What Do The Critics Say?

"It might be a touch familiar, but the result is a little gem thanks to some great humour and some believable characters. Luke is a gentle, sensitive soul who any bloke over the age of 14 will recognise, while his painful scenes (including an excruciating 'I love you' moment) ring horribly true. Kingsley is likewise on form and hits home with some terrifically world-weary one liners, while director Jon Levine brings a refreshing inventiveness to the film." David Edwards DAILY MIRROR UK "Levine, who wrote the film as well as directed it, re-creates 1994 with the painstaking detail usually reserved for period pieces and costume dramas." Bill Goodykoontz ARIZONA REPUBLIC "Surviving Guiliani Time wacked out on weirdness in an alternate universe, and with a chaser of cup runneth over raging hormones, in possibly the most explosively imaginative, edgy, brash and strangely poetic coming-of-age tale this year." Prairie Miller NEWSBLAZE "This is a fun, quirky, inspiring, and often charming little coming-of-age story. What makes this movie enjoyable is the laid-back tone of the whole thing. You're just hanging out with these characters, and it doesn't really follow a solid structure, and that's just fine. One of those small little movies that come under the radar and sneak up on you. Worth checking out." Austin Kennedy SIN MAGAZINE "The Wackness is a thoroughly engaging comic drama with absurdist elements: or is that just real life. The darkness of the story makes it cling to our attention as the characters: all flawed, stumble and bumble their emotional way through a series of crises of the spirit. It's a film of shifting moods, all of them accessible and sardonically funny. But it's not a film of belly laughs or broad comedic moments; the socio political setting gives it context and the direction gives it bite." Andrew L Urban URBAN CINEFILE

"With its graffiti-sprayed credits, circa 1994 hip hop on the soundtrack and drug-dealing protagonist, this rites-of-passage affair comes on like a whole barrel of fun. Kingsley’s shamelessly zingy performance adds welcome pep, and a delicate, achingly sincere summertime idyll on Fire Island offers notice of Levine’s evident promise." Trevor Johnston TIME OUT "A minor triumph." Richard Roeper EBERT & ROEPER "A surprisingly tender coming of age film." Marcy Dermansky ABOUT.COM "One of the more innovative indie comedies in recent memory." Edward Douglas COMINGSOON "Finally, a film for kids of the 90's!" Erik Davis CINEMATICAL "The fun is watching Thirlby: second banana in Juno, do a tantalizing sex-bomb number, and Kingsley get to flout his knighthood by sticking his tongue down the throat of Mary-Kate Olsen." David Edelstein NEW YORK MAGAZINE "Levine has blessed his coming-of-age tale with a catchy hip-hop soundtrack, characters who feel grounded no matter how odd their circumstances, and a girl worthy of Luke's dreams: Olivia Thirlby as the forbidden stepdaughter." Bob Mondello NPR "Against a thumping hip-hop background, Levine & cast capture a teenaged boy's tender, heartbreaking first love with a sweetness and honesty that makes The Wackness unforgettable. " Diva Velez MIGHTY GANESHA "The story itself isn't a complex one, but the characters are, and the journey they endeavor upon from the month of June to the dog days of August is one that is emotionally satisfying, easily relatable and well worth taking." Dustin Putman THE MOVIE BOY

What The Director Said "I graduated high school in the Summer of 1994, much like The Wackness's Luke Shapiro (although I never sold weed. I swear). 1994 found New York at a crossroads. And it found hip hop at its creative apex. I suppose I was at my own crossroads in '94, for I latched onto this music and never let go. 1994 featured debut albums from artists like Nas, Notorious B.I.G., Outkast, and Method Man. Although these albums weren't necessarily made with me in mind, they spoke to me nonetheless. There was a restlessness to the music, a sense of provocation with which I identified. It's not so much that these albums had the right answers (they rarely did); it was more that they were asking the right questions. That, and they were cool to dance to. Rap music, like New York itself, was at a very different place in '94. For me, that's what is so interesting about setting the movie 13 short years ago: assessing those similarities and differences. When we take stock of this recent past, we have a more fully-realized understanding of the present. Or, as Ghostface Killa put it back in the day, "if you forget where you come from, you never gonna make it where you're going." That sentence encapsulates a lot of what making this movie meant to me. I hope it's a sentiment that comes across in some small part as you watch "The Wackness". And I hope the same restless spirit that pervaded those great '94 hip hop albums lives on in the film. Most of all, though I hope it's cool to dance to. You know, in that movie kind of way." Director & Writer Jonathan Levine. New York 1994 Timeline

January 2 Rudolph William Giuliani is inaugurated as the 107th Mayor of New York City, defeating New York City’s first African-American mayor, David Dinkins. January 6 The first two MetroCard-compatible turnstiles open in the New York subways. In Detroit, Michigan, Olympic medalist figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed on the leg by an assailant hired by her rival Tonya Harding’s ex-husband. January 24 Mayor Giuliani declares he will break away from his predecessor David Dinkins’ community policing policies, analyzing crime problems and working with city agencies and communities to solve them, and keep their primary focus on preventing crime. January 25 President William Jefferson Clinton delivers his first State of the Union address. Mayor Giuliani and his new Police Commissioner, William J. Bratton, begin a major reorganization of the department, pledging to concentrate on quality-of-life offenses ranging from open-air drug markets to panhandling squeegee men. January 30 The Dallas Cowboys defeat the Buffalo Bills at the Super Bowl. February 1 Green Day’s first major label studio album, "Dookie", debuts. February 6 Police Commissioner Bratton authorizes officers to carry 9millimeter semiautomatic handguns equipped with a magazine of 15 rounds. Bratton’s predecessor, Raymond W. Kelly, had imposed a 10 round limit to address concerns that officers in stressful situations could empty their guns and possibly wound bystanders. A story in the New York Times relates that marijuana is making a major comeback among teen-agers, in a form twenty times more potent and much more expensive than the street marijuana of the 1960’s and 1970’s. February 24 The New York Times reports that the MTA will no longer allow movie producers to film scenes in the subway that officials think are too violent. The MTA says that such scenes don’t reflect the reduction in subway crime and give off a negative impression that subways are dangerous. February 25 Israeli Kahanist Baruch Goldstein opens fire inside the Cave of the Patriarchs in the West Bank. He kills 29 Muslims before worshippers beat him to death. March 1 A 28-year-old man, Rashid Baz, opens fire on a van full of 14 Hasidic students on the Brooklyn Bridge, killing one. March 4 Mohammad Salameh, Mahmud Abouhalima, Nidal Ayyad,and Ahmad Ajaj are convicted for carrying out the February 26th, 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, which killed six and injured more than a thousand.

March 7 The NYC police department begins a program to increase enforcement for minor offenses like noisy portable radios, public urination, graffiti vandalism and unlicensed vending in Greenwich Village. March 8 Nine Inch Nails release their groundbreaking album "The Downward Spiral". March 10 Several NYC City Council members complain that the Giuliani administration is trying to hobble the police watchdog Civilian Complaint Review Board, by leaving positions unfilled. March 12 The police department announces a new campaign to make it more difficult for people committing minor offenses like urinating in public and possessing marijuana to escape punishment. Violators who do not carry ID will be taken to a police station to be interrogated and even photographed, fingerprinted and held for arraignment. March 16 The New York Times reports that the Giuliani administration has ordered severe cuts in a program that awards landlords financial incentives for providing apartments to homeless families living in shelters. March 21 Steven Spielberg’s "Schindler’s List" wins seven Oscars, including Best Picture, at the 66th Academy Awards. March 23 Putting new pressure on New York City's municipal unions, the administration of Mayor Giuliani orders commissioners of the city’s agencies to select 10,000 workers who could be laid off quickly if the Mayor's carefully drafted budget proposals fall apart. April 6 The Giuliani Administration announces a new policy to train patrol officers to make arrests whenever they see drug transactions, shifting from the previous reliance on undercover operations. April 7 The Rwandan Genocide begins in Kigali, Rwanda. April 8 Kurt Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, is found dead in Seattle, Washington. April 13 The NYPD is considering switching to hollow-point bullets that expand on contact with human flesh to inflict more damage than traditional ammunition. April 14 "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" premieres on Cartoon Network. April 19 Nas releases his debut album, "Illmatic". April 22 Former United States President Richard Nixon dies in New York City. April 24 Outkast releases their debut album, "“Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik".

May 6 The New York Times reports that prosecutors will argue in their case against World Trade Center bombing mastermind Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, that various terrorist acts dating back to 1991 were all part of an overall conspiracy by a "jihad organization" that had headquarters in several American cities and ties to similar groups in other countries. May 7 Mayor Giuliani announced a new homeless plan that for the first time would deny shelter to homeless families who refuse to participate in treatment and training programs. May 9 The New York City Medical Examiner’s office says that a Staten Island man who died in the custody of police officers ten days ago suffocated because of pressure on his chest and neck while he lay in a prone position with his hand handcuffed behind his back. May 10 Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa’s first Black president. Tupac Shakur begins serving a 15 day sentence in a county jail for attacking director Allen Hughes on the set of a video shoot. Illinois executes serial killer John Wayne Gacy by lethal injection for the murder of 33 young men and boys. May 17 The reclamation of Times Square was declared underway with a ceremony at the ninety four year old Victory Theater, set to re-open the following year with performances for children. The Victory project is symbolic of a long hoped turnaround in grungy 42nd Street, as is the New Amsterdam Theater across the street, which the Walt Disney Company has agreed to lease and rebuild with the use of a low-interest loan from the government. May 19 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, widow of President John F Kennedy and Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis, dies from cancer of the lymphatic system at age 64. May 31 Beastie Boys release their fourth album, "Ill Communication". June 12 Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman are murdered outside O.J. Simpson’s home in LA. "Passion", the Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine collaboration, and "Perestroika", part two of Tony Kushner's AIDS epic, "Angels in America", are the big prizewinners at the 48th annual Tony Awards. June 14 The New York Rangers defeat the Vancouver Canucks at Madison Square Garden in New York in Game seven of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals to win their first Stanley Cup Championship in 54 years and end the 'Curse of 1940'. June 17 O.J. Simpson and his friend Al Cowlings flee from police in his white Ford Bronco.

June 24 "Forrest Gump", starring Tom Hanks, opens. It will go on to be nominated for thirteen Academy Awards and win seven, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. "The Lion King" also opens that day; it will become the third highest-grossing animated film of all time. June 28 Members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult release Sarin gas attack at Matsumoto, Japan. Seven people are killed and 660 are injured. July 5 Hootie and the Blowfish release their debut album, "Cracked Rear View". It will become the best-selling album of the 1990’s (17.5 Million copies). July 6 Proclaiming success with their March program to combat quality of life crimes in the West Village, the New York City Police Department said yesterday it would take the strategy citywide by giving precinct commanders increased power to fight graffiti, public beer drinking, aggressive panhandling, loud radio playing, selling alcohol to minors, and prostitution. July 7 The fourth Lollapalooza tour kicks off in Henderson Nevada, with an opening lineup that includes Smashing Pumpkins, the Beastie Boys, George Clinton & the P. Funk All-Stars, The Breeders, A Tribe Called Quest, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, L7, and Boredoms. August 12 The Major League baseball strike begins, leading to the cancellation of 938 games, including the entire 1994 postseason and World Series. "Woodstock '94" opens at the original site of the festival in Saugerties, New York, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the original Woodstock festival in 1969. August 25 "My So Called Life,” starring Claire Danes, premieres on ABC. August 26 "Natural Born Killers", written by Quentin Tarantino, directed by Oliver Stone, and starring Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis, opens. The New York Times reports that the Giuliani administration's aggressive effort to crack down on street crime is placing new strains on New York City's courts and jails, forcing the city to scramble to handle the overload. Correction Department officials requested an emergency procedure this week to speed up the building of temporary prison cells at Rikers Island, to be completed by next spring at a cost of thirty million dollars US. September 13 The Notorious B.I.G. officially releases his first album, "Ready to Die". (Songs from the album had been circulating all summer long in mixtapes.)

New York Images Remain The Property Of The Originating Source- Copyright Protected ©2008 The Main Players One of the world‘s most respected film, television and theatre actors, Academy Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley was last seen in "You Kill Me" for director John Dahl, also starring Tea Leoni and Luke Wilson. In 1982, he won the Academy ® Award for Best Actor for his performance in "Gandhi" followed by a BAFTA Film Award for Best Actor and Best Newcomer. He then earned the London Evening Standard Award for Best Actor for his performance in Harold Pinter’s "Portrayal". Sir Ben’s other film credits include: "Schindler’s List", for which he won the London Evening Standard Award; "Bugsy"; Trevor Nunn’s "Twelfth Night"; "Oliver Twist"; Stephen Zaillan’s "Searching for Bobby Fischer"; "Death and the Maiden" and, he narrated Spielberg’s "A.I."
Raised in Manhattan, Josh Peck has been doing stand-up comedy since the age of eight, and began his acting career at the age of 14 with a role in the independent film "The Newcomers" with Kate Bosworth. After he became a regular on The Amanda Show with Amanda Bynes, Josh and friend Drake Bell were asked to star in their own family show, "Drake and Josh", one of Nickelodeon’s most popular shows. His other credits include: "Mean Creek", "Drillbit Taylor" and, as the voice of Eddie in the animated hits "Ice Age and "Ice Age 2: The Meltdown".
Olivia Thirlby resides in New York City, where she was born and raised. She has trained extensively in classical Shakespearian acting in New York at the American Globe Theatre, and in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. In 2006, Olivia was seen in the critically acclaimed film, "United 93", directed by Paul Greengrass. In 2007 Olivia would undertake four roles in four productions: David Gordon Green’s "Snow Angels" playing Lila Raybern opposite Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale (Snow Angels" premiered in competition at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival); Jan Schütte's "Love Comes Lately" as Sylvia; opposite David Duchovny in Si j’etais toi ("The Secret") as Samantha Marris and, the critically accliamed "Juno" in which she was cast as Leah.
Dutch-born Famke Janssen was recently seen in Pierre Morel’s suspense thriller "Taken", opposite Liam Neeson Janssen starred in "X-Men 3" as Jean Grey. She originated that role in X-Men and X-2. Last year, Janssen wrapped the independent films "Turn the River" and "The Ten", which premiered at Sundance. She also appeared in the independent film "The Treatment" opposite Sir Ian Holm. In 2006, Janssen was awarded with the Golden Starfish Award for Career Achievement in Acting at the Hamptons Film Festival. Janssen played Xenia Onatopp in the James Bond thriller "GoldenEye". Synopsis

It's the summer of 1994, and the streets of New York are pulsing with hip-hop and wafting with the sweet aroma of marijuana: but change is in the air. The newly-inaugurated mayor, Rudy Giuliani, is beginning to implement his anti-fun initiatives against "crimes" like noisy portable radios, graffiti and public drunkenness. Set against this backdrop, recent High School graduate Luke Shapiro spends his last summer before college selling dope throughout New York City, as well as trading it to frazzled shrink Dr Squires in return for therapy time. Not that Luke really needs therapy. What he longs for most is some peace and quiet at home, a bit of respite from his argueing parents, and, to get laid before he starts college. Dr Squires too is looking for change. His marriage is on the rocks. The two form an unlikely friendship. But the hidden object of Lukes desire is Dr Squires step-daughter, Stephanie.

The Verdict "Academy Award ® winner Sir Ben Kingsley playing a psychiatrist with long flowing locks, sucking on a bong and swapping session times for weed? As he did in that wonderful British crim flick "Sexy Beast", Sir Ben steps out in another 'out of left field role' as Dr Squires, a man who is definately at a crossroads in his life. He's facing as many challenges as his patients. Josh Peck co-stars as Luke Shapiro. Josh is a loner. A young man who has a lucrative business selling weed, he's just graduated from high school and after the summer break will head off to college. Together these two make the unlikeliest of buddies, turning "The Wackness" into not just a coming of age story but also a damn good buddy flick. Sir Ben is outstanding. Peck, best known for "The Amanda Show" with Amanda Bynes and one of Nickelodeon’s most popular shows, "Drake and Josh", gives a polished performance. The surprise performance in "The Wackness" comes from Olivia Thirlby who is outstanding as Dr Squires step-daughter Stephanie. Mary-Kate Olsen flashes in for a three minute flower child segment featuring herself and Sir Ben. Set in 1994, when former Federal prosecutor Mayor Rudolph William Giuliani took power, implimenting his famous crime crackdown, "The Wackness" is a highly entertaining film and one worth experiencing. A rich piece of storytelling, this film is somewhere between 'art house" and 'main stream' cinema. Highly Recommended. 4 STARS." Crew Bytes "THE WACKNESS" was .......
directed by Jonathan Levine ["Shards" and "Love Bytes"]; screenplay by Jonathan Levine ["Shards" and "Love Bytes"]; art direction by Beth Kuhn ["Q & A", "You've Got Mail" and "Music of the Heart"]; costume design by Michael Clancy ["The Guru", "Trust The Man" and "We Own the Night"]; production design by Annie Spitz ["David & Dee" and "Ben And Holly"]; edited by Josh Noyes ["Between", "Ben And Holly" and "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane"]; cinematography by Petra Korner ["Stefan's Green Card", "The Wind and the Water" and "The Informers"]; original music by 2006 Jackson Hole Film Festival Cowboy Award winner David Torn ["The Order", "Friday Night Lights" and "Lars and the Real Girl"]. Who's Who

Ben Kingsley Famke Janssen Josh Peck Olivia Thirlby Mary-Kate Olsen Jane Adams Method Man Aaron Yoo Talia Balsam David Wohl Bob Dishy Joanna Merlin Shannon Briggs Roy Milton Davis

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Dr Squires Kristin Squires Luke Shapiro Stephanie Union Elanor Percy Justin Mrs Shapiro Mr Shapiro Grandpa Shapiro Grandma Shapiro Body Guard #1 Homeless Man

Run Time 99 minutes Rated MA15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2008 - Madman Cinema - All Rights Reserved ©2008 All Rights Reserved - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - Protected by Australian, International, Copyright & Trademark Laws.