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Yesterday, I was lucky enough to get to see Chris Colfer’s new movie, “Struck By Lightning.” He wrote the screenplay, and stars in the movie, and this is very much his own film. I will admit I was hesitant at first about this film because I absolutely can’t stand Kurt on Glee – but am I ever glad that I gave this film a chance!
The film starts out with Carson (the main character, played by Chris Colfer) getting struck by lightning and dying. We then immediately flash back to a few months earlier. Carson dreams of becoming a wildly successful writer, and to do so he intends on going to Northwestern University. To that end, Carson runs – and single-handedly writes – the school newspaper. He also has a seat on the student council, which consists of the other extra-curricular leaders – an army of walking high school clichés.
The wildly inept guidance counselor offers Carson one tidbit of useful advice – that school newspapers are no longer cutting it; and the way to impress Northwestern is to create a literary magazine with writing from other students. Carson will do absolutely anything to make his dreams come true, so he attempts to create a literary magazine. When no one submits anything, Carson starts blackmailing his fellow students into submitting pieces.
The B-plot is about Carson’s dysfunctional family – a druggie mom played to perfection by Allison Janney, a despicable dad (Dermot Mulroney), and his dad’s new fiancé (Christina Hendricks). Allison Janney’s work here is, of course, impeccable. Her character, Sheryl, always hovers almost exactly between contemptible and pitiable, and I still can’t quite decide how I feel about her.
The story is ridiculously engrossing. After a few scenes, I completely forgot that the movie was leading up to Carson’s untimely death, and began rooting for Carson to succeed and have a happy ending. And to have that snatched away at the last second was agony – I teared up quite a bit at the end, even though it wasn’t the waterworks that “Les Mis” and “Perks of Being a Wallflower” brought on.
Chris Colfer achieves with Carson in fifteen minutes what he couldn’t with Kurt in three seasons – he makes Carson likable. Carson comes very close to being unlikable – he is sarcastic and occasionally cruel, almost to the point of being nasty, but not quite. But when I saw how he struggled, how desperately he wanted to achieve his dreams and leave that stupid town, I fell in love with the character. Not to mention, I really liked his caustic wit. He delivers very intelligent and impassioned tirades frequently, and Chris Colfer nails each and every one. You can tell how strong Carson’s convictions are, how superior his intelligence is, and how intense his passion is. And in the few moments that Carson lets his snarky barriers fall, when he is with his grandma, Chris Colfer conveys truly heartfelt emotion.
This would all fall flat, however, without an adequate supporting cast. And somehow, this movie managed to get such spot-on casting, that I have to wonder how they did it. Rebel Wilson, who is now officially one of THE rising stars to watch, plays Carson’s best friend. Because two such huge personalities would just explode the screen, she really dials down her performance. Her portrayal of Malerie is quiet and understated; she is the rock that grounds the movie by being a constant calming presence.
Malerie represents the other side of being a dreamer: the side where you don’t have the talent needed. To make an analogy to Glee: Carson is the more likable (and reasonable) version of Rachel Berry. Malerie is the one thing the show needed most of all for plausibility – the kid who wants to be a Broadway star but can’t sing. In Glee, all the kids are incredibly talented, and all of them (very improbably) find huge success after high school. Malerie wants to be a writer, but she does not have any original ideas (a running gag throughout the movie). Carson becomes a mentor and a best friend to her, and their relationship is very sweet.
The student body is a veritable who’s-who of Disney Channel actors, proving that they’ve all grown up a bit. Allie Grant (“Suite Life”) is the yearbook president and Carson’s arch-nemesis. Robbie Amell (“Life With Derek”) is the dumb jock. Matt Prokop (“Geek Charming” and “High School Musical 3”) is nearly unrecognizable as the resident pothead.
But of all the supporting performances, the strongest is Sarah Hyland’s (“Geek Charming”). She imbues Claire, the stereotypical nasty head cheerleader, with a lot of humanity; you can’t help feeling sorry for her. In one of the best exchanges in the movie, she and Carson have a shouting match, where Claire reveals her insecurities – she believes she’ll never amount to anything and will never leave the town. Carson reminds her that she wanted to be a professional ballerina many years ago, and she replies that everyone laughed at her and she realized it wouldn’t happen. Carson then snaps that there is no reason to stop believing in themselves – “Someone has to be a Nobel Peace Prize winner and a professional ballerina, so why not us?” And therein is what makes Carson different from the rest – he never stopped believing in himself.
The lesson that this movie teaches is a new one, one that needs to be taught: there is nothing wrong with dreaming big, even if the dreams don’t come true. Maybe I’ve just been missing something here, but this seems like a novel theme in movies. All the ones I’ve seen are all about “Dream big, then reach success against all odds!” Our generation has no trouble with dreaming big… but what can we do if we don’t make it?
This movie tells us that it’s okay. The important thing is to dream big, and even if you ultimately fail, to celebrate the accomplishments along the way. Carson’s dreams did not come true, but he realizes that he did accomplish something to be proud of: publishing a literary magazine filled with his classmates’ writing. As an analogy, think about Wicked. Elphaba ultimately fails in the end – the Animals are still being marginalized by a corrupt government. But the important thing is that she tried – and even if she saved only one Animal, that is still something worth celebrating and being proud of.
Of course, that is just the main lesson I got out of it. There are a LOT of other things going on: mortality, family, conformity, morality, freedom of expression, artistic inspiration… this movie is a great conversation starter. And it’s a powerful movie; I’ve been dwelling on it all day. I can see why it got a standing ovation at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The last thing I’ll say is that this is not one of those movies that ties things up neatly. Not everyone gets a happy ending. Actually, most of the characters don’t really get an ending – you don’t know how they end up, because this is the story of Carson, and how Carson impacted their lives. I am amazed at what a fully realized world and cast of characters have been created in an hour and a half. I feel like this could serve as a fantastic pilot for a TV series, because I would be ecstatic to spend more time with these characters. But if not, I left the theater completely satisfied with the ending, and the movie in general.
So my concluding remarks: GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!! I give it a full 10/10. 2013 movies better work pretty hard, because it’ll be hard to displace this in my year-end top 10 list. I also commend the entire cast, but most of all Chris Colfer. I don’t know how successful the other Glee cast members will be on the big screen (the only progress thus far, Diana Agron in “I Am Number Four” and Cory Monteith in “Monte Carlo,” has not been particularly inspiring). But I do believe that Chris Colfer is a bona fide star; and I hope lots of people discover this movie and appreciate it. The Oscars are too snooty to honor “Perks of Being a Wallflower,” so I doubt they’d go for this either, but I feel like “Struck By Lightning” is deserving of all the Oscars!