- props first of all for Levine not beating viewers over the head with its slang or hipness (cheap shot at another Thirlby film?!). i know what purple haze is, and yes, white people do say "peace out" regularly. Nothing over the top.
- the slimmed down Josh Peck gives a good performance, though its Ben Kingsley who, not surprisingly, molds the most interesting character. most of the comedy goes through him and without the comedy, this could have gone seriously wrong.
- soundtrack excellently captures the hip hop influence of '94, but becomes overused to a point; the great "i like my girls brainless.." line would've been a lot better if we weren't beaten over the head with Biggie's music throughout the film. still, it's refreshing to hear an Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Niggaz song in a film that isn't named Belly or Waist Deep.
- tiny roles from Mary Kate Olsen, Method Man and Jane Adams are all memorable. Famke Janssen however is miscast or at least underused, only breaking free in a scene toward the end.
- pic really falls off the map in the last thirty or so minutes, dry out of themes to revisit and instead decides to experiment with drug use for the hell of it. nearly every relationship arc in the pic falls apart here and only Kingsley is around to keep us interested.
6.5/promising premise, confused prestige
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