The Wackness (2008)

Director:

Jonathan Levine

Writer (WGA):

Jonathan Levine (written by)

Release Date:

25 July 2008 (Canada)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Sometimes it's right to do the wrong things.

Plot:

It's the summer of 1994, and the streets of New York are pulsing with hip-hop. Set against this backdrop, a lonely teenager named Luke Shapiro spends his last summer before university selling marijuana throughout New York City, trading it with his unorthodox psychotherapist for treatment, while having a crush on his stepdaughter.

Plot Keywords:

Summer | New York City | Marijuana | Love | High School

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Ben Kingsley	...	Dr. Squires
Josh Peck	...	Luke Shapiro
Famke Janssen	...	Mrs. Squires
Olivia Thirlby	...	Stephanie
Mary-Kate Olsen	...	Union
Jane Adams	...	Eleanor
Method Man	...	Percy
Aaron Yoo	...	Justin
Talia Balsam	...	Mrs. Shapiro
David Wohl	...	Mr. Shapiro
Bob Dishy	...	Grandpa Shapiro
Joanna Merlin	...	Grandma Shapiro
Shannon Briggs	...	Bodyguard #1
Roy Milton Davis	...	Homeless Man
Alexander Flores	...	Kid in Bar
Ross Levine	...	Blunt Boy
Ken Marks	...	Oliver
Kiah Fredricks	...	Police Officer #1
Robert Armstrong	...	Principal Edwards
Flint Beverage	...	Bartender
Rudy Costa	...	Corrections Officer
Nick Schutt	...	Albert
Sam Dishy	...	Subway Musician
Nicole Berger	...	Choreographer
Dawn Noel	...	Fly Girl 1 (as Dawn Pignuola)
Tyler Gilstrap	...	Fly Girl 2
Erin Elliott	...	Fly Girl 3
Natalie R Ridley	...	Fly Girl 4 (as Nathalie Ridley)
Ioana Alfonso	...	Fly Girl 5
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joseph Basile	...	Prisioner
Douglas J. Aguirre	...	Desk Officer in the Prison (uncredited)
Charlene Biton	...	College Student (uncredited)
Kevin Cannon	...	Homeless Dealer (uncredited)
Jack Caruso	...	Arresting Police Officer (uncredited)
Peter Conboy	...	Man on Park Bench (uncredited)
Sean Dillon	...	Gruden (uncredited)
John Farrer	...	Faculty Member at Graduation (uncredited)
Melissa Grimmond	...	Girl #4 (uncredited)
Eugene Kim	...	Subway Guy (uncredited)
Rylie J. Neale	...	Luke's Classmate (uncredited)
Bill Walters	...	Barfly (uncredited)

Directed by
Jonathan Levine

Writing credits (WGA)
Jonathan Levine		(written by)

Produced by
Keith Calder	....	producer
Jared Goldman	....	line producer (as Jared Ian Goldman)
Felipe Marino	....	producer
Joe Neurauter	....	producer
Brian Udovich	....	co-producer

Original Music by
David Torn

Cinematography by
Petra Korner		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Josh Noyes

Casting by
Joanna Colbert
Richard Mento

Production Design by
Annie Spitz

Art Direction by
Beth Kuhn

Set Decoration by
Cherish Magennis

Costume Design by
Michael Clancy

Makeup Department
Daisy Curbeon	....	key hair stylist
Patricia Grande	....	hair department head
Andrea Grande-Capone	....	additional hair stylist
Linda Grimes	....	makeup department head
E. Morrow	....	key makeup artist (as Eve Morrow)
Souraya Hamdi	....	additional makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Dave Donars	....	production supervisor
Jared Goldman	....	unit production manager (as Jared Ian Goldman)
Zara Park	....	post-production supervisor: digital intermediate, Modern Videofilm (as Zara Roberts)
Michael Toji	....	post-production supervisor: EPC

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paul Epstein	....	first assistant director
Bruce Hall	....	second assistant director
Marcus Scigliano	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Derrick Alford	....	key construction coordinator
Jamie Arbuckle	....	on-set dresser
Scott Canfield	....	leadman
Travis Child	....	charge scenic
Anthony Cox	....	best boy construction grip
Paul George Divone	....	carpenter foreman (as Paul Divone)
Bridget Edwards	....	additional set decoration shopper
Stephen Girouard	....	key construction grip (as Stephen Geirouard)
Jonathan Hansen	....	stage production assistant
Kenneth W. Hoare	....	set dresser (as Kenny Hoare)
Greg Izzo	....	set dresser
Duncan Johnson	....	art department production assistant
Glenn Lloyd	....	art department coordinator
Daniel Ritchel	....	assistant property master (as Danny Ritchel)
Paul Robinson	....	set dresser
Bea Spitz	....	original artwork
Kara Torney	....	set decoration buyer (as Kara Zeigon)
Sabrina Wright	....	property master
Dan Kajeckas	....	camera scenic artist (uncredited)
Michael Lee Nirenberg	....	lead scenic artist (uncredited)
Adam Pessah	....	camera scenic artist (uncredited)
Travis Quegan	....	property (uncredited)
Noreen Souza-Bailey	....	set dresser: additional crew (uncredited)
Greg Voth	....	graphic artist (uncredited)
Joan Winters	....	graphic design (uncredited)

Sound Department
Tara Blume	....	sound effects editor
Eugene Gearty	....	sound designer
John-Thomas Graves	....	sound effects editor (as John Graves)
Anguibe Guindo	....	boom operator
Ken Ishii	....	sound mixer
Trevor Jolly	....	supervising sound editor
Eric Justen	....	sound re-recording mixer
Donald Lyles	....	adr mixer
Maciek Malish	....	dialogue editor (as Maciek Malisch)
Maciek Malish	....	foley editor (as Maciek Malisch)
David Marcus	....	director of sound services
Joe Origlieri	....	sound production assistant
Jeffrey Perkins	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jeffrey A. Pitts	....	sound effects editor (as Jeff Pitts)
Eddie Rogers	....	dialogue editor
James Wright	....	sound consultant: Dolby
Vance Walden	....	adr recordist (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Rene Clark	....	digital imaging artist: Modern Videofilm
Manny Dubon	....	iq assistant: Modern VideoFilm
Nicholas Hasson	....	iq artist: Modern VideoFilm (as Nick A. Hasson)
Daniel Elliott Linger	....	rotoscope artist: SnootFX
Dimitri Loginowski	....	digital artist: SnootFX
Dave McCarthy	....	drs operator: Modern Videofilm
Karen McCarthy	....	drs operator: Modern Videofilm
Peter Moc	....	digital imaging artist: Modern Videofilm
Allan Nadel	....	visual effects compositor: SnootFX
Zara Park	....	digital intermediate post-production supervisor: Modern Videofilm (as Zara Roberts)
Eric Scofield	....	electronic graphics operator: Modern Videofilm
Dane Allan Smith	....	visual effects producer: SnootFX (as Dane Smith)
Corina Zuniga	....	electronic graphics operator: Modern Videofilm (as Corina L. Zuniga)
Tara Ansley	....	assistant: visual effects supervisor (uncredited)

Stunts
Chris Barnes	....	stunt coordinator
Cort Hessler	....	stunt coordinator
Michael Lindengren	....	stunt double: Dr. Squires
Ian Mclaughlin	....	utility stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Tamura Bakr	....	company electrician
Daniel Beaman	....	dolly grip (as Dan Beaman)
Mark Beattie	....	company electrician
Eric Boncher	....	stage rigging gaffer
Bob Calandro	....	grip
John Coots	....	best boy electric
John Corso	....	camera operator
Divine Cox	....	company grip
Jennifer Evans	....	company grip
Joseph Fleming	....	company grip
David Harges	....	rigging best boy
Milly Itzhak	....	second assistant camera
Zbigniew 'Ziggy' Kouros	....	company grip (as Zbigniew Kouros)
Ed Koza	....	company grip
Nina Kuhn	....	company electrician
Dave McAllister	....	key grip (as David McAllister)
Kevin McClean	....	house electrician
Iris Ng	....	rigging gaffer
Jesse Pelikan	....	company grip
Steve Peloquin	....	best boy grip (as Steven Peloquin)
Jeff Porter	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Sam Rosedietcher	....	company grip (as Samuel Rosedietcher)
Benjamin Salley	....	company electrician
Ken Shibata	....	gaffer
Frank Stubblefield	....	company electrician
Craig Vaccaro	....	company grip
JoJo Whilden	....	still photographer
William S. White	....	loader (as Will White)
Dennis Yeandle	....	additional still photographer
George Bianchini	....	Steadicam operator (uncredited)
Matt Cross	....	electrician (uncredited)
René Crout	....	additional first assistant camera: "b" camera (uncredited)
Robert DiGiacomo	....	first assistant camera: underwater scenes (uncredited)
Chris Dixon	....	electrician (uncredited)
Cory Durst	....	company grip (uncredited)
Micah Eisenmann	....	electrician (uncredited)
Afton Grant	....	Steadicam operator (uncredited)
Martin Jaksa	....	grip (uncredited)
Alexander Martin	....	electrician (uncredited)
Aaron Medick	....	Steadicam operator (uncredited)
Matthew Mendelson	....	electrician (uncredited)
Michele SchianodiCola	....	best boy rigging electrician (uncredited)
Yoshi Sonoda	....	electrician (uncredited)
Walter Strafford	....	electrician (uncredited)
Joe Victorine	....	additional electrician (uncredited)
William S. White	....	additional first assistant camera (uncredited)
David Woolner	....	electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Jesse Lucy Allen	....	casting assistant
Lee Genick	....	extras casting assistant
Ronen Gevint	....	background casting
Ali Merhi	....	casting associate (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Felicity Gifford	....	set costumer
Lisa Kisner	....	wardrobe production assistant
Pilar Limosner	....	assistant costume designer
Ivonne Reimann	....	wardrobe intern
Laura Steinman	....	wardrobe supervisor
Sonya Strich	....	wardrobe intern
Justine Chevalier	....	wardrobe assistant (uncredited)
May Elbaz	....	stitcher (uncredited)
Cassidy Mosher	....	additional costumer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Jenny Bassichis	....	post-production coordinator: Wow & Flutter
Carl L.W. Bochek III	....	post-production assistant: EPC (as Carl Bochek)
Shawn Broes	....	digital intermediate editor: Modern VideoFilm
Jason Crump	....	dailies colorist: Mega Playground
Joe Fineman	....	post-production consultant: EPC
Joe Finley	....	digital intermediate colorist: Modern VideoFilm
Alisha Kosaka	....	post-production coordinator: Wow & Flutter (as Alisha Marks)
Bryan Park	....	digital intermediate editor: Modern VideoFilm
Nicole Ruiz	....	post-production coordinator: EPC
Stephen R. Sheridan	....	color timer (as Steve Sheridan)
Amy Skerkoski	....	post-production assistant: EPC
Michael Smollin	....	dailies colorist: Mega Playground
Joe Violante	....	dailies advisor: Technicolor N.Y. (as Joey Violante)

Music Department
Jim Black	....	music supervisor
Ryan Michael Demaree	....	assistant composer
Gabe Hilfer	....	music coordinator
Bryan Lawson	....	music producer (as Bryan Elliott Lawson)
Bryan Lawson	....	score mixer (as Bryan Elliott Lawson)
Bryan Lawson	....	supervising music editor (as Bryan Elliott Lawson)
David Torn	....	music producer
David Torn	....	score mixer
Sam Zeines	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Bobby Alberga	....	driver (as Robert Alberga)
Lewis Dangelo	....	driver
Bob Donavan	....	driver (as Robert Donovan)
Billy Featherstone	....	driver
Michael Fennimore	....	transportation captain
George Grover	....	driver
Jimmy Heidrich	....	driver (as Jim Heidrich)
Gabe Turiello	....	driver
Drew Yanarella	....	driver

Other crew
Allison Adams	....	assistant: Ben Kingsley
Adam Ballesteros	....	assistant: producers
Howard Baral	....	post-production accountant: R.C. Baral & Co.
Jeremy Brena	....	stand-in: Josh Peck
Scott Brooks	....	set production assistant
Grant Carpenter	....	production intern
Rob Coleman	....	location scout
Kathleen Corbin	....	location coordinator
Olivia Curtis	....	adr loop group
Evan Davies	....	adr loop group
Leo Driver	....	parking coordinator
Shannon Dry	....	first assistant accountant
Harriet Steel Durkes	....	set production assistant
Katrina Dykes	....	scheduling director: Wow & Flutter
Corrine Ellington	....	stand-in: Framke Janssen
Cristina Esteras-Ortiz	....	dailies coordinator: Mega Playground
Lindsay Feldman	....	production coordinator
Tori Fritz	....	adr loop group
Michelle Garcia	....	production intern
Stephen Garrett	....	electronic press kit
Sky Gewant	....	set production assistant
Chris Gewehr	....	adr loop group
Robert Gillespie	....	production intern
Billy Gooch	....	set production assistant
Eric Goodwin	....	production intern
James Granger	....	production secretary
Libby Grant	....	adr loop group
Trish Gray	....	location scout
Greg Highsmith	....	payroll accountant
Jennifer Hoopes	....	location coordinator
Sierra Hornung	....	adr loop group
Nora Jenewein	....	production intern
Phyllis Kaufman	....	legal counsel: Fish & Richardson
Ryan David Kohler	....	office production assistant
Katie Kramer	....	set production assistant
Kristina Lee	....	assistant production coordinator
Evan Levine	....	production intern
Ross Levine	....	production consultant
Stephen Lippross	....	production accountant
Emilie Maison	....	press attache france
Elizabeth Marley	....	stand-in: Olivia Thirlby
Christopher Menges	....	location assistant (as Chris Menges)
Karen S. Neasi	....	product placement coordinator (as Karen Neasi)
Shikha Nirula	....	dailies coordinator: Mega Playground
John H. Powers	....	set production assistant
Matthew Reedy	....	key set production assistant (as Matthew J. Reedy)
Dawn Rosado	....	craft service assistant
Ali Rossiter	....	production intern
Betsy Rudnick	....	unit publicist: Falco Ink.
Chris Santangelo	....	stand-in: Ben Kingsley
Ian Sitek	....	additional key production assistant
Collin Smith	....	location manager
Jeannine Sturtevant	....	adr loop group
Rodney Tait	....	assistant parking coordinator
Shannon Treusch	....	unit publicist: Falco Ink.
Gabe Turiello Jr.	....	production assistant
Rob van de Laar	....	craft service
David Velasco	....	assistant location manager
Chris von Hoffmann	....	production assistant
Allison Wardley	....	production intern
Sharon Watt	....	script supervisor
Jack Wheeler	....	set production assistant
Sarah Berge	....	assistant: Ms. Janssen (uncredited)
Nicole Berger	....	choreographer (uncredited)
Todd M. Hofacker	....	assistant: Ben Kingsley (uncredited)
Brendan Kehoe	....	location scout (uncredited)
Doug McCafferty	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Sean Pinnow	....	intern (uncredited)
Adam S. Poswolsky	....	location scout (uncredited)
Wendy L. York	....	additional script supervisor (uncredited)

Thanks
Judy Greer	....	very special thanks
Tom Hanks	....	very special thanks
Phedon Papamichael	....	very special thanks
Liz Phair	....	special thanks
Shawn Regruto	....	thanks
Jason Rio	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Occupant Films (presents)
• SBK Pictures (presents)

Distributors

• Bac Films (2008) (France) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (2008) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• FS Film Oy (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Front Row Filmed Entertainment (2009) (United Arab Emirates) (all media) (Middle East)
• Métropole Films Distribution (2008) (Canada) (all media)
• Revolver Entertainment (2008) (UK) (all media)
• Seven Films (2008) (Greece) (all media)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (Canada) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Special Effects

• SnootFX (visual effects)

Other Companies

• David Haddad  transportation equipment
• EPC  post-production consulting
• Falco Ink.  publicity services
• Fish & Richardson  legal services
• Gotham Sound and Communications  walkies provided by (as Gotham Sound)
• Haddad's  transportation equipment
• Jive Records  soundtrack
• Lakeshore Records  score album
• Mega Playground  video dailies
• Modern VideoFilm  digital intermediate
• Nuncle  design and animation
• R.C. Baral & Company  post-production accounting
• Sylvia Fay/Lee Genick & Associates Casting  extras casting
• Vivid Entertainment  special thanks
• Wow & Flutter  sound post-production
• Wow & Flutter  sound re-recording
• Zephyr Graphics Production Services  original artwork (as Zephyr)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive drug use, language and some sexuality

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R | UK:15 | Ireland:16 | Australia:MA | Norway:15 | Sweden:7 | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade) | New Zealand:R18 | Singapore:R21 | Singapore:M18 (cut) | Italy:VM14 | France:U (with warning)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Occupant Films

Trivia:

The hat that Ben Kingsley wears was his own. He grabbed it when he set off to New York to film the movie, thinking it might be useful.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: An establishing shot of a Long Island Railroad train shows a train with model M-7 cars. The M-7 railcar was not introduced into service until 2002.

Quotes:

Luke Shapiro:Do me a favor, Steph?
Stephanie:Huh?
Luke Shapiro:Don't say nothin, ok? Just stand there til I leave. I wanna remember this. I've never done it before.
Stephanie:Never done what?
Luke Shapiro:Had my heart broken.

Movie Connections:

Features Tetris (1989) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Bump N' Grind

Focus on the Dopeness, not the Wackness

The Wackness is one of those rare movies that I go into the cinema not knowing next to anything about. Apart from a relatively unimpressive TV Spot I had seen I really didn't know what to expect. In fact it wasn't until the day before I was going to see it that I actually had any interest in seeing it. So I entered the cinema knowing Josh Peck (from that dreadful Drake and Josh show) and Ben Kingsley were starring. That was the extent of my knowledge. Two hours later I left the cinema feeling extraordinarily happy, in fact this movie made me smile more than most other movies have made me this year. While it isn't the funniest movie ever the movie does make you feel good about life. Perhaps the negative things that happen to the characters and how they overcome them that made me feel so good, or maybe it was the brilliant direction and script, or maybe, just maybe this is one of those rare movies that can be classed as a masterpiece. Anyway the fact is at the moment that this is my current second favourite movie of the year, behind The Dark Knight of course. The performances here are extremely top notch, I have no idea why I ever doubted Josh Peck in the role. I suppose Drake and Josh had destroyed all my images of him ever being a serious actor, which is stupid because I remember how brilliant he was in the highly under-watched Mean Creek. But this movie belongs to Sir Ben Kingsley as Peck's psychiatrist/friend/man he sells dope to. Kingsley is hilarious yet also oddly touching in a role not many actors could pull off. His story arc is played through extremely well, and whenever he is on screen the movie is a true revelation. But extra credit must go to the director, who has made an unoriginal tale seem so vivid and original its extraordinary.

Anyway as I said Josh Peck was an extremely pleasant surprise as Luke. Peck really proves himself as an actor in this movie, in fact to the extent that I believe he could potentially gain an Oscar nomination in future years, not for this movie though, he's good not that good. Peck delivers some pretty amusing lines pretty easily, but where he really shines through is the more dramatic sequences. A scene at the beach towards the end sees him deliver a killer of a performance. It also helps that he has considerable chemistry with Sir Ben Kingsley. Seriously I would love to see them in a movie together after this performance. Anyway Sir Ben Kingsley. I admit to not being much of a fan of him. Despite him delivering a good performance in Gandhi, which I have always regarded as overlong, tedious and way overrated, nothing else really stood out in my eyes. It also doesn't help his performance in Thunderbirds still haunts me to this day. However I honestly want him to get an Oscar nomination for his performance here. He is brilliant. This is the only movie you will probably see him kissing an Olsen, using a bong, and getting high a lot. His storyline is the best thing in the movie, and whenever he is on screen the movie goes from very good, to incredible. Olivia Thirlby delivers almost an equally as impressive performance as Peck. She makes a potential two dimensional character quite possibly more than three dimensional! Her character is never dull, not a stereotype, and her very final scene with Peck really is one of the films many highlights. Famek Janssen seems to have drawn the short straw in this movie, unfortunately she gets barely any screen time. A shame since her character does actually get very interesting in the middle of the movie, yet she seems a bit wasted, despite an above average performance.

The true power of The Wackness however comes from the way it is written, and also the direction. I was four in 1994, so am probably not the best person to talk about the time the movie is set, at this time I was still running around in my Power Rangers pyjamas! Anyway the music and the way people talk in the movie seem pretty accurate by my accounts, and also there are moments the feel of the movie seems pretty right. Anyway enough about that, the script here is the key. As I have said before the storyline isn't exactly original, in fact when it all boils down to it the movie is a simple coming of age tale. Still the script here makes the storyline seem refreshing. Peck is made to be extremely sympathetic, even when he is at his mopiest. Kingsley's character gets all the best lines of course, but his more dramatic moments once again show the level of thought gone into the character. The movie doesn't start off in the best way though, the first ten minutes are admittedly not what I really expected and left me a bit dumbstruck. Most namely a dance on the subway, which the more I think about the more I like. Anyway by the end you do feel genuinely happy and also impressed. There were seven people in my cinema screen, only me and my friend really laughed in it, but this is still a movie I urge people to see.

The Wackness is probably the biggest surprise for me of the year and one I cannot wait to buy on DVD. It won't make mega bucks at the cinema, but this really deserves to be watched more than it has been so far.