Kidzworld checks out Chris Colfer’s relatable new dark comedy film “Struck by Lightning”
Chris Colfer) tells us about his last few weeks of life. We learn that his mom (Allison Janney) and dad (Dermot Mulroney) are divorced and his mom is hitting the bottle. Grandma (Polly Bergen) has Alzheimer’s and nobody at school likes or understands him sooo Carson pretty much hated his reality.
Chris as Carson with Allison Janney as his mom
School Daze 1f386d
At school, Carson runs the mega-unsuccessful school paper and his Writer’s Club “Sarah Hyland), a holier than thou chick (“Suburgatory’s Allie Grant), a druggie and a gay couple; one member obvious as the drama club Pres but the other a big jock still trying to as straight.
Sarah Hyland as Claire with Chris as Carson
to the Future 3d4r16
While things on the home front heat up with dad’s new pregnant girlfriend (hot Christina Hendricks of “Mad Men”) pissing off mom, Carson learns more and more secrets his evil classmates are hiding and, when the school guidance counselor advises him to start a literary magazine to impress the issions committee at Northwestern, the college he simply must get into, Carson starts to formulate a plan.
Operation Clovergate: The Plan 174255
With Malerie as his ally, Carson decides to blackmail his classmates to get them to write for and promote his new literary magazine. He’ll tell on the gay guys so they comply. He’s seen the ho cheerleader in action with the coach and Malerie has it on tape.. check! The supposed foreign exchange student isn’t foreign and a druggie is caught with grass. The literary staff is born! As Malerie says. “Write for us or we’ll spread this (stuff) like Nutella!”
Writing and Liking It….Sorta z3542
The blackmailed writing staff actually starts writing and they discover that, hey, it’s good creative release and they might even like it. Looks like things might work but when Carson argues with the principal, the whole school is banned from leaving campus and everyone hates him. Now they won’t buy the magazine. Making things worse, Carson learns that he was accepted by Northwestern but his mom hid the letter hoping that he wouldn’t be disappointed by a rejection. Thus he never confirmed and was dropped!
Rebel as Malerie checks out the cheerleader pack
What Now? 2t5y1z
Carson donates all the literary magazines to his grandma’s home and writes another story for his grandma. He realizes he did accomplish a few things then…. he’s literally struck by lightning and killed. He comments that “you become popular once you die” but the kids are still mean. He wraps things up by telling us “Thank God for dreams, drive and focus. Life, without a goal or dreams, isn’t worth living”. He did have that.
Wrapping Up 3u4h69
Chris Colfer is really good as opportunist, ambitious Carson who does help those around him lead a better life. Unlike the Kurt character on “struck by lightning.
The dialogue, most written by Chris, is very witty and hilarious. We’re sure the excellent Rebel Wilson contributed plenty of zingers as well. The well-developed characters are both typical of students you know but quirky and off center as well. Chris collected an amazing cast and each actor is just excellent in his or her role; a perfect stew of mismatched and believable humanity.
Rebel as Malerie and Chris as Carson
The film tackles some heavy issues that many of you might relate to but the humor will jerk you back from all the serious vibes, making for a really well-balanced and entertaining movie experience. If Struck by Lightning is a sample of what talented Chris is capable of as a writer, then we can’t wait to see more from him! Let’s go 4 stars.
Struck by Lightning Movie Rating:
The poster
