Struck By Depression

Chris Colfer, the Emmy-nominated star of “Glee,” leads the rickety ship that is “Struck by Lightning” as both the lead actor and screenwriter.

He does so valiantly, even when the movie merges too far into cheap film school project territory.

The audience knows from the get-go that Carson (Colfer) meets his untimely death before he achieves his dreams of leaving his small town and writing for The New Yorker.

Beforehand, Carson blackmails his peers into helping him jumpstart a literary magazine.

It sounds like morbid stuff, and it is.

It’s unfortunate the filmmaking overall feels too novice. The film’s tones of grey and blue eventually push us straight into a gloom that not even Colfer’s snarky wit can bring us out of.

Luckily, there’s a cast of inspired supporting players with Allison Janney as Carson’s boozy mother and Rebel Wilson as his so-called best friend, who elevate the film even when the morose takes over.  

“Struck by Lightning” is a fine jumping off point for Colfer’s writing career. Let’s just hope next time the production is able to match his efforts.