Fa' la cosa sbagliata

This film is about a lonely young man befriending an unconventional psychiatrist, while dating his daughter at the same time.

"The Wackness" seems desperate to please viewers, as can be seen from the plentiful of hip hop, street culture, sex scenes and drug scenes. However, all these elements fail to save "The Wackness" from being a wreck. The characters are unsympathetic, and even disgusting at times. I cannot imagine a psychiatrist to encourage drugs and crime, which is completely unethical. The plot is not engaging either, as I do not find a collection of random irresponsible behaviour entertaining. Furthermore, lighting is bad throughout the film, most of the time faces are too dark. I was thoroughly bored and disappointed by "The Wackness".

This film was everything a movie should be. Great direction, acting, writing, and everything else! The acting was superb. Josh Peck really showed that not only is he a wonderful comical actor, but he is an incredible dramatic actor, as well. He was just perfect in this role, and he was able to carry the film with ease. Hopefully we will be seeing a whole lot more of this actor, for he has given the breakthrough performance of the year. Ben Kingsly was, as usual, great. He provides a comical character and creates a character so entertaining, you can't help but smile once he appears on screen. Olivia Thirlby worked very well as Peck's love interest, and Mary-Kate Olsen showed that she has the potential to break away from her child star mold and start a promising film career.

And while some reviews expressed that the use of 1994 (the year the film takes place in) and all the references to that time were annoying, I found them quite funny and enjoyed such references as mentions of a 90210 episode that I recently watched!

The story of a drug-dealing teen's relationship with his shrink/client and his relationship with the shrink's daughter is a truly enthralling one. It felt much shorter than is was and I hope to see it again soon! I loved everything about this film and hope that it becomes the independent film that makes it big this year, just as Juno did last year! It definitely deserves high praise!

This might get me into trouble with the film elite, but I found this film so much more real and absorbing than David Gordon Green's "All The Real Girls." They both deal with young men coming of age thanks to first love, but this film has such superior performances and writing. Expertly directed and stacked with some of the best hip hop of the nineties, it's a film that is hilarious, sad and moving, populated with great characters you'll enjoy spending a couple of hours with.

I really wish a film like this had found me in my teenage years, because it's so refreshing and honest. It's nice to watch a movie that celebrates the time honored art of owning and embracing the pain that makes you who you are.

People whine and bitch about the glut of hollow Hollywood formula flooding the marketplace, but a great little film like The Wackness with a strong voice is not getting the support it deserves.

The entire theater loved it, as did my friends I brought along who knew nothing about it.

Do yourself a favor and go see The Wackness. You won't be disappointed.

The Wackness is one of those rare movies that I go into the cinema not knowing next to anything about. Apart from a relatively unimpressive TV Spot I had seen I really didn't know what to expect. In fact it wasn't until the day before I was going to see it that I actually had any interest in seeing it. So I entered the cinema knowing Josh Peck (from that dreadful Drake and Josh show) and Ben Kingsley were starring. That was the extent of my knowledge. Two hours later I left the cinema feeling extraordinarily happy, in fact this movie made me smile more than most other movies have made me this year. While it isn't the funniest movie ever the movie does make you feel good about life. Perhaps the negative things that happen to the characters and how they overcome them that made me feel so good, or maybe it was the brilliant direction and script, or maybe, just maybe this is one of those rare movies that can be classed as a masterpiece. Anyway the fact is at the moment that this is my current second favourite movie of the year, behind The Dark Knight of course. The performances here are extremely top notch, I have no idea why I ever doubted Josh Peck in the role. I suppose Drake and Josh had destroyed all my images of him ever being a serious actor, which is stupid because I remember how brilliant he was in the highly under-watched Mean Creek. But this movie belongs to Sir Ben Kingsley as Peck's psychiatrist/friend/man he sells dope to. Kingsley is hilarious yet also oddly touching in a role not many actors could pull off. His story arc is played through extremely well, and whenever he is on screen the movie is a true revelation. But extra credit must go to the director, who has made an unoriginal tale seem so vivid and original its extraordinary.

Anyway as I said Josh Peck was an extremely pleasant surprise as Luke. Peck really proves himself as an actor in this movie, in fact to the extent that I believe he could potentially gain an Oscar nomination in future years, not for this movie though, he's good not that good. Peck delivers some pretty amusing lines pretty easily, but where he really shines through is the more dramatic sequences. A scene at the beach towards the end sees him deliver a killer of a performance. It also helps that he has considerable chemistry with Sir Ben Kingsley. Seriously I would love to see them in a movie together after this performance. Anyway Sir Ben Kingsley. I admit to not being much of a fan of him. Despite him delivering a good performance in Gandhi, which I have always regarded as overlong, tedious and way overrated, nothing else really stood out in my eyes. It also doesn't help his performance in Thunderbirds still haunts me to this day. However I honestly want him to get an Oscar nomination for his performance here. He is brilliant. This is the only movie you will probably see him kissing an Olsen, using a bong, and getting high a lot. His storyline is the best thing in the movie, and whenever he is on screen the movie goes from very good, to incredible. Olivia Thirlby delivers almost an equally as impressive performance as Peck. She makes a potential two dimensional character quite possibly more than three dimensional! Her character is never dull, not a stereotype, and her very final scene with Peck really is one of the films many highlights. Famek Janssen seems to have drawn the short straw in this movie, unfortunately she gets barely any screen time. A shame since her character does actually get very interesting in the middle of the movie, yet she seems a bit wasted, despite an above average performance.

The true power of The Wackness however comes from the way it is written, and also the direction. I was four in 1994, so am probably not the best person to talk about the time the movie is set, at this time I was still running around in my Power Rangers pyjamas! Anyway the music and the way people talk in the movie seem pretty accurate by my accounts, and also there are moments the feel of the movie seems pretty right. Anyway enough about that, the script here is the key. As I have said before the storyline isn't exactly original, in fact when it all boils down to it the movie is a simple coming of age tale. Still the script here makes the storyline seem refreshing. Peck is made to be extremely sympathetic, even when he is at his mopiest. Kingsley's character gets all the best lines of course, but his more dramatic moments once again show the level of thought gone into the character. The movie doesn't start off in the best way though, the first ten minutes are admittedly not what I really expected and left me a bit dumbstruck. Most namely a dance on the subway, which the more I think about the more I like. Anyway by the end you do feel genuinely happy and also impressed. There were seven people in my cinema screen, only me and my friend really laughed in it, but this is still a movie I urge people to see.

The Wackness is probably the biggest surprise for me of the year and one I cannot wait to buy on DVD. It won't make mega bucks at the cinema, but this really deserves to be watched more than it has been so far.

From Luke's opening monologue set to the strains of old school hip-hop through to a beautifully crafted story that is both poignant and funny and Ben Kingsley's wonderful turn as psychiatrist Dr. Squires this film is a winner. Set in New York in 1994 the story follows Luke Shapiro as he graduates school and becomes a dope dealer full time. It's a coming of age drama of sorts but equally as he is struggling to come to terms with embarking on life after school, parents, peer pressure and girls his psychiatrist Dr. Squires, who he deals to in exchange for counselling, is also coming to terms with growing old, a failing marriage and drug dependency. The two form an unlikely bond, Luke is in love with Dr. Squires step daughter and Dr .Squires wants to recapture his lost youth which opens the way for some charming and damn funny moments. Kingsley plays the good doctor like a cross between 'The Big Lebowski's' the dude and a drug addled Terry Nutkins, it's a great role and another that shows just how versatile he is as an actor. Luke is played by local boy Josh Peck and as well as being a perfect foil for Kingsley he is also great in his own right, very reminiscent of the lead from Thumbsucker all floppy haired and wide eyed. The music mostly nineties hip-hop, like A Tribe Called Quest and Notorious B.i.g to name but a few is balanced with classic rock as the two now friends swap mix tapes. Well paced and effortless in its execution this should be as big as say 'Juno' but due to its content and drug references it probably won't be, but don't let that put you off seeing this great little film.