Stealing Harvard (2002)

A middle-class man turns to a life of crime in order to finance his niece's first year at Harvard University.

Director:

Bruce McCulloch

Writers:

Martin Hynes (story), Peter Tolan (story)

Stars:

Jason Lee, Tom Green, Leslie Mann

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Lee	...	John Plummer
Tom Green	...	Walter P. 'Duff' Duffy
Leslie Mann	...	Elaine Warner
Megan Mullally	...	Patty Plummer
Dennis Farina	...	Mr. Warner
Tammy Blanchard	...	Noreen Plummer
Richard Jenkins	...	Honorable Emmett Cook
Chris Penn	...	David Loach
John C. McGinley	...	Detective Charles
Seymour Cassel	...	Uncle Jack
Zeus	...	Rex
Ken Magee	...	Butcher
Martin Starr	...	Liquor Store Clerk
Mary Gillis	...	Duff's Mom
Bruce McCulloch	...	Fidio the Lawyer

Storyline

A man turns to a life of crime to pay for his niece's tuition for her first year at a prestigious university. His girlfriend also wants him to pay $30,000 for the down payment on a house; and his buddy is a bad influence on him.

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Plot Keywords:

man wears eyeglasses | harvard | black comedy | crying during sex | voice over narration | 

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Taglines:

A comedy about doing the wrong things... for the right reasons.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Leslie Mann cries during sex.

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Goofs

When John, Noreen and Patty are watching the old home movie, Noreen pauses the video with a remote control and soon turns around to inform John that she has been accepted into Harvard. Moments later when they return to watching the home movie, it is still running even though nobody continued the movie with the remote.

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Quotes

John's Grandmother: Who do you think I am, Albert fuckin' Trump?

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Crazy Credits

Jason Lee is listed in the main titles as "Ja$on Lee"

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Connections

References S.W.A.T. (1975)

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Soundtracks

(I'm Gonna) Split This Room in Half
Written by Mike Bradford and Uncle Kracker (as Matt Shafer)
Performed by Uncle Kracker
Courtesy of Lava/Atlantic Recording Corp.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

An okay way to kill 80 minutes.

The plot is as simple as the film itself: John (Jason Lee) once made a promise to his niece that if she ever got accepted to college, he would pay her way. When the time arrives, he finds himself broke, and resorts to asking his loser buddy, Duff (Tom Green), for help. Clichés and hi-jinks ensue.

The film is surprisingly sterilized, especially when you consider its two stars: Jason Lee, a Kevin Smith alum, and Tom Green, the gross-out king who wrote, directed and starred in "Freddy Got Fingered." Lee is likable and congenial, if a bit soft, while Green relies more on physical humor and less on substance. He utters a few humorous lines here and there, but he is, in essence, just a prop. There are several other talented comedic actors such as Leslie Mann ("Big Daddy"), Megan Mullally (TV's "Will & Grace"), John C. McGinley (TV's "Scrubs") and of course, the amazing Martin Starr (TV's "Freaks & Geeks") who help keep the film fresh and funny, but unfortunately there's just not enough of them. The film is stacked with great and hilarious actors, but rarely takes advantage of this fact. As far as the humor goes, it forgoes the gross-out comedy of the time in an effort to yield rather tame and inoffensive results. And in its brief 82 minutes, it works. "Stealing Harvard" is hardly a classic, but if one were to sit down on a dead Sunday afternoon, kick back and relax with few expectations, it works. You'll likely get a few solid chuckles out of it, and it's innocent and simplistic plot makes for a good "turning off the brain" time.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 September 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Say Uncle

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,041,521, 15 September 2002

Gross USA:

$14,036,406

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,277,032

Company Credits

Production Co:

Revolution Studios, Imagine Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1