The New Guy (2002)

A high school senior branded uncool in the ninth grade gets himself expelled so he changes his image to cool kid at the town's other high school.

Director:

Ed Decter

Writer:

David Kendall

Stars:

DJ Qualls, Lyle Lovett, Eliza Dushku

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
DJ Qualls	...	Dizzy
Eliza Dushku	...	Danielle
Zooey Deschanel	...	Nora
Jerod Mixon	...	Kirk
Parry Shen	...	Glen
Lyle Lovett	...	Bear
Eddie Griffin	...	Luther
Sunny Mabrey	...	Courtney
Ross Patterson	...	Conner
Matt Gogin	...	Ed Ligget
Horatio Sanz	...	Dance Instructor
Tony Hawk	...	Himself
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Principal Zaylor
Charlie O'Connell	...	Charlie
Gene Simmons	...	Reverend

Storyline

Dizzy Harrison is an unpopular, high school geek going through a hellish senior year. In an attempt to make a new identity for himself, Dizzy gets himself expelled from his high school, learns the technics of being cool from a prison inmate, and enrolls at a new high school under the alias Gil Harris, to make new friends where he soon gains respect from the jocks and geeks alike. Dizzy then gets noticed by the head cheerleader, Danielle, and helps the school football team gain self-respect to win games. But things unknowingly begin to turn sour when Danielle's disgruntled boyfriend begins investigating into "Gil Harris'" past to uncover any dirt on him.

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Plot Keywords:

mini skirt | teenage boy | teenage girl | attempted escape | high school | 

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Taglines:

A zero will rise

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, language, crude humor and mild drug references

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 May 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le nouveau

Filming Locations:

11200 Lakeline Mall Dr, Cedar Park, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,007,833, 12 May 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$28,972,187, 30 June 2002

Company Credits

Production Co:

Revolution Studios, Bedlam Pictures, Frontier Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min 92 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Zooey Deschanel, who plays quirky Nora in The New Guy, also plays quirky Jess in the TV show The New Girl.

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Goofs

When Kirk lets go of the motorcycle and it crashes into the garage door the front wheel is on the left, but when shown from the reverse angle the front wheel is still on the left when it should be on the right.

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Quotes

Dizzy: Did we give up when Pearl Harbor was bombed?
Football player #72: Hey, I thought that movie made money.

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Crazy Credits

During the credits, there are bloopers. After that, Dizzy and Danielle ride on into the sunset and Danielle falls off the horse.

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Connections

Spoofs Risky Business (1983)

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Soundtracks

So Dizzy
Written by Tommy Roe and Freddy Weller
Produced by Ralph Sall
Performed by Rehab
Courtesy of Epic Records
Contains a sample of "Dizzy"
Performed by Tommy Roe
Courtesy of MCA Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Ties in the elements of teen movies perfectly

As with all teen-based movies, it is wrong to go in with the expectation of a deeply profound and provocative movie. This movie is supposed to be far-fetched and whacky and succeeds perfectly.

The characters are cliched in order to highlight the flaws of the jock, the cheerleader, the geek etc. It is not a byproduct of poorly thought out characters or lack of depth. Rather, the film concentrates on exploiting these cliches for all the humour that they're worth.

If you have the breadth of scope to appreciate the far-out and the obscene, then this is a great movie. If not, lighten up!