Posted: 01/11/2002 |
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 Orange County(2002)by Hank YuloffJake Kasdan (son of Lawrence) directs Colin Hanks (son of Tom) and Jack Black in a comedy that barely succeeds, thanks mostly to the insertion of some recognizable veterans… | |
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To review Orange County, I need to use three analogies. First is a Roller Coaster. When you get on a roller coaster, you’re all excited as you begin to go up that first hill that gives you enough potential energy (that’s physics, folks) to go though the entire coaster: …ratchet -a -ratchet- a- ratchet-a—ratcheta … And the higher you get, the more excited you get… …ratchet -a -ratchet- a- ratchet-a—ratcheta … You get to see the whole amusement park below you and feel the wind… …ratchet -a -ratchet- a- ratchet-a—ratcheta … With the roller coaster named Orange County, you keep going up and up, but you never get to go over the hump and enjoy the whole ride. As you go up the hill, you see some AMAZING acting talents, but the roller coaster gets stuck and you don’t get to enjoy their performances. …ratchet -a -ratchet- a- ratchet-a—ratcheta … Orange County is the story of Shaun Brumder (Colin Hanks) who wants to study at Stanford with the professor who wrote the book that made him want tobecome a writer. He has straight A’s and is the class president, but his guidance counselor sends the wrong transcript to Stanford so he doesn’t get in. The rest of the movie details his quest to right the wrong by going to the university to meet with the Dean of Admissions. Ratchet -a -ratchet- a- ratchet-a—ratcheta … The second analogy is with The Wizard of Oz. Shaun is trying to get back to Kansas (Stanford). He takes his little dog Toto (Jack Black playing his brother, Lance) along the yellow brick road to find the Wizard (The Dean of Admissions) who can send him there. Along the way, they meet the Scarecrow (the Guidance Counselor without a brain), the Tin Woodsman (John Lithgow as the father without a heart), the Cowardly Lion (Shaun’s mom played by Catherine O’Hara), and an assortment of evil monkeys who are keeping him from his goal. Shaun meets his “Good Witch,” Professor Skinner (Kevin Kline) who sets him on the true path to what he wants. My wife wishes he had clicked his ruby slippers together a lot earlier in the movie and we all could have gone home. In Orange County, the Wicked Witch must have been director Jake Kasdan (Undeclared—TV, Freaks and Geeks—TV) who didn’t let the talented groupof actors do what they do best: entertain. The third analogy… is a puzzle. Every movie is a group of dozens of pieces that come together to make a finished puzzle. The story is the border—the part you do first, and you work your way in from there. With some movies, it seems that a few of the pieces didn’t quite make it into the box. With Orange County, it was a few of the square edge pieces that go around the outside. It is a beautiful picture, but you can’t frame it because the outside edge isn’t complete. As long as we are speaking of movies as puzzles: Have you ever thought to yourself “How did this movie get made?” Or “How did all those great actors get into THIS movie?” Here’s the answer: The Producer. In the case of Orange County, it’s a man named Scott Rudin. Here’s a few of the47 movies he has produced: Zoolander (starring Ben Stiller) Well, you know what I mean. Rudin put together an amazing cast. He got three actors who ALWAYS get it right. John Lithgow could make me watch a margarine commercial. He shows a depth we ordinarily never see in a teen movie. Parents are usually the comic sidekick who don’t have a brain cell. Kevin Kline NAILED his part as Professor Marcus Skinner. He is only in a couple of scenes, but they were worth the wait. Harold Ramis is also excellent as the Dean of Admissions. I wish they had let him write the script, as well. We might have gotten something as excellent as other movies he has penned: Animal House, Ghostbusters, Stripes or Caddyshack. We also see Chevy Chase, Lily Tomlin, Garry Marshall and Ben Stiller in a total of 5 scenes. I wish they had been given more screen time. They are comedians who could have added a lot more comedy. Colin Hanks has a tough act to follow. Talk about shoes to fill. His father, Tom, is one of the greatest actors ever, and Colin has chosen to go into the family business. I give him credit for the road he is taking. He has cut his chops on some smaller roles (Excellent work as Lt. Henry Jones in Band of Brothers) and in his first starring role does an adequate job. I don’t think he was given enough ammunition in Orange County, but he was believable and held my interest. I wanted Shaun to succeed. On the disappointing side we have Jack Black. Coming off of Shallow Hal, Saving Silverman and High Fidelity, I was ready to be blown away. He is an amazing talent and this should have been a memorable role. Instead, I was given a poor caricature of John Belushi in Animal House. A complete let-down. Catherine O’Hara is also given short shrift. Is Shaun’s mom a drunk, a pill freak, or just terminally depressive? Nothing is really made clear and when things go her way at the end, she all of a sudden snaps out of her funk to be a normal mom. Uck. Orange County is very much like its namesake area of California. Kind of white bread without much flavor. Hank Yuloff owns an advertising specialty company in Los Angeles and tries to avoid the right-wing wackos inhabiting Orange County. Except when they pay in cash. Got a problem? E-mail us at filmmonthly@gmail.com |