The director of Spellbound hits it big with his first feature film.

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Rocket Science is the much-buzzed-about, bittersweet indie coming-of-age comedy by Jeffrey Blitz, the director of the Academy Award-nominated spelling bee documentary Spellbound. It follows the story of Hal Hefner (Reece Daniel Thompson), a put-upon suburban New Jersey high schooler with divorcing parents, an obsessive-compulsive/thief older brother, and--oh--yeah, the world's worst stutter. When Hal is approached by the pretty, hyper-articulate Ginny Ryerson (Anna Kendrick) to become her partner on the high school debate team, he joins with the hopes of conquering his stutter and winning the girl. But can he?

Hal's story is largely informed by Blitz's own personal experiences. Not only did Blitz struggle with a chronic stutter (it still flares up from time to time, most notably, Blitz says, on the phone), but he also a high school debater--unlike Hal, so good that he actually became state champion. As a result, it is this personal touch that makes Rocket Science truly special.

Each character has his or her own lovable peculiarity--from the friend's parents who play Violent Femmes duets on the cello to the speech therapist who gives too many details about his personal life--small details that don't threaten to overshadow Hal's story, but instead make the world all the richer.

Thanks to its subject matter, Rocket Science will invariably bear comparison to other high school outsider movies. Like Napoleon Dynamite, the characters in Hal's life exist with a fairly high level of quirk. But while Napoleon Dynamite is all about its quirkiness and atmosphere, that atmosphere has a surreal quality to it. While Rocket Science is replete with quirk, it is more firmly grounded in reality, giving it a more eloquent quality. Like the lead character of Thumbsucker, Hal is marginalized with a severe personal problem that has its roots in the writer's real life. And lead Thompson even has a shy, somewhat delicate quality similar to that of Lou Taylor Pucci. Yet, where Thumbsucker has somewhat of a scattered storyline, Blitz's film is admirably structured and well-conceived.   

I think thing that really puts Rocket Science over the edge is its characters. Although most of the actors are relative unknowns in the US (Thompson has done quite a bit of work in Canada and Kendrick has worked on Broadway), they are all very talented and Blitz presents them well. Thompson in particular is touching as Hal, who despite his isolation and his struggles has the inspiring fortitude to be aware of his troubles, but not be self-pitying or consumed by them.

Do I think Rocket Science is being over-hyped? Maybe a hair. Blitz is clearly a director who trusts his audience's intellect, and as a result I found Rocket Science to be a good, endearing movie. Did it touch me at my deepest depths? No. But it was smart and funny, and as someone who wasn't on the cheerleading squad in high school, I could certainly appreciate it.