Cheats (2002)

A group of friends cheat their way through high school.

Director:

Andrew Gurland

Writer:

Andrew Gurland

Stars:

Trevor Fehrman, Matthew Lawrence, Elden Henson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kathryn Anderson	...	2nd Grade Teacher
Babs Chula	...	Mrs. Rosengarden (as Babz Chula)
Dixon Cohee	...	Greedy
Casey Dubois	...	Handsome - 2nd Grade & Kindergarten
Griffin Dunne	...	Mr. Davis
Trevor Fehrman	...	Handsome
Leonie Haworth	...	Julie - 2nd Grade
Brandy Kopp	...	Hot Girl #1 (as Brandy Heidrick)
Elden Henson	...	Sammy
P.J. Johal	...	Semi-Foreigner
Brett Kelly	...	Sammy - 2nd Grade & Kindergarten
David Krumholtz	...	Evan Rosengarden
Matthew Lawrence	...	Victor
Maggie Lawson	...	Julie
Mary Tyler Moore	...	Mrs. Stark

Storyline

While other kids buy into countless hours of studying just so they can get a mark in some teacher's report book, Handsome Davis sees it as nothing more than a system of control over your mind. That's why Handsome and his three best friends Sammy, Victor and the cribsheet genius Applebee have banded together and found ways to cheat on their tests all through their school years. Everything had been going along smoothly until the gang entered their final year of high school and the stakes were upped by the school's principal, Mrs. Stark. If they get caught cheating again Stark will make a note in their permanent records and possibly kill their chances of getting into college. But can Handsome convince his pals to pull off one last, great cheat with him and outsmarting Stark and the system, even if it means possibly destroying their friendships?

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Plot Keywords:

vomiting | woman wears eyeglasses | bare chested male | high school | principal | 

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Taglines:

Rule #1: Every cheating outfit needs a guy who can write crazy small.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 on appeal for thematic elements, some language and crude sexual references

Did You Know?

Trivia

Though filmed for theaters and having had a lot of marketing done by the studio, the film's theatrical release was canceled at the last minute and it premiered on HBO and Cinemax instead. This was New Line Cinema's only film not to be broadcast on Starz, despite their long pay-TV deal with Starz, since 1995. It wasn't until 2005, New Line moved their pay-TV deal with HBO and Cinemax.

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Quotes

Horny: Everything is bullshit.
Greedy: It is what it is.

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Crazy Credits

Opening disclaimer: What you are about to see is inspired by a true story. Certain characters and situations have been fictionalized.

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Alternate Versions

A plotline was filmed in which Applebee has a stroke shortly after the anonymous letter had been handed in. While in reality this did actually happen to the man whom the character was based on, test audiences thought it to be too unbelievable and so it was cut.

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Soundtracks

GREY HOTEL
Written by Tinstar
Performed by Tinstar
Courtesy of V2 Records

User Reviews

USA's best effort ever

I caught this movie on HBO and it quickly became one of my favorites. The Handsome character is so likable and charming he can only be summed up with one phrase: "Dog porn?!?!?". Seriously though, whoever had this movie go straight to TV on USA Network has hopefully been fired. I'm glad it found new life on HBO where it can seriously be appreciated as one of the best high school movies I've ever seen. Perhaps second only to The Breakfast Club and Fast Times. If possible, I recommend taking a glance at your local rental facility to see if this title is available. It gave me a lot of ideas on how to make law school more enjoyable, but fear of the Bar committee made me think otherwise. See it soon.

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 November 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chea+ers

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, BenderSpink, FilmEngine

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1