NDSU Spectrum: Movie review

Black and White can’t save ‘Orange County’

By JOHN HANSEN

Jan. 11, 2002

Somehow Jack Black has become one of today’s biggest box office draws. I guess it isn’t too surprising, considering his persona of a chubby, unkempt, vulgar and lazy man. Of course, he’s also extremely funny, which is why the ads for “Orange County” feature a heavy dose of Black as the uncouth older brother, even though the scene in the ad (“What’s up, Stanford? You like what you see? You know you do.”) isn’t in the film.

Although I enjoy Black’s work, I actually went to see “Orange County” because of writer Mike White, who penned some excellent episodes of “Freaks and Geeks” and “Dawson’s Creek” along with the indie film “Chuck and Buck,” which he also starred in. But if “Freaks” was White’s A-game, “Orange County” is his C-game. He has a strong premise but plays it too predictably: there’s even the inevitable breakup between the main characters, even though it doesn’t seem like a natural progression. And the ending makes sense on the page, but not on the screen.

The main character of “Orange County” is Shaun Brumder (“Roswell” veteran Colin Hanks). Shaun wants to get the heck away from his insane hometown and messed-up family. His grades make him a lock for Stanford, but his moronic high school adviser sends the wrong transcript, so Shaun is denied admission.

Shaun’s girlfriend Ashley (Schuyler Fisk) uses her connections to get a couple of Stanford reps to visit the Brumder residence. “They’re coming to my house!?” Shaun asks her incredulously. “Do you know who lives in my house!?” In addition to the drug-addled Lance (Black), that would be the perpetually tipsy mom (Catherine O’Hara) and the wheelchair-bound, barely-cognizant stepdad. When that meeting misfires, Lance agrees to drive Shaun up to Stanford so he can explain the situation in person.

The jokes are good for a chuckle or two. You really have to feel for Shaun when he wanders around his high school hearing a ditzy girl enthuse, “Hey look, I got into (looks at letter a second time) … Yale!” Of course, since this is 2002 and our comedic palette has become so refined, there is a gag involving a glass of wine and a similarly-colored container of piss placed side-by-side. And eventually, Black stumbles down a sleep incline, because we haven’t had a really good overweight-man-rolling-down-a-hill scene since Chris Farley did it in “Black Sheep.” Some characters, such as Shaun’s mom and the possibly-gay surfer dudes, don’t make much impact.

In addition to Black, there are a few saving graces. This is a decent lead role for Hanks (who’s “Roswell” character Alex was killed off last season) – he plays the Everyman role just like his dad Tom did in his early films. John Lithgow gives a humorous turn as Shaun’s father. There are lots of fun cameos to look for too, including White as a slimy, illiterate English teacher. The soundtrack is a music geek’s dream, including selections from Pete Yorn, Phantom Planet, Jimmy Eat World, Foo Fighters and Social Distortion. Unfortunately, “Orange County” is less than the sum of its parts.

Title: “Orange County”

Starring: Colin Hanks, Jack Black, Schuyler Fisk, Catherine O’Hara, John Lithgow, Harold Ramis

Written by: Mike White

Director: Jake Kasdan

Grade: C+