So after a series of screenings here are some thoughts and observations about some of the fiction films I have seen.
The Wackness
In case you weren't aware of it, Ben Kingsley can act. Or I should say Sir Ben Kingsley. While the main character of The Wackness is 18 year-old, pot-dealing Luke Shapiro (played by Josh Peck of Nickelodeon fame), Kingsley's drug-using psychiatrist, Dr. Squires, steals the screen in any scene that he is in. It is 1994 and the characters continuously deride Mayor Giuliani for cleaning up New York CIty, ridding it of its "character." Luke trades pot for sessions with Dr. Squires, and Squires may be the worst psychiatrist in movie history, dispensing advice on how to be irresponsible. Luke also has the hots for Squires' step-daughter, Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby in a very different role than that of hers in Juno) who takes a while to warm up to him.
While Luke is dealing drugs, he is actually the stable member of his family with his nagging mother and unemployed father constantly fighting, Luke winds up escaping through his business of selling marijuana via a flavored ices cart. Luke becomes closer to the psychiatrist as Squires tries to capture his past youth, and avoid his unhappy marriage, by hanging out with the teen. This leads to the scene where Luke and Squires run into a friend/client, Union — Mary-Kate Olsen playing a drug-appreciating, flower child, a role somewhat similar to her Weeds character. Squires flirts with her by regaling in tales of following the Grateful Dead and, yes, they wind up in a phone booth swapping saliva. It isn't as bad as it sounds, though still odd.
While the film needs a bit of editing to tighten the narrative — some scenes seem inconsequential — the acting, and especially the relationships between Luke and Squires, as well as Luke and Stephanie, are very engaging. Peck plays Luke as a lost soul who understands he is lost but doesn't know how to find a way out. It is through his friendship of Squires and infatuation of Stephanie that he does come to realize that one piece of Squires' advice is right — he needs to go out and experience life.
Best quote from Q & A after the screening: Q: While making the movie, did anyone inhale? A: [Josh Peck] Yo, I'm on Nickelodeon, son. You trying to get me in trouble? No drugs were harmed.
The Wackness is in the Dramatic Competition Category and is directed by Jonathan Levine.
Smart People

He may have been a quality actor before, but it wasn't until In Good Company that I really appreciated Dennis Quaid. In Smart People he plays a curmudgeonly professor, Lawrence Wetherhold, who doesn't care for his students and they don't care much for him. He is trying to get his latest book published but continues to receive rejection. His son resents him and his Young Republican daughter is obsessed with SATs and tax deductions. After a fall while trying to retrieve his briefcase from his impounded car, he is cared for by a doctor who turns out to be another former student (Sarah Jessica Parker in a not-so-sex-in-the-city role) that he doesn't remember. The fall also brings to the house Lawrence's slacker adopted brother, Chuck (Thomas Haden Church in a surprisingly sweet role) who tries to help the daughter, Vanessa, relax and have fun. Veronica is played by Juno's Ellen Page and this role, which was actually filmed before Juno, shows that not only is she an outstanding actress, but her comic timing is impeccable.
The movie revolves around the growing relationship between the professor and the doctor, which seems to move forward more out of curiosity at first, but develops into something more as Lawrence tries to change his ornery and arrogant ways. That interaction is interesting, but the side story of Chuck and Veronica turns out to be much more interesting as for all of Chuck's immaturity, he does have some wisdom to share. One case in point, after Veronica scolds him for his messy bedroom, she explains that he should make his bed as it sets the tone for the day. His response is "Well how do you know what kind of tone I want to set?"
Hanging over this family is the loss of the mother/wife nine years earlier — it is clear that the kids and the professor have not yet healed. Smart People has great acting and dialogue that isn't predictable. It is also about a very dysfunctional family that eventually evolves to place in which they are at least somewhat more comfortable with each other, as well as themselves.
Smart People is a Premiere and is directed by Noam Murro
The Last Word
The most original job description at Sundance this year belongs to Evan Merck, who has found a niche writing market — composing suicide notes for his clients. Evan (Wes Bentley), who appears to be a failed poet, loves to quote famous writers, but it is unclear what he believes in himself. He is meticulous in his craft, with a file for each client, and a specific routine to allow each client to keep a journal to write down random thoughts and ideas that Evan can use in the final product. While many clients do not go through with the final act, when they do, Evan attends the graveside service from afar, takes a few notes, and closes that client's file. But it is that last act that provides the transformation. At one of his client's ceremonies he is noticed by the sister, Charlotte (Winona Ryder) who approaches him, at first to ask about how Evan knows her brother, for which a story is concocted. As Charlotte gets Evan to emerge from his shell, and their relationship becomes closer, hiding what he does for a living, and the truth about how he knows her brother, creates more tension in his life.
Ray Romano appears throughout the film as one of Evan's clients — a depressed composer of "hold music" who finds his business with Evan as much about finding friendship as it is about composing his final message to the world. Romano is definitely funny, but brings a certain melancholy to a character that is beyond the usual comedic role. And he serves as a kind of Greek chorus for Evan's predicament as the poet is wonderful at composing words for other people but has trouble speaking for himself. The Last Word is enjoyable as much for the characters and language as it is for the plot.

The Last Word is in the Dramatic Competition and is directed by Geoff Haley
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