Here comes the Son!

Arthur J Pais

It took Tom Hanks nearly five years to score his first big hit.

Bachelor Party, co-produced by Sharad Patel for 20th Century Fox, grossed $ 40 million in 1984 in America.

But no one ever imagined that Hanks, then 28, would go on to become one of Hollywood's most celebrated stars.

Colin Hanks, 24, Hank's son from his first marriage, also waited for nearly five years for his first hit. Most of his work during these years was for television shows like Rosewell and Band of Brothers, produced by his father.

So, in every sense, Orange County is his first film.

The comedy, which mocks privileged families, was reportedly made for $ 25 million. It was the third highest grossing film in America last weekend, earning $15.1 million. The top film of the week was The Lord of the Rings, with $16 million in its fourth week, followed by A Beautiful Mind, $15.6 million.

Paramount Pictures produced Orange County, in which the younger Hanks teams up with Schulyer Fisk, 19, daughter of Oscar winner Sissy Spacek. It was directed by Jake Kasdan, 26, son of veteran filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan, best known for Big Chill.

Though Orange County created quite a bit of pre-release buzz, reviewers did not go easy on it. The New York Times said it "...feels like six different movies fighting each other for attention".

New York Post called the film 'stale' and 'pale'.

But Rolling Stone called it " new year's first happy surprise". Entertainment Weekly gave it a B plus rating, while People Magazine praised the young performers.

"Young Hanks grows on you," it said. "Sharper-featured than his father but with that of same Everyman quality, he capably handles both comic and dramatic scenes. Fisk is winning as Shaun's levelheaded girlfriend. When she and Hanks share scenes, you can imagine the film their parents never made together."

Hanks plays high school senior Shaun Brumder, the only 'adult' in a privileged but rotten, messy family: an overwrought mother, a stoned brother and money-crazy dad.

Shaun wants to run away from this chaos -- he dreams of Stanford. But everyone, except his loyal girlfriend (Fisk), throw obstacles in his way. Shaun will go to any extent to get into Stanford -- and his misguided efforts form the highlight of the comedy.

The success of Orange County did not surprise the experts.

The film "capitalised on a marketplace long on Oscar contenders and short on outrageous comedies", Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations, told Reuters. "It came into a pretty serious marketplace and shook it up".

The film could end up with as much as $ 60 million. Even if it stumbles in the following weeks, it won't go home anything less than $ 40 million, experts believe. With a strong DVD and video sale, it could become one of the most profitable films of the year.

And it might create two young stars: Colin Hanks and Schulyer Fisk.