Why you can trust 12DOVE Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.
Smart, personal and original, Jake "son of Lawrence" Kasdan's first movie Zero Effect was an off-kilter detective story that oozed sly personality and wit. Now he's back with a new film that's easier on the brain but - for all its teen schlock conventions - just as funny.
Stuck in the surfer-dude hell that is California's Orange County, Shaun Brumder (Colin "son of Tom" Hanks) dreams of studying literature at Stanford. But when a dippy high school counsellor stuffs up his application, it's up to Shaun, his girlfriend (Schuyler Fisk) and his drugged-up wreck of a brother Lance (Jack Black) to snatch victory from the jaws of disaster... Well, hopefully.
With a mix-and-match plot you could staple onto half-a-dozen post-American Pie efforts, Orange County offers few surprises. What it does have, though, is style and warmth. From the uptight Shaun to the spaced-out Lance via associated dopeheads, moronic preppies and nightmarish relatives, Kasdan clearly has a deep and highly contagious affection for his characters.
NOVERDICT
24 hours after Diablo 4 players started using bugged Elixirs to give themselves millions of health, Blizzard is "rolling a patch" to fix them
As Baldur's Gate 3 reaches bigger heights in 2024 than 2023, Larian publishing chief says it's a "pleasant surprise" and "we're not quite done yet"
Star Wars Outlaws is "removing forced stealth from almost all quest objectives"
