“Orange County”
"Orange County" (PG-13) — languageStars Colin Hanks, Jack Black, John Lithgow, Katherine O'Hara.
A high school senior, obsessed with getting into Stanford, has his dream sabotaged when the wrong transcript is sent under his name. The trials and tribulations of getting accepted into Stanford comprise the plot of this surprisingly good comedy.
DT: The film wouldn't work as well as it does if not for the well done characters and performances of the cast. Jack Black is pretty much the character we've come to expect and this is a good thing.
DM: You're right about that, Dave. The plot is nothing new, but Black's performance is the same type of effort he's given us in other movies like "High Fidelity," and "Shallow Hal." Black isn't the greatest actor on the face of the earth, but what's there is a certain charisma akin to what John Belushi gave us when he was on top of his game. I can't think of a comedic actor out there right now whom I'd rather watch. He's on top of his game."
DT: Colin Hanks is well cast as the lead, the regular kid in the center of a storm of fools. Since his character is in every scene he simply must be someone you like and root for; he is both. By the way, he's the son of Tom Hanks — ever heard of him?
DM: Yeah, it's easy to like him, especially after viewing his pathetic family. You pretty much feel sorry for the kid after the first five minutes. What I found even more enjoyable was the performances of the people in the film who had small, insignificant roles. The English teacher was especially entertaining.
DT: The guy stole every scene he was in. Anytime you have an english teacher lumping Gladiator in with Romeo and Juliet in a list of great movies made from books you have to laugh. I'm laughing right now.
DM: Yeah, you got spittle all over my Subway Club. Thanks alot.
DT: You're welcome. The cast of this film is surprising in its quality. There are quite a few decent sized names in it and they were all good. I'd like to know just how they got them all.
DM: Lots of cameos from some pretty big names show up in the strangest places. That's part of the fun in this movie. As for how they got the big stars for the cameos, isn't Tom Hanks' son enough of a clue? I think you can get a pretty good read on a flick by how the audience reacts, and there were some pretty good guffaws and for the most part it felt like everyone was paying attention. I thought this worked on a lot of levels, and had some well-timed jokes mixed in with just enough serious notes that it didn't bog it down any. Plus it was 92 minutes, almost the perfect length for a movie.
DT: For a reasonably entertaining trip to the cinema this film fits the bill. It's an even better film as a matinee.
DM: You could certainly do a lot worse at the theater these days.
Score: DM 65, DT 69