OK, so high school jock comedy isn't my genre. Still, believe it or not, this is VERY slightly ahead of the generic curve, thanks to John Vernon and Robert Forster's stoic professionalism in the face of adversity (Norman Fell not so much), and also due to a sensibility that is slightly less cruel/hateful than usual. Then again, maybe they just hadn't perfected the formula yet. Not much else in this movie looks like it happened on purpose: there is an incredibly relentless stream of ADR one-liners, as though they shot first and then tried to impose a plot via voice-over. And someone really goofed by structuring the whole film around a climactic half-hour football game, which is shot and framed exactly like...a football game. It almost unfolds in real time. I'd be surprised if even FANS of high school jock comedy gave a damn.
Review of Heartbreak High
