Description

Adolescence is a tough time in anyone’s life, and Hal Hefner, growing up in suburban New Jersey, is no exception. His parents’ marriage has fallen apart. His older brother is control freak with criminal inclinations and a bullying nature. And Hal’s social life at school is stunted by his embarrassing stutter. Hiding behind that hesitant and hard-to-decipher voice, though, is a sharp mind. This isn’t lost on the eloquent and confident Ginny, who sees in Hal a potential replacement for her former partner on their high school’s debating team, of which Ginny is the star. Ginny’s the type who can compact an expansive debater’s argument into mere moments and deliver it with clarity, panache and a few offhanded putdowns for good measure. No wonder she quickly convinces Hal to get on board –- though the fact that he’s brewing up a ferocious crush on her doesn’t hurt. Countless challenges mine the road ahead of Hal, but with discipline, hard work and little luck, he might just win a double prize –- Ginny’s heart, and belief in himself.

Premiered at Sundance earlier this year, Rocket Science is the fictional-feature debut from Jeffrey Blitz, who earned accolades in 2002 for exploring similar territory –- albeit in documentary form –- with the Oscar-nominated Spellbound, a moving and fascinating look at national-level competitive spelling bees. Using a pair of autobiographical details as a springboard, Blitz –- who stuttered in high school, and nonetheless excelled on his debating team –- dives into the task of creating a fictional world that resonates with both true-life authenticity and absurdity that borders on the subtly surreal (no surprise that Hal Ashby’s Harold & Maude and Being There were inspirations to Blitz). Love, sex and the weirdness that goes with them are also key ingredients, and Blitz makes use of them with wise and whimsical touch. There’s no debating it, Blitz has crafted a winner!

—Rupert Bottenberg

"This year's little movie that could" - Elizabeth Weitzman, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"A poignantly comic tale" - Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE

"Hilarious" - Lou Lumenick, NEW YORK POST

Website

http://www.rocketsciencemovie.com/

Credits

Director: Jeffrey Blitz
Screenplay: Jeffrey Blitz
Cast: Reece Thompson Dionne Audain Utkarsh Ambudkar
Producers: Effie Brown, Sean Welch
Distributor: Alliance Atlantis VivaFilm

Screens with...

La Mine The Mine World Premiere France 2006 | 15 min French language, English subtitles