Loser (2000)

A college student, branded a loser by his roommates and booted from the dorm, falls in love with a coed who has eyes for their condescending professor.

Director:

Amy Heckerling

Writer:

Amy Heckerling

Stars:

Jason Biggs, Mena Suvari, Zak Orth

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Biggs	...	Paul Tannek
Mena Suvari	...	Dora Diamond
Zak Orth	...	Adam
Thomas Sadoski	...	Chris (as Tom Sadoski)
Jimmi Simpson	...	Noah
Greg Kinnear	...	Prof. Edward Alcott
Dan Aykroyd	...	Dad
Twink Caplan	...	Gena
Bobby Slayton	...	Sal
Robert Miano	...	Victor
Mollie Israel	...	Annie (as Mollee Israel)
Colleen Camp	...	Homeless Woman
Andy Dick	...	Another City Worker
Steven Wright	...	Panty Hose Customer
Brian Backer	...	Doctor

Storyline

Is there room in Manhattan for a decent kid? Can a young woman see past a cad to true love? Paul, from rural upstate, comes to New York City for college. To keep his scholarship, he must study hard and do well. That makes him a loser to his partying roommates who connive to kick him out of their suite. He's assigned a room in an animal hospital. In class he meets Dora, a pretty coed who needs a job to pay for school, and who's the very young lover of their sarcastic and selfish lit professor. When Dora is slipped some drugs at a party, Paul nurses her back to health, and a friendship follows. For Paul, though, it's more than friendly feelings. Can they work things out for them to become a truly lucky couple?

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Plot Keywords:

college | loser | love | new york city | drugs | 

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Taglines:

Dare to be different

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for drug content, crude sexual material and language

Details

Official Sites:

Sony

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 July 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Loser

Filming Locations:

Bryant Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£173,016 (UK) (3 November 2000)

Gross:

ESP 1,737,650 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Branti Film Productions, Cockamamie

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul's dorm is called Hunt's Hall. Audiences, especially older, might take this as an allusion to actor Huntz Hall, who was born in New York City (the setting of this film). Huntz played Horace DeBussy "Sach" Jones, a lively buffoon in the Bowery Boys film series, which followed his time as a Dead End Kid in Dead End and in the subsequent Dead End Kids series. It would be an appropriate connotation, in that the Chris, Adam and Noah characters are all buffoons as well as dead end kids (hedonistic young males with no real future).

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Goofs

When Paul is approached by Noah who shows him the party drugs, Paul pretends to put them back in Noah's pocket to hide them from onlookers. Instead of doing so he goes to hide them up his sleeve so he can throw them away. When Noah leaves, he pulls the drugs from out of his sleeve. But before this, when he does the motion to put the drugs up his sleeve, his hand is clearly empty-with no sign of the drugs.

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Quotes

Professor Edward Alcott: You know, I have this kind of crazy philosophy that your grades should represent your grasp of the material and not your negotiating skills - which are amazing, by the way.

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Connections

References Simon Birch (1998)

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Soundtracks

"Don't Fight It Baby"
Written by Wayne Hector, Steve Mac and Alistair Tennant (as Ali Tennant)
Performed by Five
Courtesy of BMG Records (UK) Ltd./Arista Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Amusing and honest college movie

Unfairly condemned by the critics, this movie worked for me as a comedy and as a somewhat dark look at the mores of college life. Our hero may be branded a loser, but he's definitely a believable three-dimensional character (with a heart of gold, naturally). The story takes for granted some unethical and potentially unsettling behaviour, and allows the characters to rise above it.

Lets you smile throughout, and gives you some insights into contemporary life on campus without resorting to cliches.