The Wackness

New York City, 1994: a city pulsing with hip hop, a city whose new mayor, Rudy Giuliani, is using controversial methods to address homelessness and crime.Much like the city, Luke (Josh Peck) and Dr. Squires (Sir Ben Kingsley) are at acrossroads: Luke considers himself semi-suicidal, bemoaning his high schoolsocial status and the fact that his family is on the verge of eviction; Dr. Squiresand his rehab-addicted wife (Famke Janssen) can barely tolerate each other.

Together, Luke and Squires agree to help each other find happiness. When Lukeidentifies medication as his salvation, Dr. Squires chides him, "Don't go for thequick fix. This whole city wants a quick fix." Eventually, however, the two bondover a common goal: getting laid. This quest takes them from borough to borough, and leads to encounters with several of Luke's 'business associates':among them, a dreadlocked pixie (Mary-Kate Olsen). Eventually, Luke's attention
turns to Dr. Squires' stepdaughter, Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby), which in turn, causes the already fragile Doctor to lose it completely...

Set against the backdrop of the greatest year in hip hop history, The Wackness takes place in a very different time: a time of pagers, not cell phones, a time in which Tupac and Biggie were alive, one in which Kurt Cobain had only recently taken his own life. The film uses this world as a backdrop for a
very different story: one with humour, pathos, sex, drugs, and beats.

Director: Jonathan Levine
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Josh Peck, Olivia Thirlby
Mary-Kate Olsen, Famke Janssen
Certificate: 15
Running time: 110 minutes (approx)
Release date: 29th August 2008