June 23, 2010 - Humboldt County

Caught this in the middle of the night, and it was damn good.

(90) Humboldt County (2008): I watched this movie because I like the subject matter, and it looked far more serious than the majority of films in the genre. I'm glad I chose it. The film follows med student Peter (Jeremy Strong) who has just flunked out of school. His dad, played unflinchingly by Peter Bogdanovich, is the professor that actually flunked him. So, he goes on a bender and hits the road with Bogart (Fairuza Balk), who takes him home with her. "Home" happens to be in the mountains of Humboldt County, California, and her family is currently living off the grid and growing marijuana. While it's culture-shock at first for Peter, he quickly adapts and finds the value in living simply, taking care of your own, and not falling for the trappings of greed.

I started this movie around 2:30 in the morning, telling myself if it wasn't any good I'd turn it off an go to bed. Well, I watched through to the final credits and I'm glad I did. The acting is pretty solid, and in spots is quite good. There's a "humanness" to this film that probably makes it better than it actually is. Catch it when you can, it's very much worth watching.

3 Stars