It was the year of Kurt Cobain, O.J. Simpson and Rudy Giuliani. It was also the year that Jonathan Levine graduated from high school.

But it wasn’t until he started writing the script for the edgy dark comedy The Wackness that Levine realized the convergence of politics, music and culture in 1994 would give shape to his coming-of-age story about a marijuana-dealing New York teenager.

“I picked that year because of the music, and because it was the year I graduated from high school,” Levine said during a recent promotional stop in Dallas. “Then I started culling together all of these events from the time. It was a very volatile, seminal year, and it was only retroactively that I figured that out.”

The Dallas Morning News/William Deshazer

Director Jonathan Levine, left, and actor Josh Peck came to Dallas on Wednesday to promote their new movie, The Wackness, a coming-of-age story about a marijuana-dealing New York teenager. The film is now playing at the Magnolia in Dallas and the Angelika Film Center in Plano.

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The film tells the story of Luke (Josh Peck), a recent high school grad who spends the sweltering summer trying to figure out his life and future. He sells pot out of an ice cream cart, with his most popular customer being his eccentric therapist (Ben Kingsley), who is caught in a failing relationship of his own. Eventually, they bond not over psychology but over their shared desire for women.

“It’s not as autobiographical as a lot of people like to think, but it is very much part of who I am and my experience growing up,” said Levine, who previously directed the teen slasher flick All the Boys Love Mandy Lane. “The biggest difference is that I didn’t deal pot.”

Levine also is a fan of hip-hop music, something he passes along to Luke. The soundtrack includes tracks from Nas, the Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan and A Tribe Called Quest.

“In New York especially, that was a time when hip-hop culture was sort of transcending just being part of African-American culture and was being embraced by white kids, too,” Levine said. “Getting the rights [for some of the songs on the soundtrack] proved to be difficult, but I was really amazed at how much goodwill we had. I think it’s because no one has really tried to put this music in a movie before, or at least not in 13 years. People were really excited to be a part of it.”

For the lead role, Levine chose Peck, 21, a New York native best known for his starring role on the Nickelodeon sitcom Drake & Josh.

“It was oddly this selfish endeavor for me, because I was so turned on by the material and just thinking about where I was at the time that I read it,” Peck said. “I had an idea of where this kid was at in his life, and I felt like I could bring some truth and honesty to who he was. Luke is sort of the framework for a lot of young men, and their angst and disillusionment with the world. I jumped into it.”

The Wackness includes an eclectic supporting cast that features Famke Janssen, Olivia Thirlby (Juno), Mary-Kate Olsen and Method Man.

The film delves into the type of casual marijuana use that fits its setting, something Levine said he didn’t want to compromise, but also didn’t want to pass judgment upon.

“It was very much my goal to try to present it and not really take a stand,” he said. “Every character in this movie makes awful decisions, and they all have their own weaknesses. It was important to me to focus on what people need to get through their lives. Let’s show it and not judge it.”

Recreating the period, even one as recent as 14 years ago, was a challenge, Levine said.

In the exterior scenes, shot in New York during a 28-day window last year, all of the cars had to be from the correct era, and there could be no signs of cellphones or other technology introduced since.

“It’s really about being very dogmatic about what you don’t see,” he said. “The city is such a character. There are a lot of movies that are set in New York, but there aren’t a lot of movies that have New York as a character.”

The Wackness is currently playing at the Magnolia in Dallas and the Angelika Film Center in Plano.