“The Wackness” racks up indie greatness. A raw romantic roundelay… Tightly packed entertainment.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
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A surprisingly tender coming-of-age piece… Fully rounded characterization and ruthful dialogue… A sweet evocation of first love and first heartbreak.
SCREEN INTERNATIONAL

Requisite growing-up-means-painful-lessons adroitly handled in a mix of outrageous behaviour and melancholy resignation. Design contribs are very well turned, with Petra Korner’s desaturated widescreen lensing, Josh Noyes’ diverse editorial approaches, David Torn’s ethereal original score and other contribs conveying the characters’ emotional precariousness during a Manhattan heatwave summer.
VARIETY

Nicely shot and the performances are strong.
BBC

The movie, like all the best coming-of-agers, is about embracing the painful cynicism of adulthood, and occasionally finding beauty in that pain.
THE TIMES

A frank and funny Sundance audience-award winner, it breaks the mould for contemporary teen flicks by avoiding both the pretty slickness of studio fare and the nihilism of Larry Clark’s brand of youthsploitation.
EYE WEEKLY

Rather charming, a fumbling teen love story and a fuggy reminiscence for a not-long-gone New York, a time of Adidas shell toes and A Tribe Called Quest, when a new mayor called Giuliani was cleaning up Times Square and the Fresh Prince was still fresh. It’s also a smart film about neuro ses and self-medication, where legal and illegal drugs melt into one mess.
THE GUARDIAN

Kingsley’s shamelessly zingy performance adds welcome pep, and a delicate, achingly sincere summertime idyll on Fire Island offers notice of Levine’s evident promise.
TIME OUT

Kingsley is likewise on form and hits home with some terrifically world-weary one liners, while director Jon Levine brings a refreshing inventiveness to the film.
THE DAILY MIRROR

This is a gently humorous and beautifully moving film.
FILMINK

The Wackness offers more than fuzzy giggles and bongwater-weak characters.
SKY MOVIES

The characters are sympathetically drawn and the modest wisdom rings true.
THE CHICAGO READER

The Wackness is both darkly funny and life-affirming, in an offbeat and offhanded way.
USA TODAY

Levine invests it with warmth and a realistic sense of teenage life.
LAS VEGAS WEEKLY

Inspired a packed Sundance house to forget their Saturday-night pains and stand up and cheer.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

The Wackness treads this familiar terrain with assurance and distinction.
VARIETY