Rocket Science Page #8

Synopsis: Coming of age in Plainsboro, New Jersey. High school student Hal Hefner stutters. On the evening his parents stop arguing and separate, 43 miles away at the state tournament, his school's legendary debater, Ben Wekselbaum, goes blank mid-sentence, Ben's teammate Ginny Ryerson doesn't get a first-place trophy, and the world changes. That fall, to Hal's amazement, Ginny recruits him for the debate team, mentors him, and will be his partner. He still has his stutter, but he works hard and he falls in love with Ginny. On the day of the first debate of the season, the world changes again. From then until the day of the state tournament, Hal has a lot to sort out. Is love rocket science?
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director(s): Jeffrey Blitz
Production: Picturehouse
  2 wins & 7 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.7
Metacritic:
73
Rotten Tomatoes:
84%
R
Year:
2007
101 min
£601,787
Website
325 Views


Probably not if you really

apply powers of reason to it.

So that's...

so... so...

uh... so that's...

that's it?

Come and visit me

sometime, if you want.

We'll reminisce about this

and what it means.

Teen sexual experimentation

in these programs...

Well, uh... uh...

today was not my day.

Okay?

But... but, uh...

but... but, uh...

some... someday will be.

And... and on... on that day,

you... you will be

sitting at home alone.

At home.

And you'll... you'll

think to yourself...

when you're alone

that... that... that...

I knew him when.

Him being me.

Anarchy is not only the best system

in which to encourage adult maturation,

it is also the best system in which

to encourage sexual liberation.

Don't you dare go thinking

this was easy for me or simple!

If you think my feelings

on the matter were clear,

then you'd be underestimating

my complexity.

And while I see that you

don't recognize this now,

you actually have me

to thank...

in part, modesty

forces me to acknowledge,

but in large part... for your newfound

zest of competition and gamesmanship.

That was very clever

of you, to find Ben.

Surprisingly clever

and very painful.

Which means that I upped

your game, little man.

You're welcome!

Liberation breeds liberation, i. e.

Sexual freedom

inspires political freedom.

At the heart of all liberty

is the liberty to engage...

Sir?

I will have one of...

I'll have one of the...

I'll have

a slice of your...

the... of...

one of your...

one of your...

I'll have a slice

of the... of the...

the... the...

one of... what...

I mean, you can

imagine it's not fish

because you don't

have any fish here.

At least I hope not.

It's good. Um...

but I'll have a slice

of the... of your...

one of your... um,

slices of the... the...

the... the... the pizza.

You can pay me

when you're through.

You know, why don't

I make it not just...

not... not just...

not... not one...

not one slice, but, uh,

I'll have... I'll have...

not one.

I'm gonna close up in a bit.

Why don't you just

take all three?

Otherwise they're

getting trashed.

Yes!

Thank you.

Thanks.

Eventually,

all of this would pass.

And the memory of it

would give way to embellishment

and fantasy

and outright distortion

until it was hard

for Hal Hefner to remember

what he was

really like back then.

When he still carried

in his head the sound of

a madeup perfect voice,

the voice that could

speak its heart,

the voice he used

to wish he had,

until the day he stopped wishing

he sounded like anyone else

and just started

talking as he was.

You okay?

Yeah, I'm okay.

But, uh, listen...

what do you...

what do you...

I mean, what are

your thoughts on...

like on... on...

on love?

Oh, man, it's so late, Hal.

I, um...

I couldn't find

the... the off-ramp.

And I ended up

circling back three times.

And, uh...

I don't even know if I know

how to get you back to Plainsboro.

You know,

it shouldn't be...

shouldn't... it really

shouldn't be like rocket,

uh... shouldn't

be rocket, um...

Sometimes, I don't know,

I guess I just

wonder when

it all starts

to make sense, you know?

All what?

All this.

You know, everything.

Oh.

Well, I guess

there comes a point,

you see, when you

reach a certain age

and you're in Jersey,

or someplace just like it,

and...

you stop trying

to figure it all out.

You just...

are glad

for what you have.

Oh.

And that...

that... that...

that just, like, happens

for everyone?

Yeah. Pretty much.

But you let me know if it

turns out different for you.

I'll do that.

I'll find...

a... a way... a g...

some good way

of letting you know

how it all works out.

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Jeffrey Blitz

Jeffrey Blitz is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter from Ridgewood, New Jersey. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his 2002 documentary, Spellbound, and won the Dramatic Directing Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for his 2007 film, Rocket Science. Blitz won the 2009 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, for The Office episode "Stress Relief". more…

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