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IMDbPro

What Goes Up

  • 20092009
  • RR
  • 1h 55m
IMDb RATING
5.3/10
1.9K
YOUR RATING
Steve Coogan and Hilary Duff in What Goes Up (2009)
A reporter sent to cover the Space Shuttle Challenger launch becomes caught up in the lives of a group of young students.
Play trailer1:34
1 Video
18 Photos
  • Comedy
  • Drama
Set in the mid-80's when a reporter is sent to cover the Challenger Space Shuttle launch only to become mixed up in the lives of some local students.Set in the mid-80's when a reporter is sent to cover the Challenger Space Shuttle launch only to become mixed up in the lives of some local students.Set in the mid-80's when a reporter is sent to cover the Challenger Space Shuttle launch only to become mixed up in the lives of some local students.
IMDb RATING
5.3/10
1.9K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Jonathan Glatzer
  • Writers
    • Jonathan Glatzer
    • Robert C. Lawson
  • Stars
    • Steve Coogan
    • Hilary Duff
    • Olivia Thirlby
Top credits
  • Director
    • Jonathan Glatzer
  • Writers
    • Jonathan Glatzer
    • Robert C. Lawson
  • Stars
    • Steve Coogan
    • Hilary Duff
    • Olivia Thirlby
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 24User reviews
    • 26Critic reviews
    • 22Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos1

    What Goes Up
    Trailer 1:34
    What Goes Up

    Photos18

    Josh Peck and Molly Price in What Goes Up (2009)
    What Goes Up (2009)
    Steve Coogan and Hilary Duff in What Goes Up (2009)
    Hilary Duff in What Goes Up (2009)
    Hilary Duff, Molly Shannon, and Aubrey Mozino in What Goes Up (2009)
    Hilary Duff in What Goes Up (2009)
    Steve Coogan in What Goes Up (2009)
    Josh Peck in What Goes Up (2009)
    What Goes Up (2009)
    Steve Coogan, Hilary Duff, Josh Peck, and Olivia Thirlby in What Goes Up (2009)
    What Goes Up
    What Goes Up

    Top cast

    Edit
    Steve Coogan
    Steve Coogan
    • Campbell Babbitt
    Hilary Duff
    Hilary Duff
    • Lucy Diamond
    Olivia Thirlby
    Olivia Thirlby
    • Tess Sullivan
    Josh Peck
    Josh Peck
    • Jim Lement
    Molly Shannon
    Molly Shannon
    • Penelope Little
    Molly Price
    Molly Price
    • Donna Arbetter
    Max Hoffman
    Max Hoffman
    • Fenster Itski
    Sarah Lind
    Sarah Lind
    • Peggy Popoladopolous
    Laura Carswell
    Laura Carswell
    • Lute Lement
    • (as Laura Konechny)
    Ingrid Nilson
    Ingrid Nilson
    • Ann
    Andrea Brooks
    Andrea Brooks
    • Sue
    Andrew Wheeler
    Andrew Wheeler
    • Principal Person
    Gabrielle Rose
    Gabrielle Rose
    • Mrs. Bridigan
    Colleen Rennison
    Colleen Rennison
    • Sylvia
    Aubrey Mozino
    Aubrey Mozino
    • Blythe
    Aaron Brooks
    Aaron Brooks
    • Ezra
    Barry Greene
    Barry Greene
    • Sam Calalluci
    Jack Sochet
    Jack Sochet
    • Sam Calalluci
    • (voice)
    • (as David Sochet)
    • Director
      • Jonathan Glatzer
    • Writers
      • Jonathan Glatzer
      • Robert C. Lawson
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film has been in production for many years. Originally Mandy Moore was cast as Lucy, Michelle Williams was cast as Tess and Peter Sarsgaard was cast as Campbell. Later, Steve Coogan was cast as Campbell and Amber Tamblyn was cast as Tess, Kelli Garner was cast as Peggy, Paul Dano was cast as Jim, Alison Pill was cast as Ann and the singer Nellie McKay was cast as Sue . In early 2008 all six dropped out and Amanda Seyfried was given the role of the character Peggy. She was then cast as Sophie in the film Mamma Mia! (2008) and dropped out of What Goes Up (2009) and was replaced by Sarah Lind. Hilary Duff and Olivia Thirlby were then cast in the roles of Lucy and Tess respectively. Josh Peck, Ingrid Nilson and Andrea Brooks were then cast in the roles of Jim, Ann and Sue respectively.
    • Goofs
      In the scene near the very end when Steve Coogan's character Campbell is driving away you can clearly see the shoulder of someone riding in the passenger seat of the car.
    • Quotes

      Campbell Babbitt: Legends aren't born, they're written. And really that's what we all do, one way or another, when someone we love dies. And not just anyone, but someone extraordinary... Why not a hero? When they up and die, we're left with nothing. Nothing but the task to make them immortal. Only a magnificent epitaph will grant eternal life. And it's up to us, the ones left behind, to write it. However we see fit.

    • Alternate versions
      The version released in theaters was 10 minutes shorter, had several scenes reordered and had a number of different music cues. This was the version preferred by the filmmakers. Sony Pictures was unable to release this version on DVD citing time constraints.
    • Connections
      References 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
    • Soundtracks
      Any Other Day
      Written by Hilary Duff, Jonathan Glatzer, and Robert Lawson

      Performed by Hilary Duff

    User reviews24

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    'We don't need another hero'
    'WHAT GOES UP must come down' and that seems to be one way of looking at this funky little film written by Robert Lawson and writer/director Jonathan Glatzer. Given Steve Coogan's comedic talents it is able to rise above an implausible script and come close to be entertaining.

    The time frame is January 1986 and Campbell Babbitt (the last name is well chosen as a reference to Sinclair Lewis' novel 'Babbitt' - a satire of American culture, society, and behavior, it critiques the vacuity of middle-class American life and its pressure on individuals toward conformity) played by Steve Coogan is a reporter for New York World, writing a series about a woman who became a 'hero' by turning the anguish of seeing her son murdered in to acts of civil service (the woman whom Babbitt has grown to love commits suicide, and out of cherishing her memory he continues to write stories as though she were still alive - an act that Babbitt's editor Donna (Molly Price) finds ridiculous and sends Babbitt of to New Hampshire to cool off and to over the upcoming Space Shuttle Challenger).

    Babbitt arrives in a little town in new Hampshire (the town is preparing to celebrate the Shutttle launch as Christa McAuliffe was raised there) to discover that his old friend Sam who was planning to become a priest but opted for teaching had a class of 'problem kids' who adored him. Babbitt discovers Sam's body in the street. The class of odd kids mourn Sam's passing: he was their hero. What Babbitt discovers is a group of kids each of whom is challenged with a problem and is trying to find ways to overcome those problems: Lucy Diamond - a reference to the Beatles song - (Hillary Duff) was in love with Sam; Tess Sulivan (Olivia Thirlby) claims she saw Lucy and Sam in an intimate moment, suggesting that Sam's act resulted in his jumping off his roof in suicide (Tess has private problems at home that lead to an unwanted pregnancy); Jim (Josh Peck) is the guardian of the coffin and funeral and 'burial' of Sam; Peggy (Sarah Lind) is a paraplegic who talks Fenster (Max Hoffman, son of Dustin Hoffman) into being her first sexual encounter; Ann (Ingrid Nilson) and her 'twin' Sue (Andrea Brooks) provide comic relief in their bizarre antics; Lute (Laura Carswell) is the dissatisfied choral assistant to the weirdo-choir director and pageant designer Penelope Little (Molly Shannon).

    In the midst of this strange crew and situation Babbitt as a reporter tries to sort every thing out, falls for Lucy, and is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his woe begotten story in New York. His influence helps the kids sort out their priorities and leads Babbitt to find a way out of his own unwanted heroism. The story ends before we know the result of the Challenger explosion - and the creation of a real hero in Christa McAuliffe. But there really isn't a beginning or an end to a story in the ordinary sense of a film. WHAT GOES UP merely puts before the viewer the lives of some odd people and lets us watch how they cope. It has a bit of comedy, though dark, and a lot of tender moments that don't come into focus until movies end. For many this film will perplex: for others it will satisfy. It is an offbeat tale with a lot of innuendoes.

    Grady Harp
    helpful•2
    0
    • gradyharp
    • Oct 2, 2010

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 29, 2009 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Safety Glass
    • Filming locations
      • Langley, British Columbia, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Nasser Entertainment Group
      • Insight Film Studios
      • Station 3
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $2,050
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $3,240
      • May 29, 2009
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 55 minutes
    • Color
      • Color

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