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ReelReview: Struck by Lighting

We all love Glee. The music, the banter, and the cool ass characters. One actor we all know and love from Glee is Chris Colfer who, as some may know, has his own endeavors apart from the show, with a recently released book and film by the same name. A 2012 Tribeca film festival pick, Colfer’s Struck by Lightning is your atypical com-drama about a kid named Carson Phillips who posthumously accounts his blackmailing of classmates, specifically for submitting in his literary magazine (hey it’s not a spoiler if the title ensues his bold death guys!) Carson is a different kind of outcast; he is active in school and often feels overwhelmed by a sense of intellectual superiority. His blackmailing scheme is born from necessity, as his single chance to be considered for his dream school rides on his academic success and ingenuity. With use of the words of his peers, Carson stands up against the cliché high school ideologies, reappropriating the high school drama archetype of loner.  I found the plot to be intriguing as it wasn’t muddled down with sole focus on Carson, instead introducing subplots such as his father and cynical mother’s broken interaction as divorced parents. And of course Rebel Wilson’s character of Malerie integrated the well needed quipiness and simple teenage humor. This plays off of Chris Colfer’s character of Carson, who’s smart, exacting, mature, and free in expression, a subtle twist to the flamboyant Kurt of Glee. Carson’s character is what carries the movie, as his performance echoed a comforting contrast to the world around him. Though the movie turns slightly sour with its ironically abrupt ending, we do get some sort of typical coming-of-age message to deduce. I mean its chockfull of random ideas that disconnect for the most part, but I guess they come together with clever thinking: One: Despite what you do in the past, the present only matters. Two: Disillusioned dreams are necessary for life believe it or not. Three: Rebel Wilson will always be kick ass. I feel as a whole, this movie is all disoriented and dramatic, but certain scenes do steer in the realm of intriguing. Grade: B- for effort and characterization.