Struck by Lightning

In the very first scene, audiences learn that Carson Phillips (Chris Colfer) has been Struck By Lightning And killed. The dead 17-year-old narrator proceeds to explain that he lived in the small town of Clover, Calif. (population: less than 10,000). In flashback, Carson is shown as the editor of the high school newspaper, with big dreams to attend Northwestern's journalism school, write for The New Yorker, and even win a Nobel Prize. When his inept guidance counselor (Angela Kinsey) suggests that he start a literary magazine to up his admissions chances, Carson and his only friend, Malerie (Rebel Wilson), start blackmailing a group of well-known students with scandalous secrets in order to staff their new venture. In the movie's main subplot, the pregnant local pharmacist (Christina Hendricks) discovers she's engaged to Carson's estranged father (Dermot Mulroney), who's still not technically divorced from Carson's alcoholic mom (Allison Janney).