Me and Orson Welles

Richard Samuels (Zac Efron) is newly arrived to Manhattan and knows that he is going to be a star some day. This belief is reinforced when he happens by the Mercury Theater just as the players gather in the street to await their director and muse for the rehearsal of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Richard will soon meet the man who will affect his life and change it forever in “Me and Orson Welles.”

Laura's Review: B-

Robin's Review: B-

Zac Efron is a well-trained puppy playing among full-grown thoroughbred hounds as the star and focal character in “Me and Orson Welles.” The actor may have been able to dominate “High School Musical” but he is playing with the big boys and is overshadowed by his costars Claire Danes, as romantic interest Sonja Jones, and Christian McKay in a terrific performance as the titular Welles, and the rest of the vet cast. Director Richard Linklatter does a good job in capturing the verve of the Mercury Theater, its players and the time, but the film does not show his imprint. The result is a well-staged movie but one that lacks soul. Good, not great, performances by the large cast, especially McKay and Danes, make “Me and Orson Welles” worth watching but not a memorable event.