User Reviews

Saw this at the Idaho International Film Festival in Boise last night. Your standard fish-out-of-water-among-the-druggies movie; pretty predictable from the beginning. However, the characters were great and the setting beautiful.

Seemed pretty obvious from the get-to that a) they'd get busted b) med student would stay c) Drugs are Bad. There was a lot to like about the lifestyle in general -- those trees, the fog, the sky -- though it reminded me of how annoying I always found stoners. :) I sort of expected one of the dads to get shot defending one or both of the sons.

The dad reminded me of the dad in Dirty Dancing. Wonder how long he sat at that table waiting for the son to come back?

I'm not going to draw this review out any longer than it needs to be. The bottom line is this: "Humboldt County" is not a good movie. It's a glorified stoner comedy that thinks itself an insightful counterculture coming-of-age drama. And yes, it's as bad as it sounds…

To give a little background here, I saw this movie at a screening in LA. I didn't really know much about the movie before going in and I wasn't expecting much and it's a good thing, too, because it was pretty bad.

Peter Hadley, the main character, has got to be one of the most boring protagonists I've seen on film. I don't know how anyone who isn't a mute is supposed to identify with him. The guy hardly speaks and when he does, it's barely audible. This guy is to whispering what Brando was to mumbling.

The message of the movie, as I see it, is as follows: If your dad's kind of a jerk, drop out of med school and follow some strange chick you just met up to a marijuana farm in northern California, it just might change your life. Oh, brother! Overall, I'd say it's entirely too preachy to simply be called a stoner comedy and entirely too stupid to be considered anything enlightening. I hold absolutely no reservations whatsoever in saying to skip it.

I thought one of the worst movies I've seen in a while, was another independent film, "Twin Falls Idaho." But "Humboldt County" takes the f**king cake. OMG. OMFG. This movie is terrible, from start to finish. NO character development, NO humor (although I did chuckle one time), BAD start, BAD middle, LAME ending.

Here's the story:

-- Introverted guy with NO charisma who can barely communicate with other human beings gets hit on and boffed by hippie chick. You'll find yourself asking "How is THIS possible??" when it happens.

-- He then goes with her to famed Humboldt County, where she sometimes lives.

-- She then disappears, and he tries to get a ride to town next day with one of the other people living at the house, so he can catch bus back to LA.

-- Doesn't happen. Day goes by.

-- Next day, doesn't happen. Day goes by.

Bored yet? No??

-- Next day, he succumbs to taking one hit off a joint, and somehow gets high -- when typically first time smokers will not get high. But he does, and life begins to change! Wow!!

-- Few more days, nothing really happens. We learn one character who's growing 12 pot plants lied, and is growing more than that. Hold on, stop the frickin' presses, really?? Wow!

-- Our main character's father shows up, to take his son back to LA.

Fascinating story, yeah?? Wait, there's more!

-- Feds show up, find the plants that that one person was growing. Grower's really upset. Kills himself, leaving young daughter behind. (Well, he drives off the road after being drunk, so you decide whether he meant to or not. Clever how the filmmakers let you decide.)

-- Then we have a funeral at the beach.

-- Then the father and our main character leave to go back to LA. They're at some restaurant to eat, before making the trek.

-- Our main character walks out of the restaurant, gets on a bus that had stopped, a bus that is going who knows where. Dad doesn't know he's done this. End of film.

WOW. BRILLIANT FILMMAKING! A MASTERPIECE!!

When it's over, you'll wonder how the heck the lead in this movie has gotten work in current Oscar-contending movies "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Lincoln." Who knows, maybe he's become a much better actor in the past 4 years.

And when it's over, you'll wonder how the hell this movie got financing to be made. You'll also wonder why, with a script so bad, and directing so bad, that it could even get distribution and be on your cable system. Well, it does have some semi-name actors, so that's why. Without that, this movie wouldn't have seen the light of day. All the reviews here that give it 8, 9 or 10 stars? They're not real. You've been warned.

I went into this movie not knowing much about it. I actually chose to go into it that way. My friend Guff knows Darren and Danny from high school and Guff is pretty cool so by association, I assumed they were too! :)

I enjoyed the characters and their development throughout the story. One part that did confuse me was his decision to stay there. He went from missing the bus to being "part of the family" which in itself was cool. I guess I wanted more of Peter's personal thoughts about staying. In hindsight, he didn't really have any cemented thoughts about it. He was floating along in his other life and this seemed no different. He couldn't make up his mind in either "life" that he had.

I really liked when Max's Dad finally said no to him when they were hiding from the feds in the woods. It was a brief moment of clarity for that character. I liked that. It didn't dwell on it too much.

Overall, I was very pleased with this movie and have recommended it to friends and family already.

I can't wait to see their next work.

Dawn Guff's friend Austin

The answer to that question would be a resounding "YES!", and if you let it, it will most definitely succeed. And here's another question: remember Dustin Hoffman as Ben Braddock, the wide-eyed naif who catapulted him into the stratosphere when he was in THE GRADUATE? Well, consider the fate of a latter-day Ben Braddock. What would he look like in the New Millennium, and what kind of temptations would cause him to veer from the straight-and-narrow trajectory of what appears to be an orderly and pre-ordained existence?

Well, Ben might look like Peter Hadley (Jeremy Strong, who may be able to have a 'Hoffmanesque' career with this role if there's any justice), aspiring doctor, whose own perfectionist father (a note-perfect Peter Bogdanovich) does the unthinkable: as Peter's teacher as well, when his son fails a critical part of his exam, he flunks him out of class, thereby deep-sixing his plans of actually becoming another "GRADUATE."

And very much like Ben, Peter in his utter despair is seduced in his weakest moment of life by two "women" - one literal, one metaphorical. The literal is Bogart (Fairuza Balk in a wonderful, mannerism-free performance), a free-spirited actress/jazz singer who steals Peter's attention (and a lot more than that), and in a sense sweeps him off HIS feet when after a brief romantic encounter, she takes him home to her adoptive parents' place up in the lushly beautiful expanse of the title region. And then promptly strands him there. Where the 'metaphorical' lady picks up where Bogie left off. Many of you might know her better as "Mary Jane", and once you see how "she" changes Peter's life, you'll find it hard not to love this movie and the cast of extraordinary people that happen into his heart - and ours.

"Fish out of water" doesn't even begin to describe what Peter is, as he meets Bogart's extended family and friends, who are as eccentric as the part of the County in which they live is gorgeous. Character vet Brad Dourif gives one of the best turns of his varied career as Jack, Bogart's "dad", and SIX FEET UNDER'S wonderful Frances Conroy is luminous and hilariously complex as Rosie, her mom. Rosie is about as far a polar opposite to 6FU's Ruth Fisher as you can possibly get, and it's beautiful to see this wonderful actress so liberated, having the time of her life.

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE'S Abigail Breslin has some stiff competition with young Madison Davenport, who plays Charity, Bogart's "daughter" and Jack and Rosie's granddaughter who's wise beyond her years, but not in the conventional Hollywood "wiseacre" way that most kids' roles are written in when it comes to quirky indie flicks like this. And Chris Messina shines as Bogart's "main squeeze" Max, Charity's dad and the man who will become a pivotal influence in Peter's life.

I could say more about where this movie goes and the beautiful, sad and hysterically funny places it will take you, but it wouldn't be fair. This is one of those cases once again where the pleasure is in discovering all of that for yourself. And the friends and acquaintances you should (and probably will) tell about this movie.

I am not at all familiar with the writer/directors of this film, Darren Grodsky and Danny Jacobs, but the fact that they wrote it, helmed it, assembled and steered this incredible cast and STILL managed to provide two great performances as the film's best comic relief, speaks volumes about their talent. I will welcome the opportunity to see anything these two produce after this. And HUMBOLDT COUNTY, whether you ever visited there or not, is a movie that deserves a much wider audience. And I hope it finds one...much in the way that wandering Peter Hadley goes searching for a purpose, and hopefully will wind up really finding himself.

This is a gem of a movie with great casting and talented acting. Living in Northern California this movie might have been more germane to me and therefore of greater personal interest. There is some nice touches in the movie-the best was when Peter stumbles out of the car to find Bogart. Finding her on a promontory he joins her to observe a sublime and beautiful panorama and the sun not too far from setting. "Is this Malibu?" Very, very, very nice. I believe this was shot just north of Trinidad, CA.

My take on the movie was that the marijuana farming was incidental to the story-It was the story of family, a seduced stray that wanders in, and Peter's realization that there is more to life than what has been preordained by his overarching father. It could have been a story about ranchers, fisher folk etc. 'Sometimes a Great Notion' written by K. Kesey and directed by P. Newman comes to mind.

The musical soundtrack was subtle but complemented the movie like a decent bottle of white complements some plugged Dungeness crab, both North Coast treats ;).

This is one of the better movies I have seen lately. A coming of age story in the same vein as Garden State, this film has a rarely found mixture of comedy and drama that doesn't disappoint in either realm.

Jeremy Strong plays Peter very well, but the breakout performances come from Chris Messina and Madison Davenport.

Messina is able to show his character's confusion and frustration in trying to provide his daughter with the best possible life. The scene where Max encounters Peter shows the depth that this actor has.

Great Movie, great soundtrack. If you want a smart film with good performances, this movie is it.

I rented this film a week or so back and just got around to watching it last night. What a pleasant and refreshing surprise. Definite to make the shelves of my home DVD collection. What resonated with me was how effortlessly this family totally embraced this introvert that was Peter, basically a stray that was dropped on their lap by Bogart. And the sense of community the main family and their friends depicted. It reminded me of my college days and just how wonderfully communal my friends at that time and others from this segment of our society tend to be. I too appreciated the intelligence of this film given the subject matter. Not your typical stoner film at all. The one thing I would liked to have seen to make the film even more of a gem, would've been to be able to witness an even deeper bond between Peter and Max. I don't feel like we got to see the full extent or depth of their relationship that ultimately cause Peter to transform as he did by the end of the film. Their on screen exchanges were my favorites and I just wanted there to be more of them. And while I can agree that there may have been some liberties taken with the film's background and even decision choices regarding some of the characters, it is a fictional story. Overall, I loved the main message that I perceived, about our ability to be receptive and implement change when it comes to self preservation. I live in the DC Metro Area, work for Corporate America and believe me, Humboldt County would be a refreshing change of pace. Great film!

The theme of a younger man or woman coming to terms with alternative lives which prompt him to examine his values has been with us for a long time. It is something I never tire of when it is done well. Hopefully, we have all been there. If not, there is still time. What are you waiting for? I grew up in and around Humbolt County before the counterculture arrived and remember Arcata and Eureka as logging and commercial fishing towns. I was there for some of the "cultural struggles" that followed. So, for me, this movie has multiple layers of nostalgia. Fortunately, the movie omitted the real weather, so I had no neuralgia.