A very disappointing feature indeed, Rocket Science suffers from virtually all the symptoms of AIFD (American Indie Film Disease). From the deeply unlikeable and endlessly flawed characters to the overly arch dialogue to the overly busy soundtrack of 'cool music', it hits on all cylinders. The badly developed plot makes no sense (why would any top ranked debater choose a complete loser to be their partner?), and the film is poorly structured and about twenty minutes (far) too long. As a former high school debater, I can't really argue with the depiction of the activity, but there's so little actual debating in the film that it hardly matters. Director Jeffrey Blitz would have been far better served by sticking to the documentary format--quirky comedy drama just ain't his thing.