Humboldt County

"Humboldt County" is a good overlooked drama film that has an interesting premise, creative writing and unique setting.

One major side of the story is focused on what you could call a "quarter-life crisis" of Peter the medical student who is somewhat dissatisfied and very confused in life. By sheer chance he finds himself in a new environment that seems totally alien to him. During the course of the movie we observe how these new circumstances shape him into a new person.

The other aspect of the story is a little less explicit. It focuses on the life and the struggles of the locals among which Peter finds himself.

In the end these two perspectives come together, that's how I would put it. The viewer, having experienced these different perspectives, can thus find value in the conclusion of the story.

The acting, the soundtrack and the scenery - all are solid. "Humboldt County" was an overall pleasant experience that gives you something to ponder about.

Is it any good? Yeah, but in an average way. It is all about finding yourself when caught between the pressures of "you have to be something" and "you don't have to be anything". Frankly, I wanted to see Fairuza Balk again when I got the film, but she only plays a marginal role and then she is gone.

Is it a pot movie? No. The marijuana farming is just a side story, one that I thought was a bit unfortunate for the film. I am not against it, I just don't think it had much to do with the subject of the movie.

Bottom line: it has a nice idea, but it was a poorly constructed film. I couldn't relate with any of the characters and the emotional conflicts depicted were totally unconvincing. Since it was clearly a low budget film, I expected more in terms of plot cohesion and character depth.

A few friends and I caught the premiere of Humboldt County at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin last night. Quick summary: If you get a chance, go see this movie.

Prior to seeing it, there was some debate about whether this was a "drug" movie, especially since a few other premieres at SxSW ("Harold and Kumar II" and "Super High Me") are drug related--it's not. Although there are certainly joints in many (most) of the scenes, they are background and no more the focus of the movie than the gorgeous redwood trees and sweeping coastline that are also omni-present. Humboldt County is all about character development, some fantastic acting, and scenery that takes your breath away. When we were talking about the film after, we all agreed that that most similar movie we had all seen was "Garden State" except tone down the love story and shoot it in one of the most beautiful places on earth instead of Jersey (sorry NJ).

The co-directors and script writers (friends since they were 6) took questions after the show which is always interesting. Two of my favorite tid-bits from that: 1) One of the directors has an Uncle and Aunt in Humboldt and much of the script is based on real characters from his summers there as a child. 2) When the directors went to Humboldt to get away and work on a script, they were actually working on a totally different script which they scrapped so they could write this Humboldt-inspired one.

One other interesting point came out of the Q&A in which someone pointed out that for a directing debut, Humboldt was pretty ambitious--REAL actors, shot on location in 35mm, full length, etc. etc. It's a good point, and makes the movie all the more impressive...

I saw Humboldt County at South By Southwest, and I love it! It was well written, beautifully shot, and had an outstanding cast. I've never been to northern California, but after seeing this film, I really want to visit. This is the filmmakers' first film and I am blown away by the complexity of the characters and the film's surprising emotional depth. The characters are all interesting and honest, but flawed, just like the rest of us. There is a warmth among this cannabis farming family that is engaging and intriguing.(And it doesn't hurt that both Jeremy Strong and Chris Messina are deliciously handsome men.) Madison Davenport's performance as young Charity is also outstanding. I can't wait to see it again!

HUMBOLDT COUNTY is a taste f the 60s and 70s drug culture when many disillusioned people, young and old, picked up and moved to the scenic wonder - and pot farms - of Humboldt County, California. Darren Grodsky and Danny Jacobs co-wrote and co-directed this little throw back in history and the result is a bit of nostalgia and some fine characterizations by a solid cast.

Jerry Hadley (Jeremy Strong) is a medical student trumped by his medical school professor father (Peter Bogdanovich) into failing medical school, and the only apparent way for the fairly clueless and disillusioned Jerry is to try the world outside. He begins with a strange relationship with Bogart (Fairuza Balk) and ends up headed to Humboldt County where he encounters folks living off the profits (both mentally and economically) of growing marijuana. He becomes friends with the free spirits Max (Chris Messina), Rosie (Frances Conroy), Jack (Brad Dourif) and in the midst of the atmosphere, Jerry 'inhales' and begins to figure out where his life should actually be headed.

The movie seems to be a bit of fluff, but written into the lines is a lot of wise philosophy - if you choose to take it that way. Good performances and a clever script make the movie a nice diversion.

Grady Harp