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 Dora and Paul are sneaking in to the second act of a show with the smokers, they are seen watching the song "Willkommen" from the show "Cabaret". The song "Willkommen" is the very start of the show, welcoming the viewers to the Cabaret, and would not be seen at the beginning of act two.

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Quotes

Dora Diamond: You have a girlfriend?
Paul Tannek: Ex-girlfriend. We dated in high school.
Dora Diamond: Do you still see her?
Paul Tannek: No. She lost some weight over the summer, so she's dating a lot more now. You know how it goes.

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Connections

References When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

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Soundtracks

"Teenage Dirtbag"
Written by Brendan B. Brown
Performed by Wheatus
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

A poor treatment for the "Loser"

Jason Biggs stars as the "Loser" a freshman trying to fit in at New York University. It has the usual likable loser who gets stuck around jerks and tries to win over a girl. It's been done many times before and it's been done better.

Written and directed by Amy Heckerling, this is her first film since "Clueless" (1995). It only has a few funny lines and relies on popular music to make it entertaining. It has very little of the ascorbic wit Heckerling has shown in her other films. The best character was Greg Kinnear as the unscrupulous college professor with great banter. Biggs is his usual likable awkward self. Mena Suvari plays 'the girl' and as usual for Suvari she comes across as annoying and not nearly as smart as her character is supposed to be.

If you are looking for the next "Clueless" check out "I Could Never Be Your Woman" (2007) it better matches Heckerling's potential. Or for a better version of this "Loser" genre, watch "She's Out of My League" (2010) or "Sydney White" (2007).