Orange County is a 2002 teen comedy written by Mike White, directed by Jake Kasdan and starring Colin Hanks,
Jack Black and Schuyler Fisk.[[hottip:Meaning it was directed by Lawrence Kasdan's son, and stars both
Tom Hanks' son and Sissy Spacek's daughter.]]
Shaun Brumder (Colin Hanks) is just another
surfer kid from
Orange County, living with his
Dysfunctional Family and getting high until he discovers a book on the beach which changes his life. Discontented with his family, his school, and pretty much everyone in Orange County, he dreams of becoming an accomplished writer and works hard in high school in order to achieve his dream of studying with his idol, Marcus Skinner, at Stanford. However, his application is rejected due to an administrative error on the part of his high school, and he tries to get into Stanford via any means necessary with the help of his family and his girlfriend.
Hilarity Ensues.
Not to be confused with
The O.C., which is unrelated despite the same setting.
This film contains examples of:
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Shaun to begin with.
- Creator Cameo: Mike White as the English teacher.
- Dysfunctional Family
- Gold Digger: Shaun's mom, Cindy, and stepmom, and neither pretend to be anything but.
Cindy: So I married Bob, for you! I had sex with Bob four times for you! So how can you call me a bad mother?
- Granola Girl: Ashley is obsessed with saving endangered animals.
- Hey, It's That Guy!: Egon is the Dean of Admissions at Stanford, Ben Stiller is a firefighter, Kevin Kline is the teacher Shaun is seeking in Stanford, and Shaun shares a mom with Kevin.
- Intoxication Ensues: The Dean of Admissions gets high on unknown pills, mistaking them for aspirin.
- Ironic Echo Cut:
Shaun: *narrating* My friends think I've lost my mind.
Arlo: He's lost his mind!
- May-December Romance: Shaun's parents and step-parents.
- No Bisexuals: Averted with Tanya, who makes out with the female janitor in a flashback.
- Precision F-Strike: Averted with Shaun's dad. Inverted with Lance, as Jack Black manages to sneak the f-word in so casually it's hardly noticable.
- The Obi-Wan: Marcus Skinner to Shaun.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: The high school counsellor, who gets Shaun's transcript mixed up with another student's, leading to the plot of the rest of the movie, and does nothing to remedy this.
- Only Sane Man: Shaun, so bad.
- Pyro Maniac: Lance reveals he is one as he burns down the Admissions Building at Stanford.
- Surfer Dude: Shaun to begin with, Arlo and Chad throughout.
- Stepford Smiler: Cindy.
- The Slacker: Lance, who is post-high school, unemployed, on parole, and spends all day stoned watching SpongeBob SquarePants.
- The Stoner: Lance (of course), Arlo and Chad.
- Surrounded by Idiots: Shaun's motivation for wanting to get out of Orange County.
- Those Two Guys: Arlo and Chad.
- Throw It In: When Lance rescues Shaun from the swimming pool, he takes of his socks before jumping in. This was not in the script, but was a suggestion of Jack Black's wardrobe assistant.
- To Absent Friends: Lonny's wake.
- Valley Girl: Ashley is a mild one, but all the other girls in Shaun's high school are extreme valley girls.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Shaun wants his Dad to support his ambitions of becoming a writer.
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