Orange County

I was continually getting amazed and the big name actors that kept popping up in this rather B type movie. But it was very watchable and like the title, just mindless fun

Orange County is a good movie. Not bad, not neccesarily great, but a good hour and a half of entertainment. It's got charm and sophistication. It's also got two young actors that need to be in more movies: Colin Hanks, son of Tom Hanks, and Schuyler Fisk, Sissy Spacek's daughter. These two young actors have wonderful moments, and they play it straight. Jack Black is zany, and the other comic actors have good cameos: Chevy Chase, Harold Ramis, and an unbilled Kevin Kline as Marcus Skinner. Mike White's script is coming-of-age crossed with teeanage comedy. Also, the director, Jake Kasdan, son of Lawrence Kasdan, is perfect in setting up the story. All in all, after seeing this movie, I felt I had had a good time watching a movie. Go rent it. You won't regret it.

I feel that I should explain 2 things before I give my opinion of this movie 1) I don't expect much from a MTV production and 2) I went to see this movie just to see Colin Hanks, because of his role as Alex Whitman in Roswell.

I was surprised and impressed with Colin Hanks, and Schuyler Fisk who I had not seen in anything. Both of whom played characters that actually had some depth. They actually wanted to go to college not just get laid or marry someone rich.

I found the movie light and funny, full of great cameos

If you are expecting to see a lot of Jack Black you may be disappointed. He only has a supporting role. But hilariously funny as usual.

I also wish that they had kept Colin's hair off of his face, like in some of the beach scenes. The whole bangs thing just, just…. I just didn't like it.

Worth the rental fee for the cameos, Jack Black, some off color jokes and some of the lines the supporting actors have.

DVD has some great deleted scenes and explains why some of the ads showed things that were not in the movie.

Orange County is not as funny as American Pie, but that's all right. The movie has its share of ridiculous, over-the-top gags (A dean of admissions high on ecstasy, for example), but it's far more interested in its characters than its jokes, a refreshing change of pace for this type of movie. The material's supported by some very good performances, especially from leads Colin Hanks and Jack Black.

Hanks plays Shaun, a high school senior who desperately wants to escape his horrible upper middle class life in Orange County for literary pursuits under his favorite writer, Marcus Skinner, who is a professor at Stanford University. But his guidance counselor (Lily Tomlin) botches his application, leaving Shaun relying on the assistance of his stoner brother Lance (Black) and his selfish father (John Lithgow).

You have no doubt heard that Colin Hanks is the son of famous acting father Tom. Even if connections got him the job, you cannot deny that he puts in a strong lead performance (Even if it does have some echoes of his dad's likeable everyman persona). Comedy stars like Catherine O'Hara, Chevy Chase, Garry Marshall, all put it nice small pieces, but it is Jack Black who owns most of the funniest moments in the film. His mere presence in a scene can make it funny; often he brings out laughs with a look or a eyebrow twitch.

The film gets a little sappy and formulaic as it heads toward its conclusion; Shaun's reaction when he meets his hero is spot-on, but their conversation about his story feels wrong; and the inevitable ending is what you pretty much expect as soon as that initial rejection letter arrives at Shaun's door. Professor Skinner put it best; "My one complaint - You need an ending."

Orange County needed a stronger, more unusual ending to compliment the offbeat, but very enjoyable vibe the rest of the of the movie gives off. Still, I found myself completely entertained until the end, and left really appreciating the fine writing and acting, and even wishing the movie was a little longer. And that doesn't happen too often.

Shaun Brumder is a student at a high school in Orange County, California. He spends his time surfing with his slacker friends... then one day he finds a book buried in the sand and starts to read it. It changes his life; he determines to become a writer. To that end he applies to study at Stanford University, where the book's author is a lecturer. Unfortunately a bureaucratic mix up leads to him being rejected and it is officially too late to appeal. He isn't helped by his embarrassingly dysfunctional family. The only real help comes from Ashley, his girlfriend... and even she would rather he stayed on Orange County and studied at the same local university as her.

This was a surprisingly fun movie. There are plenty of laughs from start to finish as the story successfully stays just the right side of the line which divides hilarity and cringe-inducing embarrassment. Colin Hanks is solid as protagonist Shaun and Schuyler Fisk impresses as girlfriend Ashley; of the main cast of characters these are the most 'normal'. The other main characters are all fairly dysfunctional; especially Shaun's family. Jack Black stands out as his stoner brother whose attempts to help make matters worse... given the DVD box one might expect him to be on screen for much of the film but he is very much a secondary character; that isn't a problem though as he is funny when on screen but would detract from the story if he'd featured much more. The rest of the cast, which includes quite a few well-known actors in cameo roles is impressive. Comedies about teens seem to favour gross out humour these days but there is nothing really offensive here... unless the sight of Jack Black in his Y-fronts bothers you! Overall I'd recommend this to anybody wanting a good laugh.