A few year's back, I was completely delighted by a little film called Zero Effect. The quirky character study was the debut of writer/director Jake Kasdan (son of Lawrence). I admired it's offbeat sense of humor and well drawn characters. His new film Orange County benefits from his quirky sensibility, making the picture work even though it really shouldn't.

All Shaun (Collin Hanks, son of Tom) wants out of life is to escape the confines of Orange County, and prepare for a career as a writer by attending Stanford University. Of course his eccentric family seems hell-bent on stopping Shaun from reaching his goals.

As the commercial spots suggest, Jack Black steals the show as Shaun's slacker of a brother. Strangely, those hilarious TV spots are missing from the picture. I thought at the very least, they would appear as outakes during the end credits. To my dismay, they were nowhere to be found. This does hurt the film. Though Black still brings alot to this party, the video really suffers from a lack of consistency.

What you may not be aware of, is how great a cast Kasdan is working with. Somehow, he managed to round up Catherine O'Hara, John Lithgow, Ben Stiller and Kevin Kline just to name a few. All are endearing in their own special way. Sadly, Kasdan isn't working with the best of screenplays. Much of the video plays like Better Off Dead but not as funny. Thankfully, the video isn't a total loss.

Hanks has a breezy, likable way about him. It must be in the genes. Black is everything you could hope for. And O'Hara is an absolute delight as Shaun's depressed mother. You also have to love a movie that makes fun of Crazy Town's tune Butterfly. I couldn't get enough of that.

I had really high hopes for Orange County, and though it didn't live up to expectations, I found myself laughing enough to recommend it. One thing is certain-- Jake Kasdan is going to be a chip off the old block. I can't wait to see what he does next.