The Wackness

The Wackness
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJonathan Levine
Written byJonathan Levine
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPetra Korner
Edited byJosh Noyes
Music byDavid Torn
Production
companies
  • Occupant Films
  • SBK Pictures
Distributed bySony Pictures Classics
Release dates
  • January 18, 2008 (2008-01-18) (Sundance)
  • August 1, 2008 (2008-08-01) (United States)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6 million[1]
Box office$3.3 million[1]

The Wackness is a 2008 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Jonathan Levine. The film is a semi-autobiographical account of Levine's life growing up in New York City in the 1990s. It stars Ben Kingsley, Josh Peck, Famke Janssen, Olivia Thirlby, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Method Man. It revolves around a troubled teenage drug dealer who trades pot for therapy sessions with a drug-addled psychiatrist.

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2008, where it won the Audience Award: Dramatic. It was theatrically released in the United States on August 1, 2008, by Sony Pictures Classics. It received positive reviews from critics, but was a box-office bomb, grossing $3.3 million worldwide against a $6 million budget. Levine was nominated for Best First Screenplay at the 24th Independent Spirit Awards.

  1. ^ a b "The Wackness". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Archived from the original on February 3, 2024. Retrieved March 30, 2024.