ORANGE COUNTY
Starring:
Colin Hanks, Jack Black, Shuyler Fisk, John Lithgow, Catherine O'Hara and
Harold Ramis
Director: Jake Kasden
Running: 81 mins
Certificate: 12A
Out to buy on DVD 7th July
For most of his life, Shaun (Hanks) had been like every other resident of Orange County. He loved to hang out with his buddies and his girlfriend Ashley (Fisk) and surf, not caring about life and what he was going to do with it. This all changes when he finds a book buried in the sand. This book changes his life and after reading it fifty-two times he decides to become a writer. Instead of dreaming of the ultimate wave, Shaun now has only one goal in life, to get into Stanford University and study with the author of book that turned his life around. The only problem is that his application form was sent in with someone else's records inside so consequently he was rejected. So with the help of his stoned out brother Lance (Black), he travels to the University to try and get in.
After a glut of gross-out teen movie, Orange County comes a breath of fresh air to what was becoming a very stagnant genre. By not relying chiefly on shock value humour but mixing comedy and teenage issues, the film deals with what it is like for prospective college students who want to escape their families and hometowns.
Colin Hanks looks more like his father every time I see him. You could even mistake him for a clone. Looking like Tom in his earlier films like Bachelor Party, Splash and Big, Colin has the same charm and everyman quality that his father exudes and his really serves him well in this type of movie. The same could be said for Shuyler Fisk, who is the spitting image of her mother Sissy Spacek. Complementing Hanks and Fisk is a high quality comedic ensemble. John Lithgow and Catherine O'Hara ignite the screen whenever they grace it, but are sadly underused. Jack Black proves again that is exceptionally funny as a supporting character and steals every scene that he is in. There are also good cameos from Kevin Kline and Harold Ramis.
With a good script and good performances, Orange County is how a teen comedy should be made. With more defined characters and without an over reliance on gross-out humour to get cheap laughs, even a slightly sentimental ending can be forgiven and in Colin Hanks, we have an upcoming star who could be as big as… Tom Hanks.
Audio commentary from director Jake Kasdan and writer Mike White, Two deleted scenes with optional director and writer audio commentary, Promotional spots, Interactive menu & Scene access
The Usher Home | Hush, Hush... | The Big Story | The Usher Speaks
Stuck @ Home | Coming Soon | Links | Contact the Usher
The Usher 2002
