The Hughes Torch

Rating: 8/10 (13 September 2004)

For those who enjoyed John Hughes teenage angst movies such as the Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles and the raunchy trilogy of American Pie, this will be right down your alley. The leads Emile Hirsch, Elisha Cuthbert, Timothy Olyphant, Chris Marquette and Paul Dano carry themselves very strongly, almost to the disadvantage of the rest of the cast who become vital structurally, but otherwise completely unnoticeable. There is an occasional violent tone to this movie that clashes bizarrely with its otherwise comedic nature and the scenes are very disturbing. Additionally dream sequences are blended with real-time sequences, for occasionally comedic, sometimes freakish effect. Timothy Olyphant almost steals the show as a sociopathic porn producer who you never quite know if you want to cheer on or wish he were dead.
Hirsh and Cuthbert mix quite well, blending the finding and losing of innocence with a pleasant sincerity. Chris Marquette comes across as a young John Laroquette type character from "Night Court", and is entertaining. Borderline on visibility, but filling in when he does, is Paul Dano. Visually and scriptwise the movie is a lot of fun throughout, and tries to avoid wading in its own sincerity too much. The 'unrated' version hardly seems to need to be unrated, and I'm not precisely sure what separates this movie from a modest R rating. A 7.5 on a 100 point scale and a flat 8 on a 10 point.
Damion Crowley