Struck by Lightning (2012)

A coming-of-age movie for all ages, Struck by Lightning is filled with dry humor and a message for anyone who watches it. Carson Phillips makes for a dynamic, morally ambiguous main character whose story strikes as realistic, emotional, and ultimately uplifting for a boy caught in a small town with little hope of escape. The supporting characters are just as fascinating, from Rebel Wilson's portrayal of Malerie, the high school student who records everything on tape, to Allison Janney's heartbreaking rendition of a struggling single mother trying to cope with depression and anxiety while raising her son. Heartfelt and filled with intertwining storylines that combine to a greater picture that is far larger than the sum of its parts, Struck by Lightning is the perfect film for anyone who has ever felt a little ostracized, a little hopeless, a little too small for their dreams.

I've been waiting... I don't even know how long anymore to see this movie, and I'm so glad I finally have been able to see it. Chris Colfer did a flawless job, and I highly suggest you watch this movie. Right now. Click rent. You won't regret it, I promise.

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This movie was written by and stars Chris Colfer, best known as Kurt from "Glee." It is an absorbing study of an overachiever and how whether or not you want it to the way we live our life, our choices, our decisions and our drive effect the others around us in both positive and negative ways. The acting in this movie is stellar, filled with both present and future stars (Rebel Wilson for one, filmed a year before she exploded) and the writing keeps you engaged from the first (literally shocking) first minutes until the end of the movie. I highly recommend this movie, for the smiles and for the moments that make you wince and for the way it makes you feel when it is over. Overachievers they rock.

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Chris Colfer from TV's "Glee" is certainly making the most of his fame by expanding his resume as an author and a screenwriter, and I have to admire this tenacity and ambition. As "Glee" winds down, the entire cast should be thinking about future career moves! Colfer has become something of role model in recent years. As an openly homosexual character on a popular television program, he has a platform that reaches millions of kids struggling with identity and/or bullying. With this work, he has twice been nominated for an EMMY and even won a Golden Globe award. "Struck by Lightning" is an adaptation of Colfer's popular teen novel, and its screenplay was penned by Colfer as well. Director Brian Dannelly has assembled an extremely immense and TV friendly cast for this production and it's fun to see just who might pop up next. Some of the notable actors in the ensemble include Allison Janney, Dermot Mulroney, Rebel Wilson, Polly Bergin, Sarah Hyland (Modern Family), Ashley Rickards (Awkward), Angela Kinsey (The Office), Christina Hendricks (Mad Men), Allie Grant (Suburgatory and Weeds), Graham Rogers (Revolution), Brad William Henke, and Ken Marino.

The film tells the story of Carson Phillips (Colfer), who in the opening sequence is quite literally struck by lightning. Through a series of flashbacks and a reflective voice over narration, Phillips recounts the days leading up to this event. While he deals with an unstable mother (Janney) and a father (Mulroney) who seems to be moving on, he throws himself into making a better life for himself through education. As the editor of the school paper, he is plagued by an unsupportive staff and an apathetic administration. His college dreams may be off track unless he can come up with a noticeable project to pad his application. Creating a literary magazine, he and his trusted sidekick (a remarkably restrained and quite good Rebel Wilson) use any means necessary to ensure the cooperation of all of the school's most influential students. Meant to be a comic romp, the movie degenerates into a rather mean spirited adventure that actually seems to support reverse bullying. As long as it isn't done by popular kids, does that make it defensible?

There are plenty of things to like about "Struck by Lightning." First of all, the cast is first rate. And the film has its amusing moments. Ultimately, though, Colfer's character is not someone that you can really root for and admire. He's not a lovable underdog, he's a judgmental bully. He's smarter than everyone else in the movie, quick to condescend and make fun. As such, he never elicited even one moment of sympathy from me. I know that's the point and that there are life lessons to be learned by all. You can make a terrific black comedy that is merciless (Heathers comes to mind), but "Struck by Lightning" seems to want to have it both ways. As Colfer bullies everyone and blackmails them to his own reward, the movie embraces a meanness that is a perfectly acceptable choice. But the movie also wants to have its share of "warm and fuzzies." After terrorizing everyone in his life, we're also supposed to embrace a positive message from the hero? "Struck by Lightning" isn't a bad movie, by any stretch, it just sends a few mixed messages and one of them seems to support bullying as long as it's done by the right people for the right motives. KGHarris, 5/13.

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I've been reading all these reviews on amazon about SBL (bad life choice I know) and so many people are missing the point of the movie. They're trapped in this idea that somehow we're supposed to love Carson and want him to succeed for nothing more than the fact that he's a creation of Chris Colfer and we should want him to get what he wants in life but it's so much more than that they seem to be missing the major underlying message of the movie itself which, to me, is incredibly disappointing.

Struck By Lightning isn't supposed to be some kid-movie where you see the backyard boy succeed and go to the college of his dreams no matter what obstacles he faces. We're not supposed to sit there and adore Carson in spite of the fact that he's kind of a jerk (in fact, most people I know adore him because he's kind of a jerk and doesn't give a crap what people think about him).

It's supposed to be a movie about dreams. Some of the major quotes in the film are centred around this idea: 'A life without meaning, without drive, without focus, without goals or dreals isn't a life worth living', and `In what grade do we stop believing in ourselves'? It's not about giving up everything for your dreams, I don't think, or the essence of blackmail to get what you want.

What Carson realises at the end of the film isn't that he's happy because his dreams are coming true or because he's made an effort. He's happy because he's realised all the amazing things he's done in his short life; he may not have gotten into the college of his dreams or gotten everything he wanted, but he did something amazing. He had lived his life up to that point dwelling on himself, his self-pity and waiting every day for his life to begin. By doing so he had completely ignored all his personal successes, the things he had accomplished and the good, joyful things in his life.

SBL isn't supposed to be some indie comedy about a kid who's dreams all come true. It's a movie about finding your dreams, finding yourself, and realising that, okay, not everything is perfect but you've accomplished something fantastic and amazing in your time on earth, even if, at first, it doesn't seem as fantastic.

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