Steve Pulaski Shaun Brumder (Colin Hanks) is an abnormally bright child. A kid whose schoolwork comes naturally to him and grades were never something to sweat over. But instead of trying to lead an ambitious life, Shaun chooses to spend his days surfing and hanging out with his pals. But when his best friend Lonny is killed in a surfing accident, Shaun contemplates if this direction is the best one to pursue. He later discovers a novel, written by a man named Marcus Skinner, on the beach one day, reads it cover to cover, and loves every minute of it. Upon reading it a dozen more times, and practicing writing similar stories on his own, he realizes that he has a talent for writing and ultimately that's what he wants to become.Shaun's homelife is a rather strange one. His parents are divorced, with his mother (Catherine O'Hara) being a sensitive, needy woman and his father (John Lithgow) a selfish and unruly cad. Shaun's brother is Lance (Jack Black), a portly stoner who is rarely seen fully clothed. Lance continues to offer advice to Shaun, which he will inherently disregard as rambling with no meaning, yet this isn't one of those stories where the dopey character may actually be smarter than we believe. He's just dumb.Our hero's dream, however, is to get accepted to Stanford and major in journalism. His girlfriend, the neighborhood activist Ashley (Schuyler Fisk) is all support, but his chances seemingly plummet downward when his guidance counselor sends the wrong transcript to Stanford. Instead of the bright and dedicated student they should receive, the school accepts some ne'er-do-well stoner who applied on a whim.Orange County follows Shaun as he tries in every which way to get accepted to Stanford and pursue a life of intellect and creativity. One thing that becomes the top priority on his list is escaping the inherently listless and seemingly mundane town of Orange County, where nobody takes anything with an ounce of seriousness and everyone seems to be self-indulgent and careless.This is a film with a big agenda, a clear heart, but an often misunderstood soul, mainly because its headliner, Jack Black, doesn't deliver the laughs you would expect. Orange County is not an energetic, high-octane romp, but a sweet and endearing character study that is equal parts sly comedy and equal parts dramatic and deep. A scene comes early on in the film where Shaun is wasting away in a class and his teacher is asking the students if they know anyone who would be interested in speaking to the school about personal experiences. Shaun proposes a writer who has just received a high honor, but is quickly one-upped by another classmate who has connections to Brittney Spears. This scene illustrates so discretely and subtly how motivated and turned on we get as a society by popularity and publicity rather than true talent and admiration.Colin Hanks, an actor still searching for that breakout role, handles the task here beautifully, even with the challenge and notable burden of carrying a lion's weight of a film on his back. He's no idiot. His character rarely misses a beat and is a calming and simple pleasure to endure. So is his brother, despite his slow, uninspiring persona. Orange County has an indescribable beauty and charm to its screenplay, one that offers an experience that is fresh and viable, and definitely unconventional.Starring: Colin Hanks, Jack Black, Schuyler Fisk, Catherine O'Hara, John Lithgow, and Lily Tomlin. Directed by: Jake Kasdan.

sheepmonk2000 This movie is terrible. It's pointless, far fetched, boring and totally dumb. The acting in it is fine but the script their all working from is cr*p and at not one point did I find myself laughing whilst watching this movie, which is a serious point to consider as it's meant to be a comedy. In fact, it appears to try and emulate other movies of this ilk i.e road trip, goofy sidekicks, and zany family members. However, none of these formulaic themes save this movie from the meandering pacing, the poor choice of score and the overall ludicrously of the plot. My advice is to stay away from this rubbish and go and rent 'Roadtrip' instead as that film is at least funny in parts. The only trip this film is heading on, however, is on a one way trip down my garbage shoot. 2/10 (1*)

wes-connors "Shaun Brumder (Colin Hanks) is content to be a bright, talented, but unfocused Southern California surf slacker- until the day he discovers a novel by acclaimed author Martin Skinner. Inspired, he suddenly realizes his life's ambition: to leave behind mind-numbing 'Orange County' and study creative writing with Skinner at Stanford University. But, after being denied enrollment due to an admissions error, Shaun is forced to seek help from not only his girlfriend Ashley (Schuyler Fisk), but also his hopelessly dysfunctional parents, stoner brother Lance (Jack Black), and a host of hilarious circumstances, to make his dream of escaping his hometown nightmare a reality," according to the DVD sleeve description.Typical dumb teen comedy with the usual over-the-hill youngsters - herein, the leading twosome being more famous as the son of Tom Hanks (Colin Hanks) and the daughter of Sissy Spacek (Schuyler Fisk). If you didn't know it already, friends and relations can be found running rampant around the cameras. Lesser known Lawrence Kasdan, since he's mostly found behind the camera, is the father of "Orange County" director Jake Kasdan. He gets Chevy Chase, Kevin Kline, John Lithgow, Garry Marshall, Catherine O'Hara, Harold Ramis, Ben Stiller, Lily Tomlin, Mike White, and Brian Wilson to participate. Not a bad lot. The veterans are fine, but the stars are less so; and, the film never really penetrates its boundaries.**** Orange County (1/7/02) Jake Kasdan ~ Colin Hanks, Schuyler Fisk, Jack Black, Catherine O'Hara

flyingcandy This movie suffers from what many modern (post 2000) slacker comedies are stricken with: the "Anything Goes" syndrome. There are few bounds in this independent film directed by Jake "Son of Lawrence" Kasdan, featuring cameos from Chevy Chase, Lily Tomlin and Lawrence's own stock actor, Kevin Kline. The story centers on a young man from... yep, Orange County, California, who spends his careless youth surfing and partying; then reads a book that "changes his life" and, along with a dream to become a writer, really wants to attend Stanford University to meet the book's author who works there. Along the way this desire (i.e. the plot) is outshined by the wacky side-characters, including two Beavis and Buttheadish surfer pals; a drunk mother (Catherine O'Hara) married to a crippled old man; a selfish father (John Lithgow) married to a gorgeous young "trophy"; and a stoner brother played by Jack Black (who's not in the movie as much as is promoted) - all vying to outdo each other on screen. When the main character - played by bland Colin Hanks, son of Tom - finally arrives at the college of his dreams, within ten minutes he's accidentally given the dean of admissions (a portly Harold Ramis) enough "X" to blind a horse, and to top it off, his zany drugged-out brother (using every stoner cliché in the book including the usual "WOW!") burns the admissions building to the ground. Nothing really matters at this point, and yet we have another (drawn-out and totally useless) half-an-hour to go. All the things that should have been peripheral eccentricities, which end up leaping to the foreground of every scene, are symptoms of that disease I already mentioned: "Anything Goes"... Which can be, as in this case, fatal. That is, without that one cure, substance... Something this movie has very little of.