Film

In interviews, Levine has stated that The Wackness is partially autobiographical (while averring that he didn’t, as the lead does, peddle dope), and you can feel it in his sloppy love for the film’s setting, New York City circa 1994. Like many young artists, Levine feels compelled to do a coming-of-age movie (Damn you, Catcher in the Rye!), layering on those revered indie tropes, the unlikely friendship and the man having a midlife crisis. The fact that this won an audience-choice award at Sundance says more about that fest’s attendees’ fondness for formulaic quirk than it does about the quality of this film.

Our hero Luke (Peck, doing his damnedest to break out of the Nickelodeon ghetto) makes an unconventional deal with one of his clients, psychiatrist Dr. Squires (Kingsley). In exchange for pot, Squires gives Luke therapy sessions (ah, the barter economy in action). Luke, you see, is only popular as long as he’s selling, he’s unsure about his future and he doesn’t know how to act around girls. Squires dispenses unconventional advice about how to get a girl, blithely unaware that the new object of Luke’s interest is the shrink’s daughter Stephanie (Thirlby). Once Levine gets past the intriguing quirkiness of the premise, he doesn’t seem to know where to go. For a teen, that’s fine. For a filmmaker, not so much.