The Wackness

Ahh 1994. I remember you well. I would go home after school to watch Rapcity on Much Music (yes, this is true). I was devastated by the death of Kurt Cobain (even though before it happened I didn't even know who he was). My favourite actress was Drew Barrymore (I still wish we were best friends). I wore ridiculous baggy jeans with giant plaid shirts and white face powder with revlon's Blackberry lipstick. I was 12.

It's the summer of 1994 and Luke Shapiro is is either the most popular of the unpopular kids or the most unpopular of the popular, but that doesn’t matter anymore because high school is over. Alone in sweltering New York City, during the no-man's-land between graduation and starting college, Luke is "mad depressed, yo." He spends the summer dealing pot to, among other people, his psychiatrist, Dr. Jeffrey Squires (Ben Kingsley - oh sorry, Sir Ben Kingsley), who imparts this wisdom: "Don't trust anyone who doesn't smoke pot and listen to Bob Dylan." Boundaries are shifting, and Luke finds himself in love with a girl who barely spoke to him in school. But the relationship between Luke and Dr. Squires, who is himself going through a bit of a breakdown, is the real heart of the story. The Wackness is about the things men do to become the men they need to be (you can replace the word men with people, but it's really nice to have a soulful, beautiful film about men and their relationships).

The Wackness is a beautiful portrait of a young man who exists in the same state as many others, disconnected from the world and from other people, and the process by which he makes a connection and starts really living his life. It's a masterpiece of time and place and mood, centred and steady and it spins with a perfect velocity through the pure and genuine moments it holds up for study and admiration. Plus it has a dope soundtrack.

This movie doesn't shy away from drugs, sex, or "bad" language, but it's message is so positive, and it is so honest and engaging that I think many teens would both enjoy and benefit from seeing this film.

10/10.
Ages 16+.

Coraline

Released in 2009. Directed by Harry Selick. Produced by Laika, distributed by Focus Features.

This is what they mean by crossover appeal (well, among the many, many definitions, apparently). I saw Coraline in 3D with a group of friends, all of us in our 20s and 30s. Elsewhere in the dark theatre we could hear small kids making occasional comments. I'm pretty sure we all loved it.

Coraline is a young girl (I'm not sure how old she is supposed to be, but I would put her at 11 or 12) who has just moved with her busy, distant parents to a small Oregon town. When the constant rain keeps her inside, she discovers a small door that leads to an alternate reality, one in which her parents are charming and entirely devoted to her amusement. At first this other world is delightful, and provides for Coraline all of the things she feels she is missing at home (foremost being attention). Upon closer inspection the new reality is much darker than she is prepared for, and her wits are tested as she struggles to make her way back to her real parents.

Coraline is visually so new, appealing, and spellbinding, that I think even skeptical teenagers will be able to look past the fact that it is animated (and could thus potentially be relegated to the world of "kid stuff"). Young teens will definitely be drawn to the film's style and themes (Coraline's battles with her mother(s) are something I think most adolescent girls will relate to), and older teens will appreciate the film's mastery of form and its pedigree (originally born as a Neil Gaiman novella, then a graphic novel).

Seeing Coraline in 3D is something I highly recommend - it sort of felt like I was in the audience of a 1895 showing of the Lumiere Brothers's Arrival of A Train - the experience was so new and real. Even on DVD, however, I have no doubt that this film will wow audiences of all ages.

9/10.
Ages 10+ (rated PG).