Struck by Lightning (2012)

A young man recounts the way he blackmailed his fellow classmates into contributing to his literary magazine.

Director:

Brian Dannelly

Writer:

Chris Colfer

Stars:

Rebel Wilson, Chris Colfer, Dermot Mulroney

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rebel Wilson	...	Malerie Baggs
Chris Colfer	...	Carson Phillips
Allison Janney	...	Sheryl Phillips
Scott Bailey	...	Officer Murray
Donna Ann Ward	...	Officer #2 (as DonnaAnn Ward)
Amy Nabors	...	Reporter
Benjamin Byram	...	Singer #1
Jonathan Byram	...	Singer #2
Frank Noel	...	Pastor
Luke Lewis	...	Youngest Carson
Jenny Herrick	...	First Grade Teacher
Dermot Mulroney	...	Neal Phillips
Polly Bergen	...	Grandma
Adam Kolkin	...	Young Carson
Jay Malone	...	Algebra Teacher

Storyline

A high school boy desperate to escape the idiocy of the people in his hometown trys to create a way in which he can move to New York, attend the college of his dreams and do something other than live in the foot steps of his drunken, divorced mother. Along the way he blackmails his fellow students into contributing to his literary magazine and discovers what its like to feel accomplished. Does he get accepted into the college of his dreams? Is he going to make a difference and follow his life goal?

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Plot Keywords:

blackmail | high school | struck by lightning | mother son relationship | grandmother grandson relationship | 

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Taglines:

A personal raincloud can be deadly...

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 January 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Struck

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$12,940 (USA) (11 January 2013)

Gross:

$22,930 (USA) (11 January 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Permut Presentations, Camellia Entertainment, Evil Media Empire

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rebel Wilson was cast the day before filming began. Casting director, Michael V. Nicolo, had a dream about her in the role of Malerie and she came in to audition the next day.

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Quotes

Carson Phillips: 'Shakespeare once wrote Life is but a dream. And that's how I live my life. From one dream to the next, hating every update of reality.

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Connections

Referenced in Chelsea Lately: Episode #6.55 (2012)

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Soundtracks

"The Great Escape"
Written and performed by Patrick Watson (ASCAP)
Published by Songs of Intrigue
Courtesy of Secret City Records

User Reviews

Carson Philips wants to be a journalist and blackmails half the student body to join his literary magazine to better his chances of getting into his dream college.

This coming of age film was well written and showed one of the other sides of Actor/Writer/Producer Chris Colfer. He originally wrote it when he was about 18 and dipped into some very complicated matters such as divorce. I would recommend this to anyone of any age. Some matters, although they seem very childlike (like blackmailing others to get what you want), touch on some serious aspects such as how schools are run. Although it is unlikely for someone to get struck by lightning and die spontaneously, it does bring awareness to many problems. Rebel Wilson is incredible in this. Even in the end when half the theater was balling their eyes out and i had the equivalent of a glass full of water on my sweater from crying, she made everyone laugh literally out loud. Her one liners were all her; she was doing improv for pretty much the whole move. Recap: EVERYONE NEEDS TO WATCH THIS. its not sappy but its sad, its hilarious, and it touches one important subjects.