By: debbie lynn elias
With an awkward beauty celebrating the beauty of awkwardness that hits you like a bolt of emotional lightning in the third act, STRUCK BY LIGHTNING is a heartfelt charmer (which means, bring tissues, especially knowing that “[Colfer’s] mom cries hysterically every time she sees it.”). Refreshing opening with the death of its main character courtesy of being struck by lightning, Colfer’s Carson Phillips, the narrative is told in flashback affording some delicious tongue-in-cheek satiric moments thanks to Colfer’s vocal inflections.
Carson Phillips is wise beyond his years. Smarter than the average bear, Carson is the epitome of achievement driven misfit. President of the high school Writer’s Club, editor of the school newspaper and founder and editor of the school literary magazine, Carson’s ambition is to be a writer at the New Yorker and win a Pulitzer and Nobel Peace Prize. So focused, so driven, so determined, he has only applied to one college. His confidence in himself is overwhelming but confidence and ability aren’t going to be enough as Carson is faced with more than a few challenges to attain his goals.
The product of a divorce, he lives with his mother whose addiction to alcohol and pills has put Carson in the unenviable position of beleaguered caregiver to a mother who makes it abundantly clear she never wanted him. His father has moved on to someone younger and is starting a new family, ignoring and forgetting Carson. Seeking respite in school with his eye on the prize of attending Northwestern and leaving the sadness and loneliness of “home” behind, Carson is mired in the stereotypical mediocrity of those around him, but for his best friend, Malerie.
Malerie is herself a bit of a misfit. “The Fat Girl”, she is ostracized by her classmates as well, but retains a more upbeat look at life than Carson. With video camera in hand 24/7, Malerie captures everything so that she will always be able to look back and remember every moment of life around her, whereas Carson wants to forget this chapter and move on. But it is through their bonding and Malerie’s camera that Carson is able to secure the cooperation of his fellow students in providing much needed material for his literary magazine. Blackmail is a powerful tool. And it is by way of this precocious blackmailing and wisecracking that we are given a glimpse into the secrets and pain that each seemingly stereotypical student harbors. Maybe Carson and Malerie aren’t such misfits after all.
A superlative cast is led by Chris Colfer himself. As Carson, he explodes with energy, passion and likeability. You feel Carson’s anger and frustration which he internalizes and turns into outward freneticism and driving focus. Rebel Wilson proves once again why she is a person to watch and why she is the next cinematic sensation. Her subtle fish-out-of-water demeanor that she brings to Malerie bubbles below the surface as Malerie tries to navigate the waters of high school and being “an outcast” while knowing herself to really be the cool one with everyone else lagging behind her and her insight.
The rest of the high school classmates are all not only perfectly rendered and performed as representative of every “type” of person you encounter in high school, but each is crafted as being a necessary spoke in the wheel of the story – and high school. Leading the charge is Sarah Hyland who is deliciously and vainly arrogant as cheerleader Claire Matthews. Joining Hyland in high school hijinks are Robbie Amell, Ashley Rickards, Matt Prokop and Carter Jenkins, among others. Every character and performance is equally well drawn and resonate elements within us all.
As Carson’s mother Sheryl, Allison Janney amazes with her patented smart alecky, hard core persona that we see grow and arc as the story progresses. Unfortunately for Sheryl, however, that growth comes too late and she is ultimately forced to forever live with unredeemable regret, just like all of Carson’s classmates and his father Neal. When it comes to Neal, Dermot Mulrooney is just a delicious ass. It is this “assholiness” though which adds the pages to Sheryl’s book of misery as we go from seeing a pathetic drunk pill-popping loser of a mother for whom we have no sympathy or empathy, to a woman whose veneer starts to crack and chip, letting us see what helped make her the disaster before us. Wonderful structure. Janney is a whirlwind of emotion be it going toe-toe-toe with Colfer’s Carson, Mulrooney or Christina Hendricks who is a delight as Neal’s pregnant fiancé, April.
With heart and humor, as Carson’s Alzheimer’s afflicted grandmother, Polly Bergen eschews the scenery, adding maturity, grounding and common sense to Carson’s conflicted life. Beyond enjoyable is Angela Kinsey who brings a great ditziness and ultimate warmth to the part of Carson’s guidance counselor.
Written by Colfer, the story structure of starting at the end as a post-mortem reflection works well, leading to simple and effective format. According to Colfer, “I knew that I wanted to see [Carson] dead first. I wanted to see his end before you saw his beginning. There’s something so funny but tragic. Here’s this person you don’t know at all. You see their death. You see them come to a conclusion before you even know what brought them there.” The beautiful aspect to this tactic is that it makes the audience want to know what brought this character to this point. Colfer piques curiosity from the start and for him, he especially appreciates the fact that “the audience knew it was coming and the characters didn’t.” There is an awkwardness to the overall theme and film that appears intentional making the film as a whole, a metaphor for high school and one’s teen years. Brian Dannelly’s direction keeps the film clean, simple. A softness to the visual tone of the film both in lighting and use of color serves as a nice balance to the harsh realities and high school!
A “Must See” Film! Get struck with STRUCK BY LIGHTNING!
Directed by Brian Dannelly
Written by Chris Colfer
Cast: Chris Colfer, Rebel Wilson, Allison Janney, Dermot Mulrooney, Polly Bergen, Angela Kinsey, Christina Hendricks, Sarah Hyland, Robbie Amell, Ashley Rickards, Matt Prokop and Carter Jenkins
