I saw kids snortingcocaine, smoking marijuana, and having premarital sex within the firstthirty minutes of the film. Also, I wished the moral of this film was abit more spelled out. I mean, I got the moral of this film (and thereis a moral to this film), but the film made the moral kind of soundstupid and tried to be a bit comical. To get the full understanding ofthe film, in my opinion, you have to really think about it and break itdown.But other than that, if you really want to see Josh Peck rip out somebetter than decent acting and a coming-of-age story that is not dorkyand melodramatic like those shows about stupid adolescents at a highschool, watch this film and enjoy what Jonathan Levine's life was backwhen he was a kid because supposedly, this movie wassemi-autobiographical. I give this movie a mid 7.
(18 April 2013)
What an incredible film. Director Jonathan Levine's attention to detail in making sure that every aspect of the film looks and feels like the 90's really adds to the feel of the film. All of the actors work really well especially Sir Ben Kingsley and Josh Peck, who has a breakout performance in this film, showing that he's got a future in this business. With funny dialogue, nicely shot cinematography, and backed by an incredible soundtrack, The Wackness is definitely a film to see this summer if you loved the 90's.
x-eric (15 April 2013)
On Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 I was able to attend the west coast premiereof "The Wackness" at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas in San Francisco. Ihad paid $150 just so me and my two friends could see it and it wasmoney well spent. The movie grabs you from the start and doesn't let upuntil it ends.set in New York 1994 it is a story about a troubled drug dealer LukeShapiro(played excellently by Josh Peck) who has struck a deal with histherapist Dr.Squires(Ben Kingsley in one of his best performances inmany years) in which he will trade him weed in exchange for sessions.Along the way he falls for Dr.Squires' step-daughter Stephanie(playedby the extremely talented Olivia Thirlby).What makes this movie so great is it's focus on the characters. Nocharacter is perfect. Each has a set of his or her own flaws. Eachcharacter is written well and not just a simple stereotype. Each actorfeels like they were meant for the role they were given. Ben Kingsleyand Josh Peck create some of the best scenes in movie history. OliviaThirlby has demonstrated range from JUNO to SNOW ANGELS to this. Shetook what could have been a one-dimensional character into somethingmagnificent. She is a great actress who I hope to keep on seeing in thefuture.It also featured a good selection of songs from 1994 that help the flowof this movie.I have not cried at a movie in years. But I cried during this. It is abeautiful coming of age tale that quite a few people can relate to.Johnathan Levine, who directed this masterpiece, has a bright futureahead of him. He is talented and and makes this movie sincere. Thismovie is a well-written piece of cinematic heaven. I hope it can findit's audience when it is released to theaters.Also I hope they release an extended version or at least the deletedscenes with the DVD as the director told the audience that there wasabout 40 minutes of cut out from the finished product.
AlexandreO (14 April 2013)
The Wackness is an amazing movie that brings you into the summer of 1994 New York. An amazing cast and great old school music. Josh Peck, Ben Kingsley, and Olivia Thiabsy are perfect in this movie.
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