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I missed Orange County when it was in the theaters, but just caught the video... Not exactly Citizen Kane, but a mildly amusing way to spend an hour and a half.

Surprisingly, there were a few funny, on-the-mark college admissions-related sequences (the movie focuses on a high school senior's quest to get into Stanford).

Lily Tomlin plays the kid's guidance counselor at a modernistic Orange County HS. In an all-too-true sequence, Tomlin assures the kid he's a shoo-in... at Berkeley. The kid reminds her that he's applying to Stanford. "Right, you're a shoo-in at Stanford" she mumbles absent-mindedly. She also tells him to not bother with safeties. Later, after he is rejected (because Tomlin accidentally sent another student's transcript with a 900 SAT instead of our hero's 1520), he shows her the rejection letter. She looks at him blankly and asks, "Are you a student here?"

Based on stories told in this forum and elsewhere by parents and students, the over-the-top Orange County GC is not that far off the mark at many schools. All good jokes are funny because there's an element of truth to build on...

There's actually a pearl of serious wisdom partway through the movie. The kid is bemoaning his fate, and his girlfriend tries to snap him out of his funk, saying, "If you think that attending Stanford is the only way you are going to become the person you want to be, I feel sorry for you..." That's a zinger that really hits home in the world of elite college admissions - how many students (or parents) feel that there is only one school, or a tiny group of schools, that will lead to a successful life?

Mostly, Orange County is a moderately lowbrow comedy featuring a neurotic, alcoholic mom, a drugged-out but amiable brother, and an assortment of surfer dudes, classmates, etc. College admissions junkies will find bits and pieces, though, where the movie strikes a responsive chord.

(If you get the Orange County DVD, check the deleted scene that shows the kid fantasizing about what it would be like at Stanford. In a dreamlike quad setting, classical musicians play, while ballet dancers perform and intellectual students walk by discussing literature. This scene doesn't make it into the movie, but no doubt it was meant to contrast with the reality of his actual Stanford experience. When he visits the campus to appeal directly to the admissions director, he goes to a party and meets Stanford students that, once you scratch the surface, aren't all that different from his shallow high school classmates.)

By DF on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 09:13 pm: Edit

I agree, the movie was pretty bad, but there was some real college admissions wisdom there, especially the ending!

By Dave Berry on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 10:50 am: Edit

This is kind of OT, but I've always been fascinated with movies and TV shows that have a college-related element. We've discussed this before here, but movies like The Paper Chase are quite interesting from a atmospheric perspective. As for the counselor situation you mention her, all I can say is: Many a truth is said in jest.

By Dadster on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 06:14 pm: Edit

You would have loved the part where the counselor zapped multiple students with a stun gun, and maced another...

By ParentTrap on Tuesday, September 03, 2002 - 09:01 am: Edit

It's hard being a parent.

By superddawnn on Wednesday, October 02, 2002 - 06:43 pm: Edit

I can't believe how the mom was portrayed... I think it could be seen as an insult to anyone who has or does suffer from depression.

By Buck on Friday, October 04, 2002 - 10:13 pm: Edit

If you took all the people who exhibited some symptom of a particular mental illness out of comedies, you wouldn't have much left...