The Wackness (Blu-ray) (US Version) Blu-ray Region A

Palpable heat, complete with sweltering lens flares, washes over the mental and emotional currents of writer-director Jonathan Levine's THE WACKNESS. As the summer months of 1994 pass in three naturally marked acts, the neon pop of a pained youth culture's graffiti art punctuates Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's New York City and its palette of washed-out darks and midtones. This part-familiar, part-engagingly new coming-of-age story suggests the Giuliani administration's "cleaning up" of the city as a metaphorical model of how not to approach the pain of living. The philosophical critique of sweeping the ugly under the rug, seeing it as nothing but a disservice to oneself, comes courtesy of the advice and attempted practice of gonzo-druggie psychiatrist Dr. Squires (Ben Kingsley) and the struggle of his teenage pot-dealing patient, Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck). The only way to live life, says Squires, who accepts marijuana as payments for Luke's therapy sessions, is to embrace it in all its excruciating throes. THE WACKNESS is an appropriately self-aware dark comedy that separates itself from coming-of-age films set in earlier eras by pointing to its own genre's conventions (through blunt articulation and express devoicing, alternately) as much as it does its themes and sentiments. Peck delivers a layered performance as Luke. The laconic stoner's heavy-lidded, steely stares and draggy attempts to be cool, and his statements that sound like questions at vulnerable moments ("I got this for you, yo," he says shyly in his white-boy hip-hop intonation as he hands a gift to Squires's stepdaughter Stephanie, the girl he's fallen in love with), are belied by a natural intelligence and a growing anxiety. Incidentally, beautiful Manhattan native Olivia Thirlby (JUNO) is perfect as dream girl Stephanie. All this feverish imagery is emotionally enveloped by THE WACKNESS's ‘90s hip-hop soundtrack, which features the Notorious B.I.G. and A Tribe Called Quest.

"Funny and poignant, THE WACKNESS is one of the better coming-of-age films to hit theaters in a while....Real life plays intriguingly in the background of this edgy comedy..." - Claudia, Puig (USA TODAY CRITIC), New York Times, 07/03/2008

"[A] studiously offbeat coming-of-age crowd-pleaser....The film is dotted with timely signifiers, but its one truly relevant reference point is that this was the last moment in the culture before cell phones." - Owen, Gleiberman (Entertainment Weekly Critic), Entertainment Weekly, 07/11/2008

"Ben Kingsley remakes himself almost as comprehensively as he did in SEXY BEAST..." - Ryan, Gilbey (Sight & Sound Critic), Sight and Sound, 09/01/2008

3 stars out of 5 -- "THE WACKNESS is an easy watch, with hazy cinematography evoking the feel of summer and a mellow soundtrack that lovers of '90s hip-hop will go ape over." - Nick, De Semlyen (Empire Film Critic), Empire, 09/01/2008

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Product Title:	The Wackness (Blu-ray) (US Version) The Wackness (Blu-ray) (US Version) The Wackness (Blu-ray) (US Version) The Wackness (Blu-ray) (US Version) The Wackness (Blu-ray) (US Version)
Artist Name(s):	Brian Cox (Actor) | Josh Peck (Actor) | Eric Red (Actor) | Olivia Thirlby (Actor) | Ben Olsen (Actor) | Mary-Kate Olsen (Actor) | Ben Kingsley (Actor) | Jonathan Levine | Obba Rick (Actor) 葛斯 白賴仁葛斯 (Actor) | Josh Peck (Actor) | Eric Red (Actor) | Olivia Thirlby (Actor) | Ben Olsen (Actor) | 瑪麗姬奧遜 (Actor) | 賓京士利 (Actor) | Jonathan Levine | Obba Rick (Actor) 葛斯 白赖仁 (Actor) | Josh Peck (Actor) | Eric Red (Actor) | Olivia Thirlby (Actor) | Ben Olsen (Actor) | 玛丽姬奥逊 (Actor) | 宾京士利 (Actor) | Jonathan Levine | Obba Rick (Actor) Ｂｒｉａｎ Ｃｏｘ (Actor) | Josh Peck (Actor) | Eric Red (Actor) | Olivia Thirlby (Actor) | Ben Olsen (Actor) | Mary-Kate Olsen (Actor) | ベン・キングズレー (Actor) | Jonathan Levine | Obba Rick (Actor) Brian Cox (Actor) | Josh Peck (Actor) | Eric Red (Actor) | Olivia Thirlby (Actor) | Ben Olsen (Actor) | Mary-Kate Olsen (Actor) | Ben Kingsley (Actor) | Jonathan Levine | Obba Rick (Actor)
Director:	David Torn | Jonathan Levine David Torn | Jonathan Levine David Torn | Jonathan Levine David Torn | Jonathan Levine David Torn | Jonathan Levine
Producer:	Ben Olsen | David Torn | Mary-Kate Olsen | Joe Neurauter Ben Olsen | David Torn | 瑪麗姬奧遜 | Joe Neurauter Ben Olsen | David Torn | 玛丽姬奥逊 | Joe Neurauter Ben Olsen | David Torn | Mary-Kate Olsen | Joe Neurauter Ben Olsen | David Torn | Mary-Kate Olsen | Joe Neurauter
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Blu-ray Region Code:	A - Americas (North, Central and South except French Guiana), Korea, Japan, South East Asia (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) What is it?
Release Date:	2009-01-06
UPC Code:	043396292154
Language:	English, French
Subtitles:	English, Spanish, French
Country of Origin:	United States
Color Information:	Color
Disc Format(s):	Blu-ray
Rating:	R (MPAA)
Publisher:	Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Package Weight:	280 (g)
Shipment Unit:	2 What is it?
YesAsia Catalog No.:	1012925074

Director: Jonathan Levine

Blu-Ray Disc Features:

Region A
Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English, French
Subtitles - English SDH, French, Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Additional Footage - The Luke Shapiro Show Episode 1
Audio Commentary - Jonathan Levine, Director; Josh Peck, Actor
Behind The Scenes -Time In A Bottle: Behind the Scenes Of The Wackness
Deleted Scenes
Featurette - Keeping It Real: A Day In The Life Of Writer/Director Jonathan Levine