Movie Tip #25 - Orange County

Director: Jake Kasdan

Starring: Colin Hanks, Jack Black, Schuyler Fisk, John Lithgow, Catherine O'Hara, Leslie Mann, Kevin Kline, Chevy Chase, Lily Tomlin

Description: Shaun Brumder (Colin Hanks) 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 (Schuyler Fisk) and his drugged-out loser brother Lance (Jack Black) to get into Stanford any way they see fit

Review: I really enjoy "Orange County" every time I see it. The script is great. It's smart, but still wacky as a teen comedy needs to be. Colin Hanks' first major starring role and he nailed it. He looks (and sounds) a lot like his dad and he's also a great actor. I recently saw him in "The Great Buck Howard" and his performance is again great. My favourite character in "Orange County" was Lance, played by Jack Black. Weird guy, but so cool. The parents are also very funny and Ashley is sweet and tender. It's one of the only teen comedies with an actual good story and good actors. Just watch it.