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Movie Review
School for Scoundrels
By Lee Tistaert Published September 15, 2006
US Release: September 29, 2006
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Jon Heder , Billy Bob Thornton , Michael Clarke Duncan , Sarah Silverman
PG-13
Running Time: 101 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $17,807,569
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Jon Heder , Billy Bob Thornton , Michael Clarke Duncan , Sarah Silverman
PG-13
Running Time: 101 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $17,807,569
C+
34 of 177
The movie is indeed PG-13, which takes a lot of the fun away, but Phillips and Armstrong get chuckles out of the material where many would probably have failed.
School for Scoundrels is the weakest effort so far from Old School director Todd Phillips. However, it isn?t bad. The movie is indeed PG-13, which takes a lot of the fun away, but Phillips and co-writer Scot Armstrong get chuckles out of the material where many would have probably failed. Since Road Trip (B), the pair have done a good job at taking breezy concepts and making the movies better than the norm, and with School for Scoundrels they have succeeded again, but only marginally. School for Scoundrels probably would've been an average comedy in anyone else?s hands, but Phillips and Armstrong took more of an elegant approach, which makes this a surprisingly decent movie.
Jon Heder stars as an awkward twenty-something who desperately needs help with women, and discovers a dating seminar that helps initiate confrontation with anyone, anywhere. The seminar coach is played by Billy Bob Thornton, a womanizer intent on turning these losers into real men.
School for Scoundrels is about as light on plot as School of Rock (B-/B), and it doesn?t have a performance like Jack Black?s for it to work as well as it could. However, the movie has a pretty good sense of tone, and has its share of laughs at unexpected moments. This is a breezy movie, but some of the acting is handled impressively (which generates the laughs). The movie?s style is ultimately classier as well; it?s shot reasonably well, and the soundtrack is comparable to Old School (B) and Starsky & Hutch (B). But predictably, there was only so much Phillips and Armstrong could do here.
Unlike their previous comedies, School for Scoundrels doesn?t really need to be seen with a frat-boy audience, and the ads have made that clear (it comes off like a PG-13 Bad Santa). In that regard, the movie is kind of uneventful, but does get numerous things right. It's a pretty tame college comedy, one that doesn?t really need to be seen in theaters, but is worth a shot for those who are curious.
Jon Heder stars as an awkward twenty-something who desperately needs help with women, and discovers a dating seminar that helps initiate confrontation with anyone, anywhere. The seminar coach is played by Billy Bob Thornton, a womanizer intent on turning these losers into real men.
School for Scoundrels is about as light on plot as School of Rock (B-/B), and it doesn?t have a performance like Jack Black?s for it to work as well as it could. However, the movie has a pretty good sense of tone, and has its share of laughs at unexpected moments. This is a breezy movie, but some of the acting is handled impressively (which generates the laughs). The movie?s style is ultimately classier as well; it?s shot reasonably well, and the soundtrack is comparable to Old School (B) and Starsky & Hutch (B). But predictably, there was only so much Phillips and Armstrong could do here.
Unlike their previous comedies, School for Scoundrels doesn?t really need to be seen with a frat-boy audience, and the ads have made that clear (it comes off like a PG-13 Bad Santa). In that regard, the movie is kind of uneventful, but does get numerous things right. It's a pretty tame college comedy, one that doesn?t really need to be seen in theaters, but is worth a shot for those who are curious.
Lee's Grade: C+
Ranked #34 of 177 between Hostel (#33) and Find Me Guilty (#35) for 2006 movies.
Ranked #34 of 177 between Hostel (#33) and Find Me Guilty (#35) for 2006 movies.
Lee's Overall Grading: 3025 graded movies
| A | 0.4% | |
| B | 30.0% | |
| C | 61.7% | |
| D | 8.0% | |
| F | 0.0% |
'School for Scoundrels' Articles
- Weekend Analysis (9/29 - 10/1)
October 2, 2006 The real loser of the week was the Billy Bob Thornton/Jon Heder comedy, School for Scoundrels. Though MGM might not have been the ideal home for distribution, Scoundrels looked like a rip-off of Bad Santa and Bad News Bears, and lacked female appeal. -- Lee Tistaert
