FILM REVIEWS

World premiering at the Saundance Film Fest, “Hesher” is the mediocre feature directing debut from Spencer Susser, director of the 2001 Star Wars-themed short R2-D2: Beneath The Dome.“

The gifted actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt follows last year’s surprise hit [500] Days Of Summer with yet another change of style. After proving he can do standard leading man stuff, Gordon-Levitt here disappears under a beard, wig and tattoos to play Hesher, a twentysomething metal-head stoner who befriends a young boy who’s coming to terms with his mother’s death.

Loud music. pornography. burning things to the ground are just a few of Hesher’s favorite things, and he tries to bring them into the lives of TJ (Devin Brochu) and his father, Paul (Rainn Wilson) when he takes up residence in their garage uninvited.

Grief-stricken by the loss of TJ’s mother in a car accident, Paul can’t muster the strength to evict the strange squatter, and soon the long-haired, tattooed Hesher becomes a regular presence in the household. Like a force of nature, Hesher’s anarchy shakes the family out of their grief and helps them embrace life once more.

Well intentioned but too simple and predictavble, Hesher wear its sensitivity and humanism on its sleeves.

Directed by Spencer Susser.

Running time: 105 Minutes.