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I had to apologize when I shoved my mini recorder into Reece Thompson's ("The Sandlot 2", "SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2") face. "Sorry about that," I said, to which he responded in jest - "No, don't worry about it. I was in gay porn so nothing really affects me."
Thompson is not the next "Little Miss." But the movie he stars in, "Rocket Science," might be.
"Rocket Science" is Director Jeffrey Blitz's ("Spellbound") autobiographically inspired account of the high school experience. Thompson's character, Hal Hefner, is a small, shy and stuttering underclassman at Plainsboro High. Every day is painful for Hal as he navigates through classes, the lunchroom and the hallway, unable to express his intelligence, wit or even his desire for a slice of pizza. As Thompson explained, "Hal is kind of a physical embodiment of that shy quality that everyone has - that feeling of walking through the cafeteria and feeling like everyone is staring at you. That's him every day, in every moment."
And Hal's family offers little help. His parents have just split after his father walked out during a screaming match, and Hal's mother finds a Korean boyfriend with whom, to Hal's dismay, she has very loud, headboard slamming, heavy panting, middle-aged sex. Hal's brother, Earl, played by newcomer Vincent Piazza, is a mildly threatening, sweaty teenager who happens to also be an obsessive-compulsive thief.
Heading home on the bus one day, smart and pretty policy debate star Ginny Ryerson, played by Anna Kendrick ("Camp"), switches seats with Earl to speak with Hal. Ginny's legendary debate partner, Ben Wekselbaum, played by Nicholas D'Agosto ("Election"), has just dropped out of high school after a disastrous debate tournament in which his voice suddenly disappeared. In need of a new partner, Ginny convinces Hal that he has potential to be a stellar debater, and he falls smitten with her beauty and verbal talent. He soon joins the debate team as Ginny's partner and the pair begins strenuous research in the afternoons at Ginny's house. But when Ginny stops calling Hal to practice, the film takes a poignant twist.
