Growing Op

Saw this tonight at the film's premiere at the Atlantic Film Festival. The crowd was great, and we were laughing our heads off all the way through.

As a recently-graduated homeschooler myself, it was amusing to see an outsider's (highly inaccurate in my case, but hilarious) take on the practice. Some of the questions raised in the film are questions I ask myself often.

Kudos to the excellent cast, especially Steven Yaffee as the main character, and Wallace Langham as his father, who both really get into their characters and make us feel their emotions.

There's a plot twist near the end that seems a bit ridiculous and unnecessary at first, but may make more sense once you think it over.

All in all, a great film, and it's always nice to see films from Atlantic Canada that are just good fun to watch.

Just saw it. An excellent movie. Original idea, good play, good scenes. I don't smoke weed , but here they made us to see how is not only people's life, but and life of the grass. They show how stupid are those who just smoke it, without any idea about. And the end of the movie - brilliant! I didn't wait it'g gonna over like this, not only happy end, or tragic. I had no idea what to think. I't beautiful, happy, sad. I loved this. My mark - 10+... P.S. I enjoyed more that there was no stupid thing of making film, where producers make movie worst. Like all team was one man, was thinking about one thing only, doing it how they can, but trying to do it well...

Quinn, (Steven Yaffe), a home educated teenager growing up in a family with counter culture parents who run a suburban grow-up wants to lead a normal life. He enrolls in a local high school in order to pursue the girl next door. His attempts to win the girl of his dreams run afoul the school president who sets the high school bullies on him. After enduring humiliation Quinn manages to turn the tables on his tormentors and beat the system at the same time. The funniest high school comedy since "Rock and Roll High School" Neatly reverses the usual stoner formula. Highly sympathetic and nuanced performance from Rosanna Arquette as the mother. "Growing Op" appeals to both the sixties generation and today's teen agers. Both groups see themselves in this movie. High energy, strong music score, MTV style editing and polished script and direction drive this picture along. Not to be missed.

Im not usually a fan of weed films or romantic comedies, but I watched this with a lot of enjoyment the other night. The acting from most of the actors was very good, and the chemistry between the cast as well. Quinn and his father were both superb. Some parts were really laugh out loud funny. Enjoyed the plot twist towards the end, took me completely by surprise. Life in Canadian high-school seems to be depicted pretty accurately. Made me appreciate what I have and see the blessing of not being a little tiny gear in the impersonal system like 99% of other Canadians my age. Will look up the writer / director to try and see more of his work.

I had the good fortune to see this film at the opening night ceremony for the Silver Wave Film Festival in Fredericton. It is, quite simply, the best independent feature film I have ever seen come out of New Brunswick. This feel-good movie about a teenager who has trouble fitting in, because of his radically anti-establishment marijuana-growing parents is funny and original. There is plenty in it to make you laugh and the female lead (Rachel Blanchard) is extremely attractive in a "girl-next-door" kind of way. When I first heard that the movie was about drugs, I was worried that it would be narrow, unimaginative and predictable; however this movie is anything but predictable. Thankfully, the acceptable acting quality and originality makes this movie much more than merely a film about drugs. It is about first-love, freedom, growing up, the nature of betrayal and high school politics. I recommend this film to independent film lovers all around the world and all Canadians.