Rocket Science

Saturday, 6/2 Neptune Theatre, 6:30 PM
Monday, 6/4 Lincoln Square, 7:00 PM

Rocket Science brings the same empathetic attitude toward kids that I enjoyed so much in Spellbound. It tells the story of young Hal Hefner a stuttering kid who gets into high school policy debate (Cross Examination debate when I was a studly high school debater). If you like quirky indie teen coming of age romps, this is perfect. It’s funny, unpredictable (oh so rare in this genre) and, again, about high school debate which takes me back to my own coming of age story. The only movie that could touch on my adolescence more aptly would be the one about the lonely kid playing solitaire Dungeons and Dragons (and it would have to be a tragedy). The performances are nuanced and authentic and the kids actual kids.