Synopsis
Shaun Brumder is a local surfer kid from Orange County who dreams of going to Stanford to become a writer and to get away from his dysfunctional family household. Except Shaun runs into one complication after another, starting when his application is rejected after his dim-witted guidance counselor sends in the wrong form.
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Cast
- Colin HanksShaun Brumder
- Jack BlackLance Brumder
- Schuyler FiskAshley
- Catherine O'HaraCindy Beugler
- John LithgowBud Brumder
- Mike WhiteMr. Burke
- Lily TomlinCharlotte Cobb
- Chevy ChasePrincipal Harbert
- George MurdockBob Beugler
- Carly PopeTanya
Recommendations
- 83
Entertainment Weekly
Arriving amid the traditionally withered harvest of January releases, Orange County is peachy. - 80
Rolling Stone
It's the new year's first happy surprise. - 75
Philadelphia Inquirer
The movie is hipper than its L.A. establishment credentials would suggest. - 60
Film Threat
Not only harmless, but actually quite funny and charming. - 50
Chicago Reader
For my money, what keeps it bearable is mainly the mugging of the older folks -- not just Jack Black, who steals the show in a part seemingly inspired by John Belushi, but Catherine O'Hara, John Lithgow, and cameos by Chevy Chase, Lily Tomlin, and Kevin Kline. - 50
New York Daily News
Under different direction, Orange County might have drawn a savvy cult audience that would appreciate the black-comedy possibilities of Shaun's idolatry of a certain writing professor (Kline), the homoerotic overtones inherent in best-buddydom and pyromania as a sexual turn-on. - 50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
This is a picture with a perfect sense of proportion: There's a mini-Hanks, a mini-Spacek and a mini-Kasdan in a mini-comedy that's minimally entertaining. - 50
USA Today
Every performer puts vigor into an otherwise limp exercise, as if word were out that this would be the last comedy ever made about late-adolescent concerns.
