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Orange County

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Orange County (2002)

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Reviews Counted:120

Fresh:56

Rotten:64

Average Rating:5.2/10

Consensus: Smarter than the average teen movie, but a little on the unmemorable side.

Runtime: 82 mins

Genre: Comedies

US Box Office: $41,032,915

Synopsis: ORANGE COUNTY is a teen comedy that, along with goofy lowbrow fun, offers a surprising amount of wit and heart. Colin Hanks (son of Tom Hanks) stars as Shaun, a carefree California surfer dude who... ORANGE COUNTY is a teen comedy that, along with goofy lowbrow fun, offers a surprising amount of wit and heart. Colin Hanks (son of Tom Hanks) stars as Shaun, a carefree California surfer dude who loses a friend to a tsunami. Shaun is contemplating his life when he finds a brilliant novel buried in the sand. He reads it and decides to become a writer himself, and study with the author, who teaches at Stanford. He's eager to leave Orange County, where he lives with his clingy alcoholic mother (Catherine O'Hara) and his burnout brother Lance (a brilliantly debauched Jack Black). When Shaun's guidance counselor (Lily Tomlin) sends the wrong transcript to Stanford, Shaun needs all the help he can get from his seemingly hopeless family to salvage his dream. ORANGE COUNTY was directed by Jake Kasdan (Lawrence Kasdan's son) and written by Mike White (CHUCK & BUCK) who also plays Shaun's illiterate English teacher. Schuyler Fisk (Sissy Spacek's daughter) plays Ashley, Shaun's animal-loving girlfriend, and she and Hanks make an attractive and sympathetic pair. While all kinds of insanity (including hilarious turns by Black, O'Hara, and Harold Ramis) spins around them, the young and dynamic couple remain the soulful center of the film. [More]

Starring: Colin Hanks, Jack Black, Leslie Mann, Schulyer Fisk

Starring: Colin Hanks, Jack Black, Leslie Mann, Schulyer Fisk, Lizzy Caplan, Catherine O'Hara, John Lithgow, Lily Tomlin, Chevy Chase, Harold Ramis, Kevin Kline, Ben Stiller

Director: Jake Kasdan

Director: Jake Kasdan
Screenwriter: Mike White
Producer: Scott Rudin, Van Toffler, David Gale, Herb Gains, Adam Schroeder
Composer: Michael Andrews
Producer: Scott Aversano
Studio: Paramount Pictures

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Reviews for Orange County

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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This is a breath of fresh air and it rattles along at a zippy pace with change from an hour and a half, just as every good comedy should.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
08/18/02
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Despite some good intentions and a decent coming-of-age story, Orange County is sadly bogged down by lackluster jokes, poorly utilized celebrity cameos galore and decent if uninvolving leads.

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
07/22/02
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
10/18/08
Houston Chronicle

It won't stick with you forever, but you will enjoy it while it lasts.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
08/12/08
Channel 4 Film

Second-generation Hollywood wrestles with but never truly pins down this big-hearted, broad and often flat comedy...

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Mark Halverson
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review

[Kasdan] and White aim very low here and fail to take advantage of the abundant opportunities for social satire that its upper class and academic settings provide.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
08/06/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

With minimal gross-out quota, Kasdan's sure-footed approach mixes a teen farce and a morality tale.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Danny Graydon
Danny Graydon
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The urine-quaffing gags and hearty barfing asides are the lowbrow price extracted for...gestures towards semi-intelligence.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Trevor Johnston
Trevor Johnston
Time Out

If all you're looking for is a mild comedy with four or five solid laughs and a whole bunch of familiar faces, you could do worse.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
03/16/04
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
Apollo Guide

É claro que os pais famosos do diretor e dos dois protagonistas ajudaram a viabilizar este projeto, mas o fato é que o filme é engraçado e merece aplausos.

comment Comment
11/18/03
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

...an effective and surprisingly funny teen comedy.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
08/01/03
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

The sight of Black burning down an entire admin block during a moment of passion would warm up any winter.

Full Review Source: RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland) | comment Comment
04/01/03
Harry Guerin
Harry Guerin
RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)

It is a notch above the usual tripe we get from MTV films - but it's not a very big notch

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
03/19/03
Brian Mckay
Brian Mckay
eFilmCritic.com

Refreshingly, it's not as lowbrow or silly as your typical youth-oriented comedy of late.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/10/03
Marrit Ingman
Marrit Ingman
Austin Chronicle

...Second-rate teen comedy...

Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | comment Comment
02/08/03
John R. McEwen
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online

Engages us in constant fits of laughter, until we find ourselves surprised at how much we care about the story, and end up walking out not only satisfied but also somewhat touched.

Full Review Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
11/26/02
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic

This is mostly weak stuff, with a timid and reactionary final message about how it's better to stay in your home town, rather than go for a big-city college education.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
11/19/02
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Though there are no real belly laughs or any Farrelly-like set pieces, this is still a better than average comedy, thanks to its witty script and its amusing collection of characters.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
11/09/02
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

This Orange has some juice, but it's far from fresh-squeezed.

Full Review Source: Netflix | comment Comment
11/07/02
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Netflix

The Farrelly brothers should take notes.

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
10/15/02
Margaret A. McGurk
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
all

Latest News for Orange County

August 31, 2006: ThinkFilm Turns On "The TV Set"
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