Peck proves worth in 'Wackness'

Lots of things in life are wack. You've got crack, smack, "Love Shack," a hatchback, Iraq, the word flapjack and Shaq, just to name a few.

There is a lot in this world to make us think that things are all whacked, but that's not what we're supposed to focus on in this world. We're supposed to focus on the dope.

This forms the basis of what the film "The Wackness" tries to tell you.

Meet Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck). He's a drug dealer, weed specifically. His obsession with the smoking and selling of cannabis marks "The Wackness" as the second good weed film I have seen in the last two weeks. It seems to be the summer not only of superhero movies, but weed movies as well.

Weed, however, is not the focus of this film. Luke is. Weed is merely the way Luke tries to fund his family and pay for college. It's also how he pays his psychologist.

Meet Dr. Squires (Ben Kingsley). He's a drugged up head shrink. He hates his job, his wife and his life.

Luke and Dr. Squires form a dynamic duo that shoots "The Wackness" directly into your veins and makes sure you trip on morality for the 95 minutes that the film lasts.

Also there's Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby). Stephanie is the first girl Luke has ever fallen in love with, and she knows it. I'll just leave it at that.

Alright, enough summary; it's time for analysis!

At its core, "The Wackness" is about the wackness that was growing up in the 1990s. This is evidenced by the style (greasy hair and Adidas), the music (The Notorious B.I.G. is new in this film) and the attitude in the New York City streets (Rudolph Giuliani).

Love discovered, exaggerated and lost plays a major role in the wackness of "The Wackness." The relationship between the sexually repressed Luke and the sexually casual Stephanie blossoms, withers and dies in a way that is both adorably romantic and morbidly depressing in ways that are new to film.

Probably the most surprising aspect of "The Wackness" is Josh Peck's performance as Luke. In everything else I have ever seen Peck in, he was the fat slapstick kid who was added for comic relief. But in this film, he delivers something real. He lost some weight, grew some stubble and upped the serious to the max, yo.

So genuine is the street talking, weed selling, life-hating high school grad Luke, it makes you think that is Peck's real persona. I was honestly impressed.

Kingsley is a winner as well. His drug-addled, manic-depressive, self-loathing performance as Dr. Squires ads a realistic touch to the film in the way that Raoul Duke was realistic in his novel.

There is only one mark against "The Wackness." There are random spots in the film where surrealistic dream-like sequences take over, but the nature of these sequences is highly inconsistent with the overall realistic tone of the film. Also, they crop up in completely unnecessary spots, giving the impression that they were only added to give the film more visual appeal. They were added to distract the eye from the constant gray and green of the sidewalk and the weed.

When all is said and done, "The Wackness" is nothing essential, but it is an entertaining, personal love story. If you're going to watch for any one thing in the film, watch Josh Peck blow your mind with his acting. It's fabulous.

CASEYWELSCH@DAILYNEBRAsKAN.COM