Jeffrey Blitz (2002's SPELLBOUND) directs this comedy that follows in the footsteps of teen outsider indies such DONNIE DARKO, THUMBSUCKER, NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, and RUSHMORE. Set in New Jersey, the film follows Hal Hefner (impressive newcomer Reese Thompson) in his attempts to go through high school unnoticed. This is made considerably harder by his obvious stutter and inability to verbalize even the most basic statements, not to mention his thoughts and feelings. Bringing him no help are his strange and abusive older brother Earl (Vincent Piazza), his recently divorced parents, his mother's live-in boyfriend, and his school's inadequate speech therapist. When the school's bossy, attractive debate champion Ginny Ryerson (Anna Kendrick) tries to recruit Hal as her debating partner, good sense tells him no but his hormones cry yes, and soon Hal finds himself confronted with growing feelings for Ginny as well as the looming humiliation of having to compete in the state finals.
ROCKET SCIENCE features a good cast of relative unknowns, who with the help of a solid script, convey the pangs of adolescent angst and the awkwardness of high school. The film treads familiar territory but does so well, sticking to the story and not getting too caught up in style. The film's soundtrack, which features songs from Clem Snide frontman Eef Barzelay, perfectly matches its indie pedigree.
Hal Hefner is a young man of few words. A high school student in Plainsboro, New Jersey, he has a persistent stutter for which he endures countless indignities at the hands of his classmates. His older brother, Earl, a directionless kleptomaniac, tells him he needs an agenda, but with none apparent, Hal takes to hiding in the school's custodial closet.
Enter Virginia Reyerson, star of the debate team. Dismissing the obvious issue of Hal's public speaking as something pent-up anger will resolve, she recruits him for the team. For Virginia, debate is life; for Hal, life is Virginia. So it seems a good match. Until it isn't.
Jeffrey Blitz's ingenious story of adolescent love and finding one's voice seems constantly to reinvent itself. Strewn with sardonic images, hilarious dialogue, wonderfully idiosyncratic expressions of character, and a narrator at pains to convey the mysterious connections of life, it evokes teenage confusion with humor and honesty. That Hal can't tell if he's motivated by love or revenge is just one amusing irony (kids making out during a debate on abstinence is another).
Movie Database
In Theaters
