Orange County

A surprisingly fresh, sharply jocular, angst-of-youth comedy, Orange County stars sublimely expressive string bean Colin Hanks (son of Tom) as a high schooler from the SoCal 'burbs who thinks his life is over when he doesn't get into Stanford. The kid embarks on a dogged mission to get the school to reconsider, and the results--inspired by juvenile comedy classics such as Animal House and Ferris Bueller's Day Off--are hilarious. Director Jake Kasdan (Zero Effect) and screenwriter Mike White (Chuck and Buck) pull the carpet out from under the teen genre's inherent clichés, giving the characters a welcome chance to breathe and break free of their stock moldings. The awesome supporting cast includes Jack Black, Catherine O'Hara, John Lithgow, Lily Tomlin, Harold Ramis, Chevy Chase, Garry Marshall, Kevin Kline and Ben Stiller. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include four deleted scenes, commentary by director Jake Kasdan and writer Mike White, 15 funny and revealing promotional "interstitials," and a theatrical trailer. Bottom line: a solid extras package on a sure-to-be-popular (with teens) hit.] (R. Blackwelder)