School for Scoundrels (2006)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Todd Phillips

Writers (WGA):

Todd Phillips (screenplay) &
Scot Armstrong (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 September 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Too nice? Too honest? Too *you*? Help is on the way.

Plot:

A young guy short on luck, enrolls in a class to build confidence to help win over the girl of his dreams, which becomes complicated when his teacher has the same agenda.

Plot Keywords:

Airport | Tennis | Paintball Gun | Helicopter | Pepper Spray

Awards:

1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Fri. July 17	6:30 PM	MTV
Sat. July 18	4:00 PM	MTV

Cast

Billy Bob Thornton	...	Dr. P
Jon Heder	...	Roger
Jacinda Barrett	...	Amanda
Michael Clarke Duncan	...	Lesher
Sarah Silverman	...	Becky
David Cross	...	Ian
Matt Walsh	...	Walsh
Horatio Sanz	...	Diego
Todd Louiso	...	Eli
Jon Glaser	...	Ernie
Paul Scheer	...	Little Pete
Ben Stiller	...	Lonnie
Luis Guzmán	...	Sergeant Moorehead
Dan Fogler	...	Zack
DeRay Davis	...	Bee Bee

Also Known As:

The Better Man (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language, crude and sexual content, and some violence.

Runtime:

100 min | USA:108 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Ireland:12A | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | UK:12A | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-7 | USA:Not Rated (unrated version) | Germany:12 | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

Director Todd Phillips first offered the lead role to Howard Stern (Phillips is a big Stern fan), but Stern had to turn it down because he was about to leave terrestrial radio for satellite radio and did not have the time to film a movie. The role eventually went to Billy Bob Thornton.

Goofs:

Factual errors: A defibrillator delivers one instantaneous jolt, not an extended current. Once the paddles discharge through a conductor (like the human body), they are no longer electrified until he machine is activated again and can build up a charge.

Quotes:

Ian: Roger, I used to be just like you. But look at me now, I'm awesome! I run this entire place. I'm dating TWO Asian chicks!

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Fight Club (1999)

Soundtrack:

Tivoli-Rutsch-Walzer, Op. 39

Uneducating

Adequately entertaining. Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Heder make mildly interesting, obviously unmatched adversaries. Talented supporting cast also supplies some interest, but no character is fully developed. Michael Clarke Duncan comes the closest, but his hostility, his back story, his orientation is unexplained and sometimes inexplicable. Jacinda Barrett plays a nice girl, and does a nice job. Some laughs, interrupted by huge plot holes. What is Sarah Silverman doing, except being nasty?

The premise is funny. Who hasn't felt like "the nice guy who finishes last", with the exception of people like the self-proclaimed "Doctor P", Billy Bob Thornton, who teaches the class of the weak and the meek to become lions. The overall mediocrity of the mess is pretty much attributable to director Todd Phillips ("Old School", "Starsky and Hutch"). Wait for the DVD, and rent it for $1.00; don't buy it.