Fresh
Writer-director Jeffrey Blitz brings wit and pathos to the story of a compulsive stutterer.
Jen Chaney, Washington Post
Rocket Science
Life is easier done than said.
2007 · 1h 41m · R
Comedy, Drama
Directed by
Jeffrey Blitz
Free account saves your watchlist and ratings.
Rocket Science
Overview
Hal is a 15-year-old high-school student with a minor yet socially alienating (and painful) disability: he stutters uncontrollably. Determined to work through the problem, Hal opts for an extreme route – he joins the school debating team, which sends him on a headfirst plunge into breakneck speech competitions and offers a much-needed boost toward correcting the problem.
Director and cast
- Jeffrey Blitz Director
- Nicholas D'Agosto as Ben Wekselbaum
- Margo Martindale as Coach Lumbly
- Reece Thompson as Hal Hefner
- Anna Kendrick as Ginny Ryerson
- Jonah Hill as Junior Philosopher
- Denis O'Hare as Doyle Hefner
- Vincent Piazza as Earl Hefner
- Aaron Yoo as Heston
- Utkarsh Ambudkar as Ram
- Candace Hammer Cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
84%
Tomatometer
Fresh
There's a lovely, fragile movie here; if only Blitz had had the faith to let it stand on its own two feet.
Trevor Johnston, Time Out
Fresh
Blitz continues to make a case for himself as a filmmaker with rich, realistic stories to tell.
Christy Lemire, Associated Press
Fresh
The merits of Rocket Science are endlessly debatable, and this is nothing to sneeze at.
Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times
Fresh
Quietly written and convincingly played, this coming-of-age story mines its rueful laughs from a thick vein of performance anxiety, in both senses of the term.
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
More films
Meet Monica Velour (2010)
Comedy · Drama · Romance · R
For Tobe, a nerdy, horny, frizzy-haired cineaste who doesn't quite fit in with the average contemporary teen, the pinnacle of womanhood is Monica Velour, a soft-core actress who reached the zenith of her career in the 1980s. When Tobe learns that his love idol is headlining hundreds of miles away at the Gentlemen's Petting Zoo in India...
- Runtime
- 1h 38m
- Director
- Keith Bearden
- Cast
- Kim Cattrall, Dustin Ingram, Brian Dennehy
IMDb
5.8
Rotten Tomatoes
48%
Metacritic
51
Submarine (2011)
Comedy · Drama · Romance · R
15-year-old deep-thinking Welsh schoolboy Oliver Tate struggles to initiate and maintain a relationship with Jordana, his devilish, dark-haired classmate at their Swansea high school. As his parents' marriage begins to fall apart, similar problems arise in his relationship with Jordana.
- Runtime
- 1h 37m
- Director
- Richard Ayoade
- Cast
- Noah Taylor, Paddy Considine, Craig Roberts
IMDb
7.3
Rotten Tomatoes
88%
Metacritic
76
Win Win (2011)
Comedy · Drama · R
When down-on-his-luck part-time high school wrestling coach Mike agrees to become legal guardian to an elderly man, his ward's troubled grandson turns out to be a star grappler, sparking dreams of a big win -- until the boy's mother retrieves him.
- Runtime
- 1h 46m
- Director
- Tom McCarthy
- Cast
- Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale
IMDb
7.2
Rotten Tomatoes
94%
Metacritic
75
Terri (2011)
Comedy · Drama · R
Terri, a pajama-clad, disaffected high school student learns how to engage the world with the help of Mr. Fitzgerald, his assistant principal.
- Runtime
- 1h 45m
- Director
- Azazel Jacobs
- Cast
- Jacob Wysocki, John C. Reilly, Creed Bratton
IMDb
6.5
Rotten Tomatoes
88%
Metacritic
72
Beware the Gonzo (2010)
Comedy
Eddie "Gonzo" Gilman is starting a revolution. When the wild-eyed rebel journalist is ousted from his prep school's newspaper by its über-popular editor, Eddie fronts an underground movement to give a voice to all the misfits, outcasts, and nerds. Soon the power of the press is in Eddie's hands... but will he use it wisely?
- Runtime
- 1h 34m
- Director
- Bryan Goluboff
- Cast
- Ezra Miller, Zoë Kravitz, Ming-Na Wen
IMDb
6.5
Rotten Tomatoes
44%
Metacritic
36
Snow (1963)
Documentary · N/A
Comprising train and track footage quickly shot just before a heavy winter's snowfall was melting, the multi-award-winning classic that emerged from the cutting-room compresses British Rail's dedication to blizzard-battling into a thrilling eight-minute montage cut to music. Tough-as-boots workers struggling to keep the line clear are ...
- Runtime
- 8m
- Director
- Geoffrey Jones
IMDb
7.0
Rail (1967)
Documentary · N/A
"Rail" captures British Railways at a major turning-point in its history. In certain respects, this was a period of considerable upheaval and loss. There was a facing-up to the increasing need for a big modernisation drive. Full and speedy electrification, or the wider promotion of diesel-power on remaining lines, became a matter of to...
- Runtime
- 14m
- Director
- Geoffrey Jones
IMDb
7.4
Locomotion (1975)
Documentary · N/A
Collage film about the history of trains set to music.
- Runtime
- 16m
- Director
- Geoffrey Jones
IMDb
7.2
Shell Spirit (1963)
N/A
Directed by Geoffrey Jones.
- Runtime
- 2m
- Director
- Geoffrey Jones
IMDb
6.8
Comments
Talk about the film with other members