School
For Scoundrels is a dopey comedy that sort of mixes the themes of Hitch with the
plot structure of Anger Management, but rather than going for straight laughs,
director Todd Phillips (Road Trip, Old School) and his screenwriting partner Scot
Armstrong attempt to throw in a little bit of bite. I think, perhaps, the film
makers would have been more wise to stick with the comedy, because every time
the film takes a stab at anything remotely resembling seriousness, it stops dead
in it's tracks. The final half hour in particular, is painfully unfunny.
In
School For Scoundrels, Jon Heder is Roger, a nebbish, socially awkward twenty
something who can't get a break in life. To further complicate his virtual non-existence,
Roger has a big crush on his cute Australian neighbor Amanda (played by former
Real World resident Jacinda Barrett). In a desperate bid for coolness, Roger takes
the advice of his buddy Ian (played by a sorely underused David Cross) and joins
a class that teaches losers to become winners. This underground course (a sort
of Fight Club for nerds) is taught by an abrasive, egomaniacal prick who goes
by the name of Dr. P (Billy Bob Thornton). When Roger quickly begins learning
all the proper tools to install his brand new mojo, Dr. P becomes competitive
and opts to take the course to a whole new level.
School
For Scoundrels starts off with quite a bit of potential. Not because the plot
is anything particularly original (it isn't) but because the flick has really
funny, off tangent bits of humor. Furthermore, the movie does offer up some pretty
big (if a tad obvious) laughs. There's an uproarious tennis sequence that immediately
brought to mind one of my all time favorite comedies, "Bachelor Party."
A
large portion of School For Scoundrels revolves around Roger and Dr. P competing
for the affections of the same woman (an ode to Rushmore, only a lot less inventive
and funny). These two men try to one-up each other in a series of increasingly
uninspired (and stupid) pranks, but the movie really hits the shitter when the
ubiquitous Ben Stiller shows up as an ex-student of Dr. P's. In an odd little
twist, Stiller plays the role straight, ultimately draining the film of humor
and rendering the final half hour of the movie virtually unbearable. The final
act of this picture reminded me of the final act of Wedding Crashers. Once Will
Ferrell showed up, that film took a detour into Shitsville. School For Scoundrels
runs out of gas way before it can even make it to Shitsville. What's more, the
climax of this picture is completely ridiculous, even by a comedy standards. Where
these two main characters end up, left me scratching my head. This flick doesn't
earn it's ending. For a number of reasons, but mostly because of a severe lack
of character development.
School
For Scoundrels falters in big way, but it isn't by fault of the performances.
Jon Heder is extremely entertaining as the hapless Roger. He's sweet and funny
and far less stiff than he was in the lame Benchwarmers. He also proves himself
to be quite the physical performer (as he did in Napoleon Dynamite). Billy Bob
Thornton excels at this sort of role, and this is, more or less, an extension
of his turn in the underrated Ice Harvest. I didn't buy into his final moments,
but again, this had more to do with the material. Jacinda Barrett, fresh off a
star making turn in "The Last Kiss," is perfectly charming here, although
I never entirely bought into the notion that she'd fall for either of these guys.
But then again, that's all in the writing.
School
For Scoundrels could have been a really funny movie instead of a mediocre one.
Unfortunately though, the film doesn't know where to go, much less how to get
there. Be it the poorly conceived climactic twist or the bizarre tension between
Ben Stiller and Dr. P's assistant Lesher (played by Michael Clarke Duncan), this
flick offers up moments that are just weird and out of place rather than funny.
What's more, the relationship between Roger and Amanda isn't even really a relationship,
so when our fearless hero begins combing the airport for his lady fair, it just
doesn't ring true at all.
Still,
I don't want to give the impression that School For Scoundrels is a complete waste
of time. It does have it's moments and the three leads do their best to enliven
the proceedings.
