Orange County
Orange County
PG-13 | 11 January 2002 (USA)
Orange County Trailers

Shaun Brumder is a local surfer kid from Orange County who dreams of going to Stanford to become a writer and to get away from his dysfunctional family household. Except Shaun runs into one complication after another, starting when his application is rejected after his dim-witted guidance counselor sends in the wrong form.

Reviews
Evengyny

Thanks for the memories!

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Baseshment

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

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TaryBiggBall

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

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Siflutter

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

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studioAT

What happens if you really want to leave your small town you grew up in for something bigger? That's the question that this film from 2002 asks.This really is a typical Hollywood comedy. Easy enough viewing without ever being great.It has it's moments, mostly those featuring a young Jack Black, but apart from that it's very predictable fair. Colin Hanks is an amiable enough lead, in a role that Tom Hanks ironically would have been playing in the 80's.I can't say I overly enjoyed this film, but it passed the time.

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namikazedante

Yep I would give it 7/10 because of the soundtrack, the craziness but yet still a very deep message about life. What you think you need and how to achieve your dreams aren't always how it works. It might just be that you always had it all along and this film points it out so good with a lot of crazy people and funny moments. I would say this movie is for the young but also midlife or anyone who still thinks about what road to take in their journey of life. And the thing is... always follow your heart. And sometimes you need a smack to the head to realize what you need to make it a reality. Great movie ! See it :D

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Brittany Blevins

I must say out of all the comedies I have ever seen in my life Orange County was by far the best one! I could not stop laughing the whole time, the acting in this movie is phenomenal I feel all the actors did such a great job on their part in the movie. The movie starts out with a young but very intelligent guy who is about to be a high school graduate but he doesn't care about school at this point nothing but hanging out with his friends and partying until Shaun discovers a book on the beach written by an author named Marcus Skinner that moves something deep inside him that encourages him to want to become this professional writer Shaun then makes it his mission to get into Stanford and to meet Marcus Skinner in person. Shaun has so many personal issues among his terrible dysfunctional family that causes so much chaos throughout the movie. His brother is played by the famous Jack black who is the person who truly makes the movie so interesting and funny. Shaun has a girlfriend that tries to help him along the way to get into Stanford but somehow terrible things keep happening but if you will stay tuned you will fall in love with this movie, it has great humor and it will be a movie that you will be talking about for years to come don't miss out on this one! I don't want to put any spoilers in here so there is a lot of detail left out but there is enough in here to show you what the main plot is in the movie, hope anyone that watches will enjoy.

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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.

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