''Orange County'' is a 2002 American
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
starring
Colin Hanks
Colin Lewes Hanks (born November 24, 1977) is an American actor. He has starred in films including '' Orange County'', ''King Kong'', '' The House Bunny'', '' The Great Buck Howard'', and the ''Jumanji'' film series. His television credits includ ...
and
Jack Black
Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), ''Shallow Hal'' (2001), ''Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ''E ...
. It was released on January 11, 2002. The movie was distributed by
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
and produced by
MTV Productions
MTV Entertainment Studios is the film and television production arm of MTV Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Founded in 1991 as MTV Productions, it is a consolidation of the former MTV ...
and
Scott Rudin
Scott Rudin (born July 14, 1958) is an American film, television, and theatre producer. His films include the Academy Award-winning Best Picture ''No Country for Old Men,'' as well as '' Uncut Gems'', '' Lady Bird, Fences, The Girl with the Drag ...
. The movie was directed by
Jake Kasdan
Jacob Kasdan (born October 28, 1974) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for directing '' Walk Hard'' (2007), ''Bad Teacher'' (2011), ''Sex Tape'' (2014), '' Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle'' (2017) and '' Jumanji: The Next Level' ...
and written by
Mike White.
Plot
Teen Shaun Brumder is intelligent, but little interested in his education, leading a carefree
SoCal
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ag ...
lifestyle of
surfing
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...
in affluent
Orange County, California
Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...
, drinking, and partying. His best friend Lonny is killed in a surfing accident, leading Shaun to rethink his life. Finding a novel on the beach by Marcus Skinner, it inspires him to become a writer. Upon learning that Skinner is an English professor at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, Shaun makes it his goal to attend Stanford and study under him.
Shaun dramatically improves himself academically, obtaining high grades and
SAT
The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...
scores and becoming president of his graduating class. Following the advice of his guidance counselor, Ms. Cobb, Shaun applies only to Stanford. This backfires when he is rejected as Ms. Cobb mixed up his
transcript with that of another student.
Reaching out to his wealthy father Bud, who left his family for a much younger woman, Shaun pleads with him to donate to Stanford to increase his chances of acceptance. Disapproving of his dream to become a writer, Bud refuses. Shaun's girlfriend Ashley convinces her friend Tanya to get Shaun an interview at his home by Tanya's grandfather, a Stanford board member. Unfortunately, the antics of Shaun’s dysfunctional family members (his
alcoholic
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...
, emotionally fragile mother Cindy and his dim-witted
stoner brother Lance), cause Shaun's interviewers to storm out in disgust.
In a last-ditch effort, Ashley and Lance convince Shaun to drive to
Palo Alto
Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
The city was estab ...
and plead his case directly to Stanford Admissions Director Don Durkett. By the time they reach campus, the admissions building is closed. While Lance seduces the secretary on duty, Shaun and Ashley find Durkett's home address. There, Shaun impresses Durkett with his real transcript, but Durkett is reluctant to admit him so late in the admissions process.
After much groveling, Shaun convinces him to give it a second thought. Disaster strikes again when Ashley confuses Lance's
MDMA
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly seen in Tablet (pharmacy), tablet form (ecstasy) and crystal form (molly or mandy), is a potent empathogen–entactogen with stimulant properties primarily used for Recreational dru ...
for pain relievers, offering Durkett the pills for his headache, getting him
high
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...
. Shaun, Ashley, and Durkett return to find the Admissions Building on fire, caused by Lance smoking with the receptionist. With Lance wanted for arson, they abandon Durkett and flee the scene.
Frustrated with Shaun's obsession, Ashley points out that his attending Stanford would likely mean the end of their relationship, and she leaves. Depressed, Shaun wanders the campus and meets a female student who invites him to a
frat party. He is disappointed to learn the Stanford
coed
Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...
s are just as vapid as teenagers from Orange County.
With a more cynical view of college, Shaun runs into Professor Skinner and is invited to his office. Shaun confides that he is afraid his dreams of being a good writer are over. Skinner reminds him that many famous authors such as
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
and
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most of ...
grew up in places that were not intellectually stimulating, and were inspired by the conflicts in their own lives. Having an epiphany, Shaun realizes his misguided intentions and apologizes to Ashley. They pick up Lance, still hiding from police, and go home.
In Orange County, Shaun's parents seek each other out to deal with Shaun's problem. They reconcile, realizing they are much happier together than with their respective new spouses, and conclude they have not been good parents to Shaun. To make amends, Bud donates enough money to Stanford for the construction of a new Admissions Building, which secures Shaun’s acceptance.
Initially ecstatic, Shaun remembers what Ashley and Professor Skinner said, and decides to stay in Orange County with Ashley and his family, as they are the true inspiration for his writing. Shaun leaves a copy of Skinner's book at the beach for someone else to find, then surfs with his friends for the first time since Lonny's death.
Cast
*
Colin Hanks
Colin Lewes Hanks (born November 24, 1977) is an American actor. He has starred in films including '' Orange County'', ''King Kong'', '' The House Bunny'', '' The Great Buck Howard'', and the ''Jumanji'' film series. His television credits includ ...
as Shaun Brumder
*
Jack Black
Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), ''Shallow Hal'' (2001), ''Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ''E ...
as Lance Brumder
*
Catherine O'Hara as Cindy Brumder
*
Schuyler Fisk
Schuyler Elizabeth Fisk (pronounced ) is an American actress and singer-songwriter.
Early life
Fisk was born in Los Angeles, California, to actress Sissy Spacek and production designer Jack Fisk. She has a younger sister named Madison.
Fisk b ...
as Ashley
*
John Lithgow as Bud Brumder
*
Harold Ramis
Harold Allen Ramis (; November 21, 1944 – February 24, 2014) was an American actor, comedian, director and writer. His best-known film acting roles were as Egon Spengler in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984) and ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), and as Russell ...
as Don Durkett
*
Jane Adams as Mona
*
Garry Marshall
Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American filmmaker and actor. He started his career in the 1960s writing for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' before he developed Neil Simon's 1965 play ''The Odd Co ...
as Arthur Gantner
*
Dana Ivey as Vera Gantner
*
Carly Pope
Carly Pope (born August 28, 1980) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles on The WB's drama series ''Popular'' (1999–2001), supernatural drama series ''The Collector'' (2004–2005), USA Network's legal drama series '' Suits'' ...
as Tanya
*
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...
as Principal Harbert
*
Lily Tomlin
Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She started her career as a stand-up comedian as well as performing off-Broadway during the 1960s. Her breakout role was on the vari ...
as Charlotte Cobb, College counselor
*
Leslie Mann
Leslie Jean Mann (born March 26, 1972) is an American actress. She has appeared in numerous films, including ''The Cable Guy'' (1996), ''George of the Jungle'' (1997), '' Big Daddy'' (1999), '' Knocked Up'' (2007), '' 17 Again'' (2009), '' Funn ...
as Krista
*
Bret Harrison
Bret Michael Harrison (born April 6, 1982) is an American actor and musician known predominantly for his work on comedy television series such as ''Grounded for Life'', '' The Loop'', ''Reaper'', and '' Breaking In''.
Early life
Harrison was bo ...
as Lonny
*
Kyle Howard
Kyle Alan Howard (born April 13, 1978) is an American actor.
Early life
Howard grew up in Loveland, Colorado. He has worked in both film and television. His film career includes '' House Arrest'' alongside Jamie Lee Curtis, ''Skeletons'' with ...
as Arlo
* RJ Knoll as Chad
*
George Murdock
George Peter ("Pete") Murdock (May 11, 1897 – March 29, 1985), also known as G. P. Murdock, was an American anthropologist who was professor at Yale University and University of Pittsburgh. He is remembered for his empirical approach to ethn ...
as Bob Beugler
*
Monica Keena
Monica Keena (born May 28, 1979) is an American actress. She made her film debut in '' While You Were Sleeping'' (1995), and a lead role as Lilliana "Lilli" Hoffman in '' Snow White: A Tale of Terror'' (1997).
She later starred as Lori Campb ...
as Gretchen
*
Fran Kranz
Francis Elliott Kranz (born July 13, 1981) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his portrayal of Topher Brink in the science fiction drama series ''Dollhouse''. He had prominent roles in the films ''The Cabin in the Woods'' an ...
as Shane Brainard
*
Mike White as Mr. Burke, English teacher
*
Sarah Hagan
Sarah Margaret Hagan (born May 24, 1984) is an American television and film actress.
Life and career
Hagan was born in Austin, Texas. She has been acting since the age of six, when her mother first signed her up for musical theater. Hagan was f ...
as Sarah
*
Lizzy Caplan
Elizabeth Anne Caplan (born June 30, 1982) is an American actress. Her first acting role was on the television series ''Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000). She received wider recognition with roles in the films ''Mean Girls'' (2004) and ''Cloverfi ...
as Party Girl
*
Nat Faxon
Nathaniel Faxon (born October 11, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. A frequent presence on comedic films and TV series, he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for co-writing '' The Descendants'' (2011) ...
as Kip
*
Alexandra Breckenridge
Alexandra Hetherington Breckenridge is an American actress. She began her career with supporting roles in the teen comedy films '' Big Fat Liar'' (2002) and '' She's the Man'' (2006). She later played reporter Willa McPherson in the FX series ...
(''uncredited'') as Anna
*
Kevin Kline (''Uncredited'') as Marcus Skinner
*
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known ...
(''Uncredited'') as The Firefighter
Reception
''Orange County'' was given 3 of 4 stars by Roger Ebert, who described it as, "one of those happy projects where everything seems to fall naturally into place. It will sound like the kind of movie that, if you are over 17, you don't usually go to see. But it isn't. It's one of those movies where the description can't do justice to the experience." On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
the film holds a rating 47% based on reviews from 122 critics, with an average rating of 5.2 out of 10. The site's consensus states: "Smarter than the average teen movie, but a little on the unmemorable side." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
it has a score of 48% based on reviews from 28 critics. Audiences surveyed by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film a grade "B" on scale of A to F.
It garnered a better reception abroad than domestically. Matthew Turner of ViewLondon states that, "though there are no real belly laughs or any Farrelly-like set pieces, this is still a better than average comedy, thanks to its witty script and its amusing collection of characters. Worth watching." while Brian McKay of eFilmCritic.com describes it as, "a notch above the usual tripe we get from MTV films—but it's not a very big notch."
Home media
The film was released on DVD on June 18, 2002, and was re-released in 2017, as well as available in a 3-pack set with ''
School of Rock'' and ''
Nacho Libre
''Nacho Libre'' is a 2006 sports comedy film directed by Jared Hess and written by Jared and Jerusha Hess and Mike White. It stars Jack Black as Ignacio, a Catholic friar and lucha libre fan who secretly moonlights as a luchador to earn money fo ...
''. It was released on Blu-ray for the first time on April 26, 2022.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was released on 2 discs on December 18, 2001. The movie itself contains 25 credited songs, leaving 9 out of the soundtrack
# "
Defy You
"Defy You" is a song by American punk rock band The Offspring. It was recorded, along with its own music video, in 2001 after the release of their album ''Conspiracy of One'' for the movie ''Orange County (film), Orange County''. The song was also ...
" -
The Offspring
The Offspring is an American rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland, lead guita ...
# "
Story of My Life"
(Live) -
Social Distortion
Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing voca ...
# "
The One
The ONE is a shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is built on the site of the former Tung Ying Building at 100 Nathan Road. It was developed by Chinese Estates Holdings and opened in 2010. Owner Joseph Lau Luen-hung g ...
" -
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...
# "Shadow Stabbing" -
Cake
Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, ...
# "
Butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
" -
Crazy Town
Crazy Town (sometimes abbreviated as CXT) is an American rap rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1995 by Bret Mazur and Seth Binzer. Crazy Town is best known for their 2000 hit single "Butterfly", which reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' ...
# "1st Time" -
Bad Ronald
''Bad Ronald'' is a 1974 American made-for-television horror thriller film directed by Buzz Kulik and starring Scott Jacoby, Pippa Scott, John Larch, Dabney Coleman and Kim Hunter. It is based on the novel of the same title by Jack Vance.
P ...
# "Lay Down Burden" -
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...
# "Everything's Cool" -
Lit
# "Glad That It's Over" -
12 Rods
# "
Stick 'Em Up" -
Quarashi
Quarashi is an Icelandic rap rock band from Reykjavík, Iceland. The group consists of rappers Hössi Ólafsson (later replaced by Egill Olafur Thorarensen), Ómar Örn Hauksson, Steinar Orri Fjeldsted, and Sölvi Blöndal (who also acted as p ...
# "Lose You" -
Pete Yorn
Peter Joseph Yorn (born July 27, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first gained international recognition after his debut record, '' Musicforthemorningafter'', was released to critical and commercial acclaim in 2001. He is ...
# "Under the Tracks" -
Creeper Lagoon
Creeper Lagoon is a San Francisco indie-rock band originally started by Sharky Laguana as a solo project in 1991. They are currently on Laguana's digital record label, Neglektra.
History
Sharky Laguana and Ian Sefchick both played in the Cin ...
# "
Love and Mercy
"Love and Mercy" is a song by American musician Brian Wilson and the opening track from his 1988 album '' Brian Wilson''. Co-produced by Russ Titelman, the song was released as a single on July 1, 1988, but failed to chart. Psychologist Eugene ...
" -
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...
# "
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
" -
Phantom Planet
Phantom Planet is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1994. The band consists of Alex Greenwald (vocals, rhythm guitar), Darren Robinson (lead guitar), Sam Farrar (bass guitar) and Jeff Conrad (drums). The band is best known for ...
# "Hello"
(hidden track
In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as t ...
) -
Sugarbomb
Sugarbomb was a power pop band from Fort Worth, Texas. After an independent release, ''Tastes Like Sugar'', in 1999, they signed to RCA and released their second album, ''Bully'', in 2001. However, RCA dropped them two weeks after the release. Th ...
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
2002 films
2000s teen comedy films
American teen comedy films
Films about writers
2000s English-language films
American coming-of-age comedy films
Films set in Orange County, California
Films directed by Jake Kasdan
Paramount Pictures films
MTV Films films
Films about fraternities and sororities
Films scored by Michael Andrews
Films produced by Scott Rudin
Films with screenplays by Mike White
2002 comedy films
Films about brothers
2000s American films