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Title: The Wise Kids (2011)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Molly Kunz | ... | Brea | |
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Eric Hulsebos | ... | Ryan |
| Tyler Ross | ... | Tim | |
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Frank Stennett | ... | Frank |
| Stephen Cone | ... | Austin | |
| Lee Armstrong | ... | Harry | |
| Sadieh Rifai | ... | Elizabeth | |
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Allison Torem | ... | Laura |
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Cynthia Pulsifer | ... | Cynthia |
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Braxton Williams | ... | Braxton |
| Cliff Chamberlain | ... | Dylan | |
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Laurel Schroeder | ... | Erin |
| Rodney Lee Rogers | ... | Pastor Jim | |
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Sullivan Hamilton | ... | Haley |
| Jonathan Jones | ... | Josh | |
A vivid, dynamic Southern coming-of-age drama, takes place in the transitional space between high school and college, when life seems to be all questions and no answers, and the future is scarily wide open. Set in and around a Charleston, SC Baptist church, weaving through this ensemble piece are three main characters - Brea, an introspective pastor's daughter experiencing debilitating doubt, the hyperactive Laura, Brea's best friend and a devout believer, and Tim, the open-hearted son of a single father, confronting his homosexuality for the first time. Tensions and buried feelings abound, as colleges are chosen and adults behave badly, as Brea, Laura and Tim attempt to hang onto what they have, all the while yearning to break free. Written by Stephen Cone
Throughout much of the movie I kept thinking this was either some Stephen King story about a town taken over by really creepy people from which a number of characters were trying to literally or figuratively flee ... or maybe a Jane Goodall remake where the chimpanzees were replaced by people.
Just about everyone in the movie kept making tight-lipped grimaces or they bared their teeth in even more alarming pseudo-smiles like chimps who were really stressed out, quite often accompanied by these huh-huh- huh vocalizations that might have been intended to mimic laughter. They must have developed muscle cramps in their jaws from the constant flexing of facial muscle, exposing their teeth in Stephen King inspired displays of a death rictus.
Given the discomfort most of the actors appeared to feel it's not surprising that some of them chose to relieve the pressure by over- acting, at times violently.
Beneath all the theatrics and grimacing and numerous unnervingly extended pauses in dialogue as a number characters (or possibly it was the actors themselves) struggled for words, there may have been a message. I did feel the pain and sense of loss of the one character who, towards the end, repeatedly said he didn't know what to do and I could also understand the elation felt by those who had a metaphoric "ticket out of town."
It could charitably be described as a well-intended critical socio- theological story if somewhat confused and heavy-handed. Unfortunately all the antics, histrionics and bathos obscured the point they were attempting to make, rather generously assuming there was a point and that the actors knew what it was.