Albeit far from perfect, this is a nice little movie, with an uncommon script, fresh and very witty. Unfortunately, the movie feels too short, and sometimes suffers from its independent status, particularly in some of the camera work: in some scenes, it felt like we were missing reaction shots, or simply transitions inbetween scenes. I read reviews stating that Carson was a jerk, but I feel that part of these comments were derived from the fact that when we get to the story, Carson already has already been subjected for a long while to bullying, and therefore already hates everyone/is hated by everyone, and as we don't get to see what brought him to this mindset, the audience might not get why he acts the way he does towards his peers. Itseit as Clfer not wanting to delve into "Glee territory", where his character's bullying has been shown time and again, and preferred focusing the story on his main character's drive. Carson may appear to be a jerk, but he is just a kid who refuses to get jaded and to give up on what he believes in, despite having no support system at all. One particular part that felt short were Carson's classmates, who were not developed enough, which is probably the biggest flaw of the script. Particularly, we could have had more insight into what they had finally written for the magazine, and how they realized what it meant for them to finally express themselves. After all, it's Carson's biggest victory and accomplishment and what makes him happy right before he is struck by lightning, and it would have brought more depth to characters that were clichéd. It didn't need a lot more, but sincere movie in only 83 minutes, 10 to 15 minutes could have been allowed to deepen the characters. That is the main flaw to this script, which is otherwise engaging and refreshing when it comes to the high school setting. Generally speaking, Colfer did an awesome job at depicting a very dysfunctional family and Carson's general loneliness. This guy had literally no one to rely on or to confide in, between a runaway Dad, a senile Grandma and of course his Mum, too wrapped up in her past and own self pity to support him. In that sense, watching Carson's family life, you can understand his desire to get out of Clover and finally be fully who he is without being judged or put down. Carson's drive and strength to never back down for anyone was truly great to watch, for so many times people just deny who they are to conform with society's standards. One of the plus of this movie, apart from its unusual script, is its cast. All the parts with the adults and Carson's family were stellar, whether it was in their interactions or dialog or simply the acting. The interactions between Carson's mum and his dad's new wife were very good, Allison Janney and Christina Hendricks acted the hell out of them. Polly Bergen and Rebel Wilson were spot on too. As for Chris Colfer, well if there is any proof that he is not just "Kurt hummel from Glee", well here it is. Yes, the High School setting and the age of his character are the same as in Glee, but Carson has noting to do with Kurt: his voice, his posture, his demeanor, his attitude were nothing like Kurt's (except maybe in some instances in Season 1, where Kurt would be extra-snarky and a tad bitchy, which I miss). Carson was abrasive, never let anyone walk over himself, threw tantrums, shown very seldom moments of kindness (with his Grandma and Malerie). His best craft remains drama, particularly the scene where Carson just learned that he was accepted to NW but somehow didn't receive the letter, and he tells to the counselor, without even looking at her, that he never saw the ocean. In this instance, he totally conveyed just how crushed he was by these news and that, at this moment, nothing matters for his life was ended. Some comments seemed to say that they don't see the point in killing the character, and right away in the movie. I, in the contrary, thinks that it served 2 main goals: show that sometimes, it's not the goal that counts but the journey (Carson might die, but he dies happy and he succeeded in making his peers write), and also show that life is short and unfair: don't wait to achieve what you want to, and never stop trying.
Review of Struck by Lightning
