disOrientation
Wait a minute? This is a “college experience” comedy that doesn’t star the same sort of CW/WB/UPN/MTV teen idols we’ve been used to seeing for years, natch, decades? Have I died and gone to heaven?
No, but “disOrientation,” from a sharply funny screenplay by Charles Price and directed by Russell Whaley, feels like a wonderful breath of fresh air compared to the insipid comedies we’ve seen over the years from Hollywood. The movie this reminded me most of is Steve Pink’s underrated “Accepted” (and, of course, the iconic “Animal House”), but not sanitized for precious, PG-13 ears. This is the movie “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder” wanted to be ten years ago, but– in my estimation –failed miserably.
The movie stars Eric Toms as Finn, who, like Van Wilder, is the typical college slacker, that “only in the movies” cliche of a man-child who has no chance of ever graduating after Lord knows how many years. He has a particularly absurd view of college, though no doubt, one that has some basis in fact. Another year, another group of freshmen to hit on and teach the wilder side of life, especially his 15-year-old roommate, Toby (Todd Gaebe), who gets a rude awakening when Finn regularly hooks up with Jenny (Nikki Martin), who he manages to convince to bumps uglies with him after meeting in a bar. Toby is traumatized on a regular basis by hanging with Finn and his friends (including barmaid Chloe (Stephanie Sanditz) and Darrell (Joseph H. Johnson Jr.)), but as always seems to happen with these stories, maybe there’s something that each of them can learn from the other.
Yes, the narrative turns into pretty much every other “mismatched roommate” story that’s ever been told, but thankfully, Price and Whaley don’t let that dilute the film’s subversive, perverse tone. They can’t stand that sappy, pappy “let’s be friends after all” tone, and even when the movie starts to veer into that realm, the film is consistently, ridiculously funny. And seriously, how many Hollywood movies would wrap things up with a drinking contest, and blackmailing the lead douchebag? It’s not often that such a movie can entertain me as much as this one did. If only more Hollywood movies took such chances.
