The Wackness

New York City, 1994: a city pulsing with hip hop, a city whose new mayor, Rudy Giuliani, is using controversial methods to address homelessness and crime. Much like the city, Luke (Josh Peck) and Dr. Squires (Sir Ben Kingsley) are at a crossroads: Luke considers himself semi-suicidal, bemoaning his high school social status and the fact that his family is on the verge of eviction; Dr. Squires and his rehab-addicted wife (Famke Janssen) can barely tolerate each other. Together, Luke and Squires agree to help each other find happiness. When Luke identifies medication as his salvation, Dr. Squires chides him, "Don't go for the quick fix. This whole city wants a quick fix." Eventually, however, the two bond over a common goal: getting laid. This quest takes them from borough to borough, and leads to encounters with several of Luke's 'business associates': among them, a dreadlocked pixie (Mary-Kate Olsen). Eventually, Luke's attention turns to Dr. Squires' stepdaughter, Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby), which in turn, causes the already fragile Doctor to lose it completely...

Set against the backdrop of the greatest year in hip hop history, THE WACKNESS takes place in a very different time: a time of pagers, not cell phones, a time in which Tupac and Biggie were alive, one in which Kurt Cobain had only recently taken his own life. The film uses this world as a backdrop for a very different story: one with humour, pathos, sex, drugs, and beats.

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