Rocket Science (***)

Stuttering high school senior Hal Hefner joins the debate team in Spellbound director Jeffrey Blitz’s first non-documentary feature. Blitz himself was a stutterer and a debater, and it shows in the empathatic portrait of his lead character, convincingly portrayed by Reece Thompson. Hal speaks eloquent volumes inside his head, like the smooth-voiced narrator who makes his story sound like a fable. On the outside, though, he can barely communicate to the cafeteria lady whether he wants pizza or fish. Hal gets recruited by speed-talking overachiever Ginny (Anna Kendrick), who says she senses possibilities in him. Flattered, or smitten, he agrees. Just like in Spellbound, the story is centered around an annual competition, with detours into Hal’s home life. (His father has left his mother.) The stuttering aside, this is the setup for a very typical teen comedy. Without giving away too much, let’s say that Blitz subverts most of the expectations the setup would imply. This is the sort of movie where the high schoolers actually look like teenagers. Skip it if you’re looking for a feel-good movie with a clean plot.

For my taste, the supporting cast seems to overload the movie with strained quirkiness. A school therapist tells Hal that if only he had ADD he’d be able to help. Hal befriends an nerdy boy whose parents play cello/piano duets of a Violent Femmes song and brag about trying all the positions of the Kama Sutra. I also thought no one could speak in debate-team arguments all the time like Kendrick’s super-self-possessed Ginny, but was still intrigued enough to want to see more of her. Hal himself is an original and honest character, though.

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reviewed 9/7/07