Humboldt County

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Movie Details

• Genre: Comedy, Drama
• Release Date: 2008-09-26 Limited
• Running Time: 97 min.
• Director: Darren Grodsky
• Cast: Fairuza Balk, Peter Bogdanovich, Frances Conroy, Madison Davenport, Brad Dourif, Chris Messina, Jeremy Strong, Darren Grodsky, Danny Jacobs, Elayn Taylor
• Producer: Jason Weiss
• Writer: Darren Grodsky, Danny Jacobs
• Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
• Official Site: Humboldt County Official Site

A storied stretch of land along the northern California coast, Humboldt County is home to the tallest — and, at 800-plus years, some of the oldest — trees on the face of the earth: the towering Coastal Redwoods. The region is equally well known for its cash crop of choice, exceptionally high-grade cannabis. A fish-out-of-water story from first-time writer-directors Danny Jacobs and Darren Grodsky (who display little imagination in either discipline), Humboldt County concerns a drippy medical student who finds himself stranded on a pot farm where — surprise, surprise — he re-examines his life and realizes he has been chasing the wrong dream. Jeremy Strong’s minimalist performance in the lead role makes for an unconvincing character arc — he seems almost as ill-at-ease and dispirited at the start of the film as he does at the end — and as a stand-in for the audience, he's pretty much a cipher. Far better are Brad Dourif as the paterfamilias of the clan, Madison Davenport as his precocious granddaughter, and a charismatic Chris Messina (unrecognizable from Vicky Cristina Barcelona) as his volatile son. All three turn in fine performances.