ROCKET SCIENCE
US, 2007, 101 minutes, Colour.
Reece Thompson, Anna Kendrick, Nicholas D' Agosto, Vincent Piazza, Margo Martindale, Aaron Yoo.
Directed by Jeffrey Blitz.
Rocket Science is riding on the fact that Jeffrey Blitz made that delightful and frightening documentary Spellbound, the film about the national spelling bee competition and its effect on the contestants and their families. Blitz won the directing award at the Sundance Festival. This time the subject is junior debating and the film is a fiction rather than a documentary.
Many audiences will concentrate on the adolescent story, the focus on Reece Thompson as Hal Hefner who is a moody young man, clashing with his brother, saddled with a huge stuttering problem. Meanwhile, we see a number of high school students who are as dedicated to debate and preparation and delivery as were those young spellbound contestants. And the pace at which they deliver seems just too much, too fast to make debating sense: speed for speed’s rather than intelligence’s sake.
When a driven girl, frustrated at the champion surrendering the trophy that she coveted, picks Hal to be her associate, it is clear that there is trouble in store. He is clever but stuck on enunciating his words. He is also love-struck.
The audience around me was obviously very taken with Hal and his misadventures. I was wanting to do the same but found I was not drawn into the film. It’s not the subject, though watching such competitive kids become even obsessive can be wearing as well as their so breathless to be meaningless style. I think it was Hal himself. Reece Thompson did a very good job in performance but his belief that he could debate, his oddball work with a coach to help him get over his impediment, the cantankerous atmosphere in the house and the smug win-at-all-costs girl did not really appeal.
1.The appeal of the film? Teenage life? Verbal disabilities? Overcoming disabilities? The value of debate, training for debate, verbal skills, mental skills?
2.The film based on the experience and life of the director? Authentic – although seeming not so credible at times?
3.The title, the final reference by Hal to love, family, spoken to his father? Hal’s needs?
4.The nature of student debate in the United States? Its style? Sharpening the mind, raising issues? The speed of delivery? The brief summaries? Questions, adversaries, opposition? The effect on the teenagers? Their skills? Superiority in those who were skilful? Others being overwhelmed?
5.The voice-over, describing Hal Hefner’s life, crises? The tone?
6.The New Jersey settings, the homes, families, parents, marital break-up, new partners, the children and the effects? Schools? The streets? The debating forums? The jaunty musical score?
7.The opening debate, Ben and his skills, speech, stopping? Ginny and her ambitions, her cups? Aghast? The winners and their joy? Ben leaving, going to work in the dry-cleaners? Ginny beginning to scheme?
8.The focus on Hal, his age, personality, stammer? At home, the meals, his brother? Relationship to his father and mother? Their fighting? His father leaving, final speech? His needs? The voice-over linking this experience to Ben’s failure at the debate?
9.The judge and his moving in, the effect on Hal’s mother, Heston coming in as well, their clashes, Heston stealing, his father’s applauding him? The discussions between the young men?
10.Ginny, her character, her music-playing parents? Her decision to recruit Hal? Talking him into the debating group? Hal later learning the truth from Coach Lumbly that she had recruited many disabled people? The effect on him, his wanting to be in the group, preparing speeches, themes? His embarrassment, leaving? His kissing Ginny? Her abandoning him?
11.His personal training, the voice coach, whispering, accents etc?
12.His research, believing Ginny, his stammer, the failure, walking out, in the closet, embarrassment?
13.The decision to go to Ben, working with Heston? Other members of the group? Finding him, discussions, persuading him to come back, the research, the role of the coach?
14.Heston, wanting to be part of the team? Coach Lumbly, the training, travelling, the debate interviews, the hopes?
15.Ben, his failure, going to the dry-cleaners, friendship with Hal, the defeat of Ginny, the final debate, its effect?
16.Hal’s father, coming to pick him up, the frank talk about love – and love not being rocket science?
17.Hal, the gawky young man, learning, experiencing change?
