Sundance 2007

Rocket Science

"Rocket Science" has a few things in common with 1999's "Election," from its purposefully drab visuals to its larger-than-life personalities -- all variations on recognizable high-school types, albeit a hundred times brighter, better-spoken and more interesting. But Blitz's film is ultimately a sweeter, more heartfelt picture. It's more a barbed, coming-of-age tale than satire, and firmly on the side of its lovably awkward hero, Hal Hefner (wonderfully played by Reece Daniel Thompson).

Smartly scripted prologue suggests a metaphysical (or perhaps metalingual) connection between Ben Wekselbaum (Nicholas D'Agosto), a brilliant policy debater at New Jersey's Plainsboro High School, and Hal, a quiet teen who, whenever he speaks, does so with a pronounced stutter. During an important debate, Ben suddenly halts midspeech and loses the championship trophy; miles away, Hal watches as his dad (Denis O'Hare) has a nasty altercation with his mom (Lisbeth Bartlett), packs a suitcase and walks out of the house.

Cheekily suggesting the gift of rhetoric can be transferred from one soul to another, the pic proceeds to dig deep inside Hal, exposing the near-daily humiliations that have gutted his self-esteem. His speech impediment makes even a trip through the lunch line difficult, and his older brother Earl (a hilariously macho Vincent Piazza) beats up on him constantly, often by launching "Psycho"-style attacks on Hal in the shower.

Enter Ginny Ryerson (Anna Kendrick), Ben's former debate partner, who's determined not to repeat her disastrous defeat this year. A close cousin of "Election's" Tracy Flick and a better speaker to boot, Ginny is bossy, beautiful and freakishly competitive. She also claims to see something in Hal that others don't, and urges him to join the debate squad under her tutelage. Thoroughly smitten, Hal agrees.

Pic would be worth watching just for its scenes of debaters practicing the art of "spreading" -- a rapid-fire delivery technique that would give the characters in "His Girl Friday" pause, and which D'Agosto and Kendrick have got down cold..

But sharp dialogue and wacky non sequiturs aside, the deep pleasure of "Rocket Science" is the way it resists easy classification. Pic unexpectedly deepens into a poignant and amusing reflection on the universal nature of love, as Hal realizes everyone is getting it on -- from his mom and her new boyfriend (Stephen Park) to a musician couple who play erotic duets down the street.

Yet just when it seems the story is going to settle into a conventional teen romance -- as Hal and Ginny begin making out in earnest and the competition approaches -- Blitz throws in a hairpin twist that forces a drastic reassessment of his intentions. Given its ideas about the importance of defying expectations and taking charge of one's destiny, the comedy's mercurial nature turns out to be entirely appropriate.

If there's a link between "Rocket Science" and "Spellbound," it's Blitz's terrific ability to embrace people's idiosyncrasies, real or fictitious, even as he tweaks them for maximum comic effect. This time, he also brings to the podium a formidable skill with actors.

In an unusually demanding role for a young thesp, Thompson not only makes an appealingly gawky protag but, crucially, nails the trademark stutter that, no less than the movie itself, is one-of-a-kind.

Other standouts in the strong ensemble include D'Agosto and especially Kendrick, who bring a fierce, meticulous concentration to bear on their delightfully cocky performances as Type A overachievers.

The dingy, underlit quality of Jo Willems' lensing perfectly complements the mundane New Jersey locations (with some stand-in work from Baltimore).

Eef Barzelay's impressively multifaceted score incorporates ukulele, tuba, accordion, cello, banjo and kazoo music into a folksy-percussive whole, while the similarly diverse soundtrack makes memorable use of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," among other tunes.

Camera (color), Jo Willems; editor, Yana Gorskaya; music, Eef Barzelay; music supervisor, Evyen Klean; production designer, Rick Butler; art director, Halina Gebarowicz; set decorator, Jay Klein; costume designer, Ernesto Martinez; sound (Dolby), Ken Ishii; supervising sound editors, Dave McMoyler, Peter Brown; stunt coordinators, Manny Siverio, Roy Eugene Harrison; line producer, Nicole Colombie; assistant director, Van Hayden; casting, Matthew Lessall. Reviewed at Sundance Film Festival (competing), Jan. 19, 2007. Running time: 101 MIN.