by Bridget Cook ’14

Was that thunder? Nope– that was the sound of indie film “Struck By Lighting” crashing to the bottom of the charts. Written by and starring “Glee” fan favorite and Golden-Globe winner Chris Colfer, this film enjoyed a tremendous pre-release hype that its screening could not sustain. Based on the novel of the same name, the flick’s storyline about a high school senior who blackmails his peers was bursting with potential. Its rendering, however, lacks the depth and development that a more seasoned screenwriter and leading actor could have produced. The independent comedy-drama contains enough quick bursts of humor and popular stars to keep teen viewers from switching channels (the film was only released in theaters in select cities—everyone else has to get it On Demand or on iTunes), but will leave no one awestruck.

“Struck By Lightning” opens with a scene featuring protagonist Carson Phillips (Colfer) getting struck and killed by a bolt of lightning. Aside from being poorly acted out, this scene was a sufficient way to catch the interest of viewers. Carson narrates the last few weeks of his life in retrospect, through which the viewer is able to see how he manipulated his classmates before his demise. In order to have an impressive submission to his dream college, Carson decided to blackmail his popular peers into submitting content to his literary magazine. The premise is original, but the plot is rather choppy and moves quickly between events, not allowing enough time for development and for attachments to the characters to be formed. Colfer’s acting is strong in some of the louder and more emotional scenes, but overall his performance was that of someone new to the big screen— and it shows.  However, many of his star-studded counterparts make up for his mediocre enactment with their experienced talent.

Rebel Wilson’s portrayal of Carson’s slow-minded friend Malerie Baggs is hilarious and believable. Her awkward and slightly creepy disposition evokes laughter throughout the film. Carson’s Alzheimer’s-stricken grandmother (Polly Bergen) also does an excellent job as an unintentionally comedic elder. Sarah Hyland of “Modern Family” appears in the film as Carson’s pom-pom bearing, female alter-ego, but her character is a bit too cliché to portray well.

This film is Colfer’s screenwriting and cinema debut, so he has time to improve both his writing and acting skills. “Struck By Lightning” is just an unfortunate case of brilliant potential but poor production.