jezon2000's Movie Review of Rocket Science

Rating of
3/4

Rocket Science

Rocket Science
jezon2000 - wrote on 04/13/09

Rocket Science is about an underclassman who joins debate club after a pretentious and easy-to-hate girl named Ginny claims to see his potential, despite his speech impediment. Rocket Science is far better than I expected.

There is some typical quirky claptrap horse shit I would laugh at if I thought mildly ridiculous things weren't commonplace, but I am at least thankful this isn’t written by Diablo Cody. The writing feels genuine; genuine for Jersey, genuine for American kids in general. Several moments and characters are over-the-top, but why make a movie if you’re not going over the top? The least believable scenes are also the shortest. If the story is auto-fiction, and I have a feeling it might be in the cards, I would guess the unbelievable moments aren’t far from the truth.

The subject of debate club is something I couldn’t care less about, but it’s clever as a tragi-comic idea for a Jersey kid with a speech impediment. Even when the stuttering is difficult to bear, I found myself laughing. This is the most refreshing thing to me about this film: Rocket Science doesn’t take itself any more seriously than needed, and you feel more for the character because the film doesn’t make you feel like you have to.

Hal is pathetic in a lot of ways, due to his impediment as much as his naivety, but by the end I had respect for him. Even with his awfully awkward mistakes, Rocket Science represents the angst of youth in a way that feels honest--certainly easier to swallow than it is to go through.

And that's pretty damn hard to do.

3 out of 4, and well done on the acting.

Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
  
Are you sure you want to delete this review?
  
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?