Rocket Science Release Date: August 10th, 2007 (limited) MPAA Rating: R Anna's Role: Ginny Ryerson Also Starring: Reece Thompson, Nicholas D'Agosto, Aaron Yoo Directed by: Jeff Blitz Produced by: Effie T. Brown, Sean Welch Screenplay by: Jeff Blitz Genres: Comedy Running Time: 120 min. Distributors: Picturehouse U.S. Box Office: $712,391

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Life is not easy for teenager Hal Hefner of suburban Plainsboro, New Jersey. His parents have abruptly split; his older brother, Earl, is a budding obsessive-compulsive who pushes him around; and he has an unpredictable stutter that makes high school an exercise in embarrassment, self-effacement and terrible lunches. Given that his active mind and quick wit tend to be obscured by his problematic voice, Hal is not an obvious candidate for his school's high-powered debate team. So it comes as a complete, though not unwelcome, surprise when the team's star member, the hyper-articulate Ginny Ryerson, approaches Hal on the school bus one afternoon. The Plainsboro debaters need a replacement for Ginny's former partner, who dropped out of school following a calamitous performance at the New Jersey State High School Policy Debate Championships the previous spring. Ginny, who can compress an eight minute argument into ten seconds without breaking a sweat, dropping a word, or botching a barb, proceeds to present her case for Hal's potential as a public speaker. She has seen Hal, she has seen his promise. Hal is more than just shocked, or even dazed; he is smitten. As the notion of debating takes hold in Hal's mind, so, too, do thoughts of the attractive and dazzlingly confident Ginny. Gambling that his voice will cooperate with the rest of him, Hal joins the Plainsboro High debate team as Ginny's partner. Trundling back and forth to her house with his ever-growing pile of research, Hal starts to see new possibilities in his life. The road ahead holds many twists, turns and bumps for Hal; despite his best efforts, people and circumstances prove more unpredictable than any stutter. But Hal rises to the occasion, and in doing so he scores a victory that has nothing to do with winning a debate--and everything to do with finding his voice.

The sharp and beautiful star of the school debate team, who our hero is infatuated with, and who inspires Hal to see something more for himself.

"Having seen 'Rocket Science' (2007) I feel maybe more timid than I have ever felt in my life because several people think I should be this really intimidating person. I don't want people to think I'm that big of a b**** in real life but I get very sheepish because I want to differentiate myself."

"The great thing for me about Ginny was what a surprise she was, in that she's this teenage girl who is the most articulate and confident and powerful character maybe in the whole movie. So often, when you read teenage girl [characters], they're very vapid and flighty and are just there to look pretty."

"Writer-director Jeffrey Blitz brings wit and pathos to the story of a compulsive stutterer."

-- Jen Chaney | Washington Post (Full Review)

"It may gross as little as Welcome to the Dollhouse or as much as Clueless, but whichever it does, it's in the same league."

-- Roger Ebert | Chicago Sun Times (Full Review)

"Smart, witty and blessedly unpredictable."

-- Claudia Puig | San Francisco Chronicle (Full Review)

"Buoyed by a script rife with poetry, a handful of dynamic performances and Eef Barzelay's near-perfect score, Rocket Science mildly shames the potty-mouthed Superbad. And I liked Superbad."

-- Lisa Kennedy | Denver Post (Full Review)