I was 4 when this film took place. I'll admit, I'm in no way able to truly understand this movie. My brother and sister were then both about the age I am now, so for the first time, I felt a little jealous of them. It looked fun. To be fair, I DID have pump-action Air Jordans ...

The Wackness is an indie teen coming-of-age film centering around one Luke Shapiro. He's just graduated high school on the upper east side of New York City. What is there to do over the summer, before he heads off to college? Luke is gonna sell drugs to make a little extra cash.

It's 1994. New York City. Notorious B.I.G. just came out with his first tape (yeah, cassettes. Remember those?).

Luke doesn't have any friends. He's just the dealer. A kid's gotta have a crush though, right? In steps Stephanie: the daughter (oh sorry, STEP-daughter) of Dr. Squires (played awfully well by Ben Kingsley).

Dr. Squires is Luke's shrink. And client.

We soon find out that this movie hasn't only got one screw up; it's got plenty. Luke's about to experience his first love — Stephanie is a young girl who can't quite figure out where she belongs. Dr. Squires is caught in a loveless marriage, drowning himself with both prescription drugs and his work.

Somehow, Shapiro and Squires become closely bonded — it's what happens when you get thrown in jail and share a weekend drug and booze binge.

Everyone is intermingling around a very well re-created 1994 backdrop. It's dark, scary at times, unbelievably relatable, and funny as hell. Give this joint a shot (puns not intended). What I found out was that Disney's Josh Peck and Juno's Olivia Thirlby happen to be pretty fantastic actors.



Zerach Wieder, 18, has an associate's
degree in culinary arts from Santa Fe Community College. You can reach him
at zerock123@hotmail.com.