I was recently approached by Keiko, Kim and Drew about contributing in this East/West share. It's plainly obvious that we three are different people, starting from our hair color/length, complexion, I.Q., age, etc. So what can I offer in this Blog, journal, time capsule to benefit the readers? My input, my stories and my mind. Between the four of us, I think this will be a fairly honest and complicated journal. And yes, you'll find similar topics on fashion, music, film, art and writing, I'm sure, because that's who we are. But you won't find what isn't there in our lives already, because everything written here is meant to be read, is desired to be written and is bleeding for an honest comment of praise or criticism. My name is Bobby. This is my first entry. It's 9:57pm, and I am going to walk the dogs, turn off the lights, sleep and wake up at 3:30am to work. Welcome to NY.
I know it's selfish to horde the first post of our brand new blog, but I think it only fitting to get the word out on a fantastic film playing in both our fair cities.
I'm talking about The Wackness.
Set in the summer of '94 in New York City, The Wackness is not only one of the best comedies of the year, it's one of the strongest coming of age stories I've ever seen. Now I know what all the Sundance fuss was about.
Suffice to say, I wish this movie had been around when I was in high school. It's an honest film about growing up, surviving your first love, and learning to deal with the pain that makes you who you are. It's just become one of my all time favorites.
I don't want to go too much into detail about this movie, but I brought Kim and a couple friends with me last night who had no idea what this film was, and we all absolutely loved it. I'm really surprised the online community hasn't been more supportive in publicizing and championing this indie darling.
Do yourself a favor: if you're in NY or LA right now, go see The Wackness. I was all set to see Hancock this weekend, but after all the bad press that film received, I've got not choice but to avoid the inevitable disappointment and buy another ticket to enjoy The Wackness all over again.
I hope the film expands across the country. Everyone deserves the chance to enjoy this sucker in the theater.
**UPDATED** Speak of the devil, here are the US Release Dates:
July 3 NEW YORK LOS ANGELES
July 11 SAN FRANCISCO WASHINGTON, DC PHILADELPHIA BOSTON SAN DIEGO CHICAGO SEATTLE
July 18 DALLAS MINNEAPOLIS PHOENIX PORTLAND
July 25 HOUSTON AUSTIN DENVER ATLANTA PROVIDENCE RALEIGH-DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL CHARLOTTE CLEVELAND SAN ANTONIO ALBUQUERQUE SANTA FE DETROIT ANN ARBOR MIAMI – FT. LAUDERDALE – WEST PALM KANSAS CITY HONOLULU MAUI MILWAUKEE MADISON SALT LAKE CITY SACRAMENTO FRESNO MONTEREY RENO EUGENE SALEM TACOMA OLYMPIA BELLINGHAM ANCHORAGE ST. LOUIS BALTIMORE ANNAPOLIS RICHMOND
August 1 EVERYWHERE ELSE
Things to love about The Wackness - Josh Peck's lyrical and charismatic performance as Luke Shapiro.
- Sir Ben Kingsley smoking pot, getting high and being all flavors of awesome. - The sweetest hip hop you've ever heard in a film. - Absolutely gorgeous photography of a New York City 14 years gone by. - A young love story that is bold enough to end honestly instead of in typical, formulaic fashion. - Blunt and beautiful depictions of teen sexuality and drug use without a hint of judgement or moralizing. - How much better it is than David Gordon Green's "All The Real Girls." On like every level.
