i watched the wackness a couple of months ago. i wasn’t planning on posting anything, but i keep coming back to this movie and thinking about it. i liked it as i was watching, but now that it’s had a little time to settle in, i’ve decided that i love this movie.
for those of you that didn’t know, i’m 27 years old. the movie is set in 1994. this is the first movie that has brought back with full detail what it felt like to live in 1994 and achingly reminded me that i’m an adult now and it’s been almost 10 years since i was in high school. the soundtrack features songs by the notorious big, total, faith evans, biz markie and tribe called quest. it’s all the hip hop and r&b that i listened to as i was growing up. this is something i never thought i’d say, but it made me nostalgic for high school- a time in my life that i always wanted to leave behind with all my old insecurities.
as i was perusing rotten tomatoes, i came across this excerpt from a review:
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.
i couldn’t have said it better because when i watched this movie- i was THERE. ahhhhh, the 90’s…. but, it wasn’t just the soundtrack and setting that got me. josh peck’s character, luke, is so sweet… he made me remember what it felt like to have my heart broken for the first time. i especially like when he says:
i love you. i got mad love for you, shorty. it’s on the real. it’s like i want to listen to boyz II men when i’m with you.
that line made me feel all the same awkwardness i felt when i had my first kiss at 14, at the skating rink, listening to boyz II men and not knowing what the hell was going on… and even though that dude grew up to be pretty gross, that kiss floored me and i’ll always remember it.
this is a great little movie and i highly recommend it! plus you get to see old ass ben kingsley stick his tongue down mary-kate olsen’s throat. you decide if that’s a pro or a con.
-claire
