Daydream Nation (film)

Daydream Nation
Daydream Nation
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Michael Goldbach
Screenplay by	Michael Goldbach
Produced by	Christine Haebler; Trish Dolman; Jennifer Weiss; Simone Urdl
Starring	Kat Dennings; Reece Thompson; Andie MacDowell; Josh Lucas; Rachel Blanchard
Cinematography	Jon Joffin
Edited by	Jamie Alain
Music by	Ohad Benchetrit
Production; companies	Lila 9th; Screen Siren; The Film Farm
Distributed by	eOne Films
Release dates	September 10, 2010 (TIFF); April 15, 2011 (Canada); May 6, 2011 (United States);
Running time	98 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	English

Daydream Nation is a 2010 Canadian drama film written and directed by Michael Goldbach. It features Kat Dennings, Reece Thompson, and Josh Lucas. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2010.

Plot

Seventeen-year-old Caroline Wexler (Kat Dennings) and her father move from a large city to a small town where an industrial fire burns endlessly and many of the students in her new high school seem to be permanently stoned. One of Caroline's classmates, Thurston Goldberg (Reece Thompson), quickly falls for her after they first meet at a party. Caroline is attracted to her high school English teacher Mr. Anderson (Josh Lucas) and the two begin to have sex.

On Halloween, Thurston and his best friends Paul (Landon Liboiron), Charles (Jesse Reid) and Craig (Calum Worthy) spend most of the day getting stoned and inhaling cleaning products which later causes Craig to have a violent seizure during health class. Afterwards, Mr. Anderson cancels his plans with Caroline in order to help the health teacher Ms. Budge (Rachel Blanchard). Mr. Anderson tells Caroline that they should probably go out with other people to avoid looking suspicious, and blows Caroline off on the phone. Feeling upset, Caroline goes out with Thurston where they end up having sex in her car. He admits to her that he was a virgin until that night.

The next day, Mr. Anderson apologizes to her, but says that their relationship must be as discreet. They make up and Caroline spends the night after reading Mr. Anderson's draft of his new novel. Thurston continues to try to pursue Caroline, coming to her home with cupcakes. After he is rejected at the door by Caroline's father (Ted Whittall), Thurston's mother (Andie MacDowell) intercedes on his behalf, which leads to her and Caroline's father sharing intimate moments over drinks. Caroline eventually realizes that Mr. Anderson is deeply dysfunctional, and breaks off the relationship in favor of Thurston. In return, Mr. Anderson does everything to sabotage the budding romance, and Caroline's life descends into chaos. Meanwhile, the local TV station, KCRR reports that there is a serial killer who killed a high school cheerleader.

As Caroline and Thurston's relationship develops, Mr. Anderson becomes even more unstable. He tells Thurston that he was just a cover, and on a rampage, Thurston breaks up with Caroline. Caroline leaves and goes to confront Mr. Anderson, who is on the verge of a mental breakdown. After Caroline leaves, he tries to commit suicide but shoots himself in the leg instead. Caroline goes to try to find Thurston and calls him while driving, leaving a message telling him to stay at the Christmas party where she will go to find him and that she loves him.

In the meantime, Thurston goes to the Christmas party and almost has sex with another girl, Jenny (Katie Boland) who is obsessed with him. Caroline inadvertently crashes her car into the serial killer, who dies from his injuries. She is thought to be a hero and gets back together with Thurston. Ms. Budge shows up at Mr. Anderson's home to tell him the serial killer is dead and takes him to the hospital to treat his injured leg.^[1]^[2]

Cast

Kat Dennings as Caroline Wexler
Reece Thompson as Thurston Goldberg
Andie MacDowell as Enid Goldberg
Josh Lucas as Barry Anderson
Rachel Blanchard as Ms. Budge
Quinn Lord as Thomas
Natasha Calis as Lily Goldberg
Landon Liboiron as Paul
Katie Boland as Jenny
Ted Whittall as Mr. Wexler

Production

Principal photography began in Vancouver on January 9, 2010.^[3]

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 68% based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 6.03/10.^[4] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on eight critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[5]

References

^ "Daydream Nation". Toronto International Film Festival. 2010. Archived from the original on August 16, 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
^ "Daydream Nation". Joker Films. Archived from the original on November 23, 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
^ McNary, Dave (January 7, 2010). "Dennings caught in 'Daydream'". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
^ "Daydream Nation (2010)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on October 16, 2010. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
^ "Daydream Nation Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on May 10, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2020.

External links

Daydream Nation at IMDb
Daydream Nation at Rotten Tomatoes

[1] "Daydream Nation". Toronto International Film Festival. 2010. Archived from the original on August 16, 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2010.

[2] "Daydream Nation". Joker Films. Archived from the original on November 23, 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2010.

[3] McNary, Dave (January 7, 2010). "Dennings caught in 'Daydream'". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved August 27, 2010.

[4] "Daydream Nation (2010)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on October 16, 2010. Retrieved May 16, 2020.

[5] "Daydream Nation Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on May 10, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2020.

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