Orange County (2002)

A guidance counselor mistakenly sends out the wrong transcripts to Stanford University under the name of an over-achieving high schooler.

Director:

Jake Kasdan

Writer:

Mike White

Stars:

Colin Hanks, Jack Black, Schuyler Fisk

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Colin Hanks	...	Shaun Brumder
Jack Black	...	Lance Brumder
Schuyler Fisk	...	Ashley
Bret Harrison	...	Lonny (as Brett Harrison)
Kyle Howard	...	Arlo
R.J. Knoll	...	Chad (as RJ Knoll)
Catherine O'Hara	...	Cindy Beugler
Mike White	...	Mr. Burke
John Lithgow	...	Bud Brumder
Lily Tomlin	...	Charlotte Cobb
George Murdock	...	Bob Beugler
Lillian Hurst	...	Lupe
Chevy Chase	...	Principal Harbert
Olivia Rosewood	...	Dana
Carly Pope	...	Tanya

Storyline

Shaun Brumder is a local surfer kid from Orange County who dreams of going to Stanford to become a writer and to get away from his disfunctional family household. Except Shaun runs into one complication after another starting when his application is rejected after his dim-witted guidance counselor sends the wrong application. So, Shaun goes to great lengths with a little help from his girlfriend Ashley and his drugged-out loser brother Lance to get into Stanford any way they see fit.

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Plot Keywords:

guidance counselor | transcript | writer | stanford university | surfer | 

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Taglines:

It's not just a place. It's a state of mind.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for drug content, language and sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

11 January 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nix wie raus aus Orange County

Filming Locations:

California Institute of Technology - 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£167,051 (UK) (8 November 2002)

Gross:

£325,507 (UK) (15 November 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, MTV Films, Scott Rudin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Three people involved in the production have famous parents. Colin Hanks is Tom Hanks' son, Schuyler Fisk is Sissy Spacek's daughter and director Jake Kasdan is Lawrence Kasdan's son.

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Goofs

At the end of the film when Shaun and his friends are on the beach, he decides to take up surfing again. Shaun and his friends pick up their surf boards and run towards the water. However, the sun is setting and the sea is really calm. There are no waves at all, not even a ripple.

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Quotes

Krista: Bud is getting so fat. You should really talk to him, he's going to have a heart attack. Plus he's fat.

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Crazy Credits

During the opening credits both the font of the credits and the way they are displayed are similar to that of the output of a typewriter.

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Connections

Referenced in Mega64: The Wizard II (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Everything's Cool"
by Jeremy Popoff, A. Jay Popoff (as Alan Jay Popoff), Allen Shellenberger & Kevin Baldes
Performed by Lit
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label, a unit of BMG Entertainment
Under license from BMG Special Products

User Reviews

Orange County is decent, but Jack Black's wardrobe isn't.

I doubt that anyone had real high hopes for this year's first "teen flick" -- mainly due to the mentioning of MTV in the company credits -- but it was actually pretty decent. Sure, Jack Black is just an obnoxious John Belushi/Chris Farley imitator, but he DID deliver a few laughs -- and a lot of cringes as he walks around the house wearing nothing but his tighty-whities in search of a urine sample. There is an obvious relation between Colin Hanks' acting and his father's, but I just hope he'll get an opportunity to show the true extent of his talent in a serious drama. I've always been a fan of Kevin Kline's (especially in one of my favorite comedies, A Fish Called Wanda) and he made a nice cameo appearance in Orange County. Another hilarious cameo is made by the genius of modern comedy, Harold Ramis (director: Caddyshack, Groundhog Day). The screenplay is nothing new, but hey... what did you expect? I suppose the main thing that helped me overcome the many flaws of Orange County is the fact that it never thought it was greater than it really was. Many of this year's movies (i.e. Spider-Man) believe themselves to be ingenious works of filmmaking, when they are really nothing but aimless and pointless. Orange County is aimless and pointless, also, but it never pretends to be anything more. And in a day and age where Scooby-Doo labels itself a "comedic masterpiece," Orange County is a fun and goofy romp, and a surprising breath of fresh air.

Overall rating: 7/10