Reece Daniel Thompson,
Anna Kendrick,
Nicholas D'Agosto,
Vincent Piazza,
Margo Martindale
... see more 
Jeffrey Blitz's seriocomedy Rocket Science proves that many a handicap can be overcome, no matter how daunting the obstacle at hand may initially seem. Newcomer Reece Thompson plays Hal Hefner, a 15-y... read more
Directed by: Jeff Blitz
Release Date: August 10, 2007
DVD Release Date: January 29, 2008
Stats: 2,251 reviews
I spent the vast majority of this movie trying to decide whether, or not, I liked it. The characters were definitely interesting, but overall I don't think that this film hit on the point that it was trying to make. Not a bad movie, just not that special.
A stutterer joins his high school debate team at the behest of a woman with whom he quickly falls in love.
Anna Kendrick, whose performance in Up in the Air showed her to be a strong if somewhat stilted actress, is nearly perfect as the debater/femme fatale in this quirky ... read more
I had high hopes for this one, (and even bought the damn thing before seeing it based on a good review. Grrr). Didn't do a lot for me at all. It was kind of dull and didn't find the main character particularly interesting. Disappointing.
I am a total, total sucker for these types of movies. With that in mind, I suppose it is a bit biased to say that I loved absolutely everything about this movie. It is just perfect, the script, presentation, story, everything. I really like the fact that Hal is by no means the on... read more
Ever get a film and wonder why you rented it. That fits this film 110 Minutes of wondering how did it get on my list. About a High School Student who falls in love with a Debate Queen, and he has a speech handicap, nothing in this film makes it funny or enjoyable, another 2 star ... read more
Slightly inspirational and sort of adorable, but too insubstantial and too self-aware to be more than a floaty little indie. I sort of like Anna Kendrick a lot though.
Rocket Science is a film that isn't too much of anything. It's funny, but not hilarious, it has emotion without being powerful. In many respects it is a very real film. Like many of it's type, it has those 'charming' little quirks, with extra dollops of weirdness. However, Rocket... read more
"Life is faster done than said."
Looking for answers to life's big questions, a stuttering boy joins his high school debate team.REVIEW
With another entry in the "coming of age" category, I re... read more
A long time ago, I remember myself recoiling at comments made about the script for The Usual Suspects. What made me flinch most of all were critics who made unfathomable -- for me, I admit up front -- comments about the "cleverness" of the script -- saying that the scrip... read more
quirky to be sure, but true to its own voice throughout, from the odd music to the eccentric peripheral charactors.
I was entertained, and loved some of the narrative; a highlight was when Kendrick explains to the older brother that "his" seat on the bus is not his, since it is... read more
Blitz continues to make a case for himself as a filmmaker with rich, realistic stories to tell. Full Review
The merits of Rocket Science are endlessly debatable, and this is nothing to sneeze at. Full Review
Quietly written and convincingly played, this coming-of-age story mines its rueful laughs from a thick vein of performance anxiety, in both senses of the term. Full Review
Borrowing from too many movies to count, Rocket Science botches that brew in an unwieldy slew of adolescent-angst clichés. Full Review
Rocket Science flies beyond the standard teen preoccupations, moving into territory that combines humor and eccentricity with fragile hope and ambition, making for a film that embraces every awkward a... Full Review
Rocket Science is not a revelation on the lines of Thompson's Spellbound, one of the great convergences of luck and the ability to make the most of it. But it does suggest that Blitz and Thompson have... Full Review
Buoyed by a script rife with poetry, a handful of dynamic performances and Eef Barzelay's near-perfect score, Rocket Science mildly shames the potty-mouthed Superbad. And I liked Superbad. Full Review
All of the acting is first-rate, but Thompson is fantastic. He makes Hal both sympathetic and hilarious, never giving in to self-pity but, in a refreshing take, not above the occasional scream (or che... Full Review
One of the pleasures of Blitz's film is that it immerses us in the fraught, competitive pressures of the high-school debate world-like Spellbound, it gets the details right.
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