Kingsley’s ‘Wackness’ one of Sundance’s 7 best

PARK CITY, Utah - By all accounts, this year’s just concluded Sundance Film Festival was about as bleak as a Terrence Malick double feature.

The movies were mostly disappointments, especially the star-laden vehicles, such as “What Just Happened?” with Robert De Niro and “The Great Buck Howard” with Tom Hanks. What just happened, indeed? Both films received chilly receptions and bad vibes perpetrated throughout the 10-day fest — the weather was colder than normal, the writers strike was still making everyone feel uneasy about the film biz and the news of Heath Ledger’s tragic death made this an event that’s not going to be remembered kindly.

That being said, there were several small movies that generated heat to warm the toes of frostbitten audiences. Here’s a handful of titles that will arrive in multiplexes and art houses around the country with positive reviews in tow.

“The Wackness”
It’s 1994 and psychologist Ben Kingsley, a product of the 1960s, is telling his marijuana-selling college-age patient Luke that it’s OK to chase girls and leave all responsibilities at the door in trying to figure out who he is — as long as he pays him in weed. Problem is, Kingsley doesn’t realize that the girl Luke (Josh Peck) is lusting after is his own stepdaughter. The film, which had audiences rolling, felt as fresh as any movie screening in Park City and took home the prestigious audience award. Late Saturday night, just as the trophies for the fest were being handed out, Sony Pictures Classics bought the film. It should prove to be a wise investment.

“Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired”
Documentaries are always underappreciated at festivals; rarely thought about when the initial lineups are announced but the talk of the town afterward. Such was the case for “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired” about the infamous director who fled to France in 1978 after having sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl. Director Marina Zenovich re-examines the trial in which the court reporter, several legal experts and informed observers take a look at how Polanski came to be convicted. The judge, who died in 1993, comes off like the villain, portrayed as caring more about his reputation than if Polanski was given a fair shake in court. Surely, when HBO Films releases the movie later this year, there will be a lot of debate and discussion about whether Polanski should be allowed back in the United States. Engaging in that type of post-screening conversation is what a great documentary is supposed to generate.

“Hamlet 2”

Dan Steinberg / AP Steve Coogan atars in "Hamlet 2."

Focus Features paid $10 million for “Hamlet 2,” the steepest price paid for any flick at this year’s festival. English comedian Steve Coogan is a high school teacher who failed miserably as an actor but wants to rekindle his showbiz flame by putting on a production of “Hamlet” as a way of helping to save the drama department from budget cuts. The laughs may be uneven at times, but when they hit, they’re gut buster. Stellar supporting performances from Amy Poehler (“Saturday Night Live”), Elisabeth Shue and Catherine Keener should make Shakespeare soooo much easier to swallow for both students and adults alike. To laugh or not to laugh, that is the question.

“American Teen”

Amy Sancetta / AP Director Nanette Burstein, center, poses with the subjects of her documentary "American Teen."

Roll up “Mean Girls,” “Clueless” and “Hoosiers” — then make it about real-life kids — and you end up with “American Teen,” about four high school seniors in suburban Indiana. Director Nanette Burstein (co-director of the wonderful Robert Evans biography “The Kid Stays in the Picture”) uncovers emotional layers of these students that make for a riveting 100 minutes, including their relationship issues, pressure to get into college and who they turn to when it feels like their lives are slipping away. Not only will teens relate to seeing their brethren here but this is also must viewing for parents, who can gather a better sense of what their kids are up against on a daily basis.

“Ballast”

1996-98 Accusoft Inc., All Right / AP

While Burstein won the director’s award for non-fiction, “Ballast” helmer Lance Hammer took the honors in the dramatic category for “Ballast.” His first-ever film is a stark and thoughtful examination of a Deep South family who undergoes a tragedy when a twin brother OD’s on pills and how the lives of those he touched go spiraling out of control. A majority of the performances here are by Mississippi natives with no prior acting experience, and the results are extraordinary. Hammer’s deeply moving film, shot on a shoestring budget, marks the beginning of a filmmaking career that demands to be reckoned with.

“Sugar”

AP

The journey of a Latin American ballplayer who comes up to play American baseball is given a wonderful fictional treatment in “Sugar.” Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the directors of Ryan Gosling’s celebrated indie “Half Nelson,” bring us pitcher Miguel “Sugar” Santos, a Dominican who speaks little to no English but quickly learns the way of American culture via places like Arizona and Iowa, when he’s called up to the minor leagues. He lives with a nice, old-fashioned Midwestern family but is extremely homesick and no matter how many strikeouts he throws — and even knowing that if he can make it to the majors, his family will be financially set for life — that’s not going to change. “Sugar” is sweet for all the right reasons and will give sports fans a more humanistic look at the journey taken by many to the big leagues.

“Frozen River”

AP

Winner of the grand prize as the best dramatic film of the fest, “Frozen River” is a triumphant effort for both first-time writer/editor Courtney Hunt and actress Melissa Leo, a veteran of NBC’s seminal cop show “Homicide: Life on the Street” and who had a great turn in Tommy Lee Jones’ vastly overlooked “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.” Leo, barely scraping by with a minimum wage job and about to lose her trailer home, reluctantly begins participating in human smuggling across the U.S.-Canadian border. She’s got extremely mixed feelings about the work, and audiences aren’t asked to pity or pull for her. That ambiguity is a tribute to both the Hunt and Leo, both of whom made this year’s fest a worthwhile venture for those looking for indie films that deserve a warm place in Sundance’s cold and, ever increasing, corporate climate.

Stuart Levine is an assistant managing editor at Variety. He can be reached at .

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