Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • Thank You
    • 4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
    • 3999. The Pianist (2002)
    • 3998. Philadelphia (1993)
    • 3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
    • 3996. The Green Mile (1999)
    • 3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
    • 3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»1294. Struck By Lightning (2012)

    1294. Struck By Lightning (2012)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on March 23, 2016 2012, 6 - 7.9, 80-89 mins, Comedy, Drama, Mar 16, Movies Of 2016, Review, United States
    6.4 Has its moments
    • Acting 6.5
    • Directing 6.5
    • Story 6.2
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: Chris Colfer, Rebel Wilson, Alison Janney

    Director: Brian Dannelly

    Running Time: 83 mins


    Struck By Lightning is an American film about an ambitious high schooler who recounts the time when he blackmailed some fellow students into writing for his school paper.

    This is one of those modern films that was released and almost immediately forgotten. I’m not saying that that’s not entirely warranted, but Struck By Lightning does show some of the merits of indie debuts, as despite a generally plain and unfunny script, it has some brilliantly genuine moments of emotion that you just don’t see in bigger budget dramas.

    I’ll start off with that, because the few poignant moments were very impressive to see. Especially seeing as this is Chris Colfer’s screenwriting debut, the level of emotional strength in some moments is fantastic. Although the opening scene, intended to shock you (no pun intended) and grab your interest immediately, doesn’t quite work, when we return to that moment at the end of the film, it’s a whole lot more emotionally powerful, and provides the only properly engaging moment of the whole movie.

    Apart from that, however, there’s not too much to really enjoy about this film. Whilst it’s never overly annoying, and there are one or two laughs, this is one of those films that has a really tough time getting you interested in its characters.

    It’s a dark comedy-drama, so it’s more important to have well-fleshed out characters, but in Struck By Lightning, it never moves beyond the stereotypical personalities introduced at the beginning. So, we have the bitter divorced mother, played by Alison Janney, the nerdy fat girl, played by Rebel Wilson, and the annoyingly arrogant and smug young go-getter, played by Chris Colfer.

    That’s no slight on the performances, because all the actors stick to their characters pretty well, but the issue is that those characters aren’t written very well, and there’s very little drama or development over the course of the film to make you care about them at all.

    Overall, Struck By Lightning has a few fantastic moments. However, they don’t speak for the majority of the film, which is generally dull, and not particularly funny either, so that’s why I’m giving this a 6.4.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. From January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2022, he watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    8.2

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    8.2
    December 25, 2022

    3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

    5.6
    December 10, 2022

    3969. Falling For Christmas (2022)

    6.9
    December 4, 2022

    3956. The People We Hate At The Wedding (2022)

    5.4
    December 3, 2022

    3954. Disenchanted (2022)

    7.4
    December 3, 2022

    3953. Meet Cute (2022)

    7.6
    November 23, 2022

    3934. Do Revenge (2022)

    7.0
    November 18, 2022

    3929. The Wonder (2022)

    6.7
    November 13, 2022

    3924. See How They Run (2022)

    Recommended Movies
    8.1
    Review
    August 18, 20140

    661. Shrek 2 (2004)

    8.2
    Review
    October 2, 20190

    2701. Judy (2019)

    8.2
    Review
    September 16, 20130

    286. King Kong (1933)

    8.1
    Review
    May 14, 20200

    2955. Before Midnight (2013)

    8.0
    Review
    April 30, 20210

    3332. The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021)

    Popular Posts
    December 31, 2022

    Thank You

    8.2
    December 31, 2022

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8
    December 30, 2022

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2
    December 29, 2022

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    7.5
    December 28, 2022

    3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

    9.1
    December 27, 2022

    3996. The Green Mile (1999)

    7.6
    December 26, 2022

    3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.