The Wackness

The first thing I heard about this movie before I saw it was “Josh Peck from Drake and Josh is a drug dealer in this! And is such a boss.” My mouth dropped, how could the fat goofy kid I grew up watching on Nickelodean be taken seriously as a young pot dealer in New York City in the mid 90’s? Well of course I had to see this for myself to decide. 

The movie is about Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck) who begins to deal weed out of an Italian-Ice cart on the Upper East side of Manhattan because his family is on the verge of eviction. He is very depressed and sees a therapist named Dr. Squires (who is also one of his main drug clients) Dr. Squires has a step-daughter named Stephanie who Luke falls inevitably in love with. This film shows his first taste of heartbreak and his overall steps to maturity. His relationship with Dr. Squires makes him grow up a little bit faster then he intended to. The cast is what makes this movie so enjoyable, with Mary-Kate Olsen as a drugged out hippy and Method Man as his drug dealer Percy.

One thing I really admired about the film is the authenticity. Taking place in 1994, the soundtrack is all hip-hop that was current in the time period. Notably Notorious B.I.G, Raekwon, Faith Evans, A tribe called Quest and the Method Man. Many of the songs also fit in with what was going on in the plot at the time and is tied together smoothly. Although Josh is a white kid acting gangster, he plays the role well without looking like he was trying too hard. 

Another aspect that really made the film feel authentic was the desaturated color in the shots. It made the movie seem old and dream-like. Since there is a lot of pot smoking in the movie, the desaturation also made the movie have a hazy feel to it.  There are also a lot of fantasy scenes that are in Luke's imagination, that play with the coloring as well. 

This movie isn’t my favorite of all time, but it definitely was entertaining and different then anything I’ve seen. I recommend this movie to any old school hip hop lovers and Josh peck fans!