Orange County on DVD

Orange County is one of those rare teen movies that manages to go against the norm and actually provide some laughs.

Colin Hanks (yes, Tom's son) is Shaun Brumder, a smart high school student with dreams of going to Stanford to write with his favorite author, Martin Skinner. But after his teacher mails the wrong transcripts to the school, he's denied admission. He then tries everything he possibly can to get himself enrolled, including enlisting the help of his stoner brother, Lance (Jack Black).

As you would expect, things go awry. His dad refuses to help, his mom is too busy yelling at the maid, and his brother burns down the admissions building at Stanford. But after he meets his idol, Martin Skinner, he has to rethink his goals and figure out what he really wants.

Featuring great comedic performances by Hanks and Black, Orange County also has a great cast of guest stars. Lily Tomlin, Catherine O'Hara, John Lithgow, Ben Stiller and Kevin Kline all show up for a few minutes to lend their talents.

Perhaps the best thing about Orange County is its length. At a mere 82 minutes, it's long enough to keep you entertained for an hour and a half (provided you watch the extras), but doesn't come close to overstaying its welcome.

It's a fun 82 minutes to spend, and it's nice to see a decent teen movie.

Orange County wasn't a massive hit, but it did pretty well considering how much it cost to make. Still, Paramount has given it an average DVD and nothing more. The picture and sound are both satisfactory, and there are only a couple of extras.

The anamorphic widescreen picture is pretty clear, but it's a bit grainier than it should be. At some points I noticed quite a bit of grain, and I'm not quite sure why some places had more than others. Why they couldn't keep consistent quality is beyond me. The sound is equally average. Though it's a 5.1 track, I never once noticed use of the surround speakers. There are only a couple points in the movie that needed it, but even then would have been nice.

First on the list of extras is a very, very bland commentary by writer Mike White and director Jake Kasdan. There are also four deleted scenes (one of which is funny, the rest of which are not), and 15 "interstitials." These are basically 30-second to a minute long advertisements for the movie. The first nine are quite amusing, and use footage that was seemingly shot specifically for the interstitials. The last six are scenes right from the movie, and aren't nearly as effective.

Orange County, from Paramount Home Entertainment
82 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) 16X9 enhanced, 5.1 Dolby Digital
Starring Colin Hanks, Jack Black, Catherine O'Hara, Schuyler Fisk, John Lithgow
Produced by Scott Rudin, Van Toffler, David Gale, Scott Aversand
Written by Mike White, Directed by Jake Kasdan

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