Yep I would give it 7/10 because of the soundtrack, the craziness but yet still a very deep message about life. What you think you need and how to achieve your dreams aren't always how it works. It might just be that you always had it all along and this film points it out so good with a lot of crazy people and funny moments. I would say this movie is for the young but also midlife or anyone who still thinks about what road to take in their journey of life. And the thing is... always follow your heart. And sometimes you need a smack to the head to realize what you need to make it a reality. Great movie ! See it :D

Shaun Brumder (Colin Hanks) is an abnormally bright child. A kid whose schoolwork comes naturally to him and grades were never something to sweat over. But instead of trying to lead an ambitious life, Shaun chooses to spend his days surfing and hanging out with his pals. But when his best friend Lonny is killed in a surfing accident, Shaun contemplates if this direction is the best one to pursue. He later discovers a novel, written by a man named Marcus Skinner, on the beach one day, reads it cover to cover, and loves every minute of it. Upon reading it a dozen more times, and practicing writing similar stories on his own, he realizes that he has a talent for writing and ultimately that's what he wants to become.Shaun's homelife is a rather strange one. His parents are divorced, with his mother (Catherine O'Hara) being a sensitive, needy woman and his father (John Lithgow) a selfish and unruly cad. Shaun's brother is Lance (Jack Black), a portly stoner who is rarely seen fully clothed. Lance continues to offer advice to Shaun, which he will inherently disregard as rambling with no meaning, yet this isn't one of those stories where the dopey character may actually be smarter than we believe. He's just dumb.Our hero's dream, however, is to get accepted to Stanford and major in journalism. His girlfriend, the neighborhood activist Ashley (Schuyler Fisk) is all support, but his chances seemingly plummet downward when his guidance counselor sends the wrong transcript to Stanford. Instead of the bright and dedicated student they should receive, the school accepts some ne'er-do-well stoner who applied on a whim.Orange County follows Shaun as he tries in every which way to get accepted to Stanford and pursue a life of intellect and creativity. One thing that becomes the top priority on his list is escaping the inherently listless and seemingly mundane town of Orange County, where nobody takes anything with an ounce of seriousness and everyone seems to be self-indulgent and careless.This is a film with a big agenda, a clear heart, but an often misunderstood soul, mainly because its headliner, Jack Black, doesn't deliver the laughs you would expect. Orange County is not an energetic, high-octane romp, but a sweet and endearing character study that is equal parts sly comedy and equal parts dramatic and deep. A scene comes early on in the film where Shaun is wasting away in a class and his teacher is asking the students if they know anyone who would be interested in speaking to the school about personal experiences. Shaun proposes a writer who has just received a high honor, but is quickly one-upped by another classmate who has connections to Brittney Spears. This scene illustrates so discretely and subtly how motivated and turned on we get as a society by popularity and publicity rather than true talent and admiration.Colin Hanks, an actor still searching for that breakout role, handles the task here beautifully, even with the challenge and notable burden of carrying a lion's weight of a film on his back. He's no idiot. His character rarely misses a beat and is a calming and simple pleasure to endure. So is his brother, despite his slow, uninspiring persona. Orange County has an indescribable beauty and charm to its screenplay, one that offers an experience that is fresh and viable, and definitely unconventional.Starring: Colin Hanks, Jack Black, Schuyler Fisk, Catherine O'Hara, John Lithgow, and Lily Tomlin. Directed by: Jake Kasdan.

"Shaun Brumder (Colin Hanks) is content to be a bright, talented, but unfocused Southern California surf slacker- until the day he discovers a novel by acclaimed author Martin Skinner. Inspired, he suddenly realizes his life's ambition: to leave behind mind-numbing 'Orange County' and study creative writing with Skinner at Stanford University. But, after being denied enrollment due to an admissions error, Shaun is forced to seek help from not only his girlfriend Ashley (Schuyler Fisk), but also his hopelessly dysfunctional parents, stoner brother Lance (Jack Black), and a host of hilarious circumstances, to make his dream of escaping his hometown nightmare a reality," according to the DVD sleeve description.Typical dumb teen comedy with the usual over-the-hill youngsters - herein, the leading twosome being more famous as the son of Tom Hanks (Colin Hanks) and the daughter of Sissy Spacek (Schuyler Fisk). If you didn't know it already, friends and relations can be found running rampant around the cameras. Lesser known Lawrence Kasdan, since he's mostly found behind the camera, is the father of "Orange County" director Jake Kasdan. He gets Chevy Chase, Kevin Kline, John Lithgow, Garry Marshall, Catherine O'Hara, Harold Ramis, Ben Stiller, Lily Tomlin, Mike White, and Brian Wilson to participate. Not a bad lot. The veterans are fine, but the stars are less so; and, the film never really penetrates its boundaries.**** Orange County (1/7/02) Jake Kasdan ~ Colin Hanks, Schuyler Fisk, Jack Black, Catherine O'Hara

At first it looks just like any high school comedy you've ever watched especially during the 2000s as followings of the new godfather of the genre (American Pie – 1999) which I despise. But afterwards you'd find out that it's totally something else.. something better as a comedy with a great message.. Yes great ! Can you imagine waiting for something great in any contemporary high school comedy ? At this one you can.Maybe it's the most marvelous story for that kind of movies, a rare exceptional one without the same idiot work about some idiot students which is full of the usual quantity of bad taste, the ordinary amount of sex jokes and the regular irregular images of young Americans ! It is one funny movie indeed which will live longer than its likes not only because its solid atmosphere or smart script but basically for its main motif. It's about a middle class disintegrated family with tones of problems and one talented kid who wants to get away from all of this to make his own separate career as a writer, however he must get through that journey to discover one hell of a neglected fact about how he needs his family and his family needs him as everyone wanting the other to cure oneself, so he must run to his home not out of it ! I believe that the creative writer can't create honestly when he gets out of his original experiences, or his basic cases that he can't escape from them. So the clever meaning which (Orange County) simply poses is that the talented author is the one who creates from his people and for them. In fact the way of the movie to present this was plainly and soberly.Despite whatever looked as indecent or trite in dealing with its characters, it was unlike nearly all the kind's comedies, having some rationality that could proficiently keep the humanity of the characters and their sick pathetic conditions with the ability to mock at their sad ironic features or acts in the same time, but without losing the beautiful deep message or being that busy all the time of making only gross laughs.I loved all the cast as maybe the best ever for a small nice movie like this. I must refer to (Kevin Kline). He did such unforgettable job even it was a 4 or 5 minutes appearance as the real mentor who came with the golden answer for the errant hero late at his journey, to discover the truth and then to choose.. to make the last decision.It's not the Odessa ! But also it's not -God Forbid– another American Pie ! It's one commercial light comedy with expressly good message too. And if you ask me that is truly scarce nowadays !