Taglines: It’s not just a place. It’s a state of mind.
Orange County movie storyline. Shaun Brumder (Colin Hanks) is a teenager from affluent Orange County, California. Although bright and intelligent, he has very little interest in education or studying, instead trying to lead a carefree SoCal lifestyle of surfing, drinking, and partying. A turning point comes when Shaun’s best friend Lonny (Bret Harrison) is killed in a surfing accident, causing Shaun to rethink his own life.
One day, he finds a novel on the beach by the author Marcus Skinner, which quickly inspires him to become a writer. Upon learning that Skinner is an English professor at Stanford University, Shaun makes it his goal to attend Stanford and study under him, seeing it as an opportunity to escape from his superficial life in Orange County.
Shaun dramatically improves himself academically, obtaining high grades and SAT scores as well as becoming the president of his graduating class. Following the advice of his guidance counselor, Ms. Cobb (Lily Tomlin), who tells him that he is a “shoo-in” for acceptance, Shaun applies only to Stanford. This severely backfires as Shaun later finds out that he is rejected from Stanford, ironically because Ms. Cobb mixed up his academic transcript with that of a much less intelligent student.
Shaun then reaches out to his wealthy father Bud (John Lithgow), who had left his wife and family to marry a much younger woman (Leslie Mann), pleading him to donate money to Stanford in order to increase his chances of being accepted. Bud, however, disapproves of Shaun’s dream of being a writer and refuses.
In an attempt to help him, Shaun’s animal rights activist girlfriend Ashley (Schuyler Fisk) successfully convinces her friend Tanya (Carly Pope) to allow Shaun to be interviewed at his home by Tanya’s grandfather, a Stanford board member, so Shaun can explain his situation. Unfortunately, the antics displayed during the interview by his dysfunctional family members, including his alcoholic, emotionally fragile mother Cindy (Catherine O’Hara) and his dim-witted stoner brother Lance (Jack Black), cause Shaun’s interviewers to storm out in anger and disgust.
In a last-ditch effort to get him accepted, Ashley and Lance convince Shaun to drive to Palo Alto and plead his case directly to Stanford Admissions Director Don Durkett (Harold Ramis). By the time the trio arrive on campus, it is nighttime and the admissions building is already closed. While Lance distracts (and seduces) the secretary on duty in the office, Shaun and Ashley steal the address to Durkett’s house.
They arrive at his home, where Shaun shows him his real high school transcript. Although impressed with Shaun’s credentials, Durkett is reluctant to admit him, as it is already very late in the admissions process. After much groveling, Shaun finally convinces Durkett to go back to his office in the Admissions Building and give it a second thought. Disaster strikes again, however, when Ashley drugs Durkett by accident with Lance’s ecstasy, stored in an Excedrin bottle, thereby causing Durkett to become high.
Things go from bad to worse when Shaun and Ashley arrive at the Admissions Building and find it engulfed in flames, caused by Lance starting a fire while he was seducing the receptionist to distract her; Lance is now wanted for arson. They abandon the hallucinating Durkett and flee the scene to avoid being arrested.
Orange County (2002)
Directed by: Jake Kasdan
Starring: Colin Hanks, Jack Black, Catherine O’Hara, John Lithgow, Harold Ramis, Lili Tomlin, Chevy Chase, Jack Black, Schuyler Fisk, Olivia Rosewood, Carly Pope
Screenplay by: Mike White
Production Design by: Gary Frutkoff
Cinematography by: Greg Gardiner
Costume Design by: Debra McGuire
Set Decoration by: Chris L. Spellman
Makeup Department: Laverne Caracuzzi, Ketty Gonzalez, Lisa Layman, Gloria Ponce
Music by: Michael Andrews
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for drug content, language and sexuality.
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: January 11, 2002
Views: 161
