Directed by:
Jonathan LevineScreenplay:
Jonathan LevineCinematography:
Petra KornerComposer:
David TornCast:
Ben Kingsley, Famke Janssen, Josh Peck, Olivia Thirlby, Mary-Kate Olsen, Method Man, Aaron Yoo, Talia Balsam, Jane Adams, Bob Dishy, Alexander Flores (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
Its the summer of 1994, and the streets of New York are pulsing with hip hop and wafting with the sweet aroma of marijuana. The newly-inaugurated mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, is only beginning to implement his anti-fun initiatives against crimes like noisy portable radio, graffiti and public drunkenness. The Wackness centers upon a troubled high school student named Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck)a teenage pot dealer who forms a friendship with Dr. Jeffrey Squires (Ben Kingsley), a psychiatrist and kindred lost soul. When the doctor proposes Luke trade him weed for therapy sessions, the two begin to explore both New York City and their own depression. Propelled by an exuberant hip hop score, The Wackness captures the spell of 1994--a time of pagers, not cell phones; a time when Tupac and Biggie were alive but Kurt Cobain had just died. Funny and moving, The Wackness is an offbeat tale of two lost souls stumbling towards maturity. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Ben Kingsley
UK
Best movies:
Schindler's List (1993)
Shutter Island (2010)
Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001) (TV movie)
Famke Janssen
Netherlands
Best movies:
Taken (2008)
When They See Us (2019) (series)
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Josh Peck
USA
Best movies:
Oppenheimer (2023)
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)
The Wackness (2008)
Olivia Thirlby
USA
Best movies:
United 93 (2006)
Oppenheimer (2023)
Juno (2007)
Mary-Kate Olsen
USA
Best movies:
The Wackness (2008)
Factory Girl (2006)
It Takes Two (1995)
Method Man
USA
Best movies:
Hype Williams: The Videos, Vol. 1 (2002) (video compilation)
Belly (1998)
One Eight Seven (1997)
Aaron Yoo
USA
Best movies:
Disturbia (2007)
21 (2008)
The Wackness (2008)
Talia Balsam
USA
Best movies:
Mass Appeal (1984)
The Cake Eaters (2007)
Conviction (2010)
Jane Adams
USA
Best movies:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Happiness (1998)
Little Children (2006)
Bob Dishy
USA
Best movies:
Columbo (1971) (series)
The Wackness (2008)
Author! Author! (1982)
Alexander Flores
USA
Best movies:
The Wackness (2008)
The Greatest (2009)
The Maze Runner (2014)
Joanna Merlin
USA
Best movies:
The Killing Fields (1984)
All That Jazz (1979)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Nicholas Schutt
USA
Best movies:
The Wackness (2008)
In Good Company (2004)
American Dreamz (2006)
Shannon Briggs
USA
Best movies:
The Wackness (2008)
Bad Boys II (2003)
Transporter 2 – The Mission (2005)
David Wohl
USA
Best movies:
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)
The War of the Roses (1989)
Melissa Strong
Best movies:
The Wackness (2008)
Dawn Noel
USA
Best movies:
The Wackness (2008)
Two Bits (1995)
Enchanted (2007)
Jack Caruso
Best movies:
I Am Legend (2007)
The Irishman (2019)
The Brave One (2007)