At around the midpoint of the film, there is a "mirror, mirror on the wall scene" in which Annie Kreuger stares into a mirror and watches a highlight reel of the unwise decisions she has made in her young life.
By this time in the film, two incarnations of Annie's character have emerged. First, the "old" Annie is the competitive lacrosse star steeped in the honest values instilled in her by her mom Sonya. Then, there is the "new" Annie, who has been corrupted by a cheating ring at her school and drawn like a moth to a light bulb to the sleazy coach named Mitch (as in "snitch").
The world of "Charmed and Cheated" (aka, "Student Seduction") is a cutthroat, Darwinian struggle of survival of the fittest. When Annie's grades are suffering at the prestigious Kingston Academy, she is co-opted by her shallow and spoiled classmates, Delia and Regan, to participate with them in a cheating ring. Principal Whitlock also lacks a human touch in the manner in which he placed Annie on probation. Annie's main connection to reality at school and her principal source of support is her friend Camille.
The vicissitudes of the academic integrity appear to be bleak at Kingston. But the masterminds of the RIO plagiarism software had not counted on the human element of a good teacher like Miss Brewer, who recognized that the writing of several of her students could not be as advanced and polished as apparent in the papers they submitted.
The interior struggle of Annie was not entirely convincing. Except for the mirror scene, Annie never seemed to exhibit the pangs of conscience that should have alerted her not to cheat on a quiz, submit a phony paper, or to "make out" with her perverted coach. And she failed to listen to the wise counsel of Camille.
The film's denouement was disappointing in failing to tie up the loose strands. Are we to believe that Annie received no academic sanctions for her transgressions? Was Delia ever held to account for her actions, including murder? Did Regan recover from getting clocked with a fire extinguisher? Above all, was the dedicated teacher Miss Brewer eventually reinstated after indirectly serving to uncover a sordid conspiracy at the Kingston Academy?
By this time in the film, two incarnations of Annie's character have emerged. First, the "old" Annie is the competitive lacrosse star steeped in the honest values instilled in her by her mom Sonya. Then, there is the "new" Annie, who has been corrupted by a cheating ring at her school and drawn like a moth to a light bulb to the sleazy coach named Mitch (as in "snitch").
The world of "Charmed and Cheated" (aka, "Student Seduction") is a cutthroat, Darwinian struggle of survival of the fittest. When Annie's grades are suffering at the prestigious Kingston Academy, she is co-opted by her shallow and spoiled classmates, Delia and Regan, to participate with them in a cheating ring. Principal Whitlock also lacks a human touch in the manner in which he placed Annie on probation. Annie's main connection to reality at school and her principal source of support is her friend Camille.
The vicissitudes of the academic integrity appear to be bleak at Kingston. But the masterminds of the RIO plagiarism software had not counted on the human element of a good teacher like Miss Brewer, who recognized that the writing of several of her students could not be as advanced and polished as apparent in the papers they submitted.
The interior struggle of Annie was not entirely convincing. Except for the mirror scene, Annie never seemed to exhibit the pangs of conscience that should have alerted her not to cheat on a quiz, submit a phony paper, or to "make out" with her perverted coach. And she failed to listen to the wise counsel of Camille.
The film's denouement was disappointing in failing to tie up the loose strands. Are we to believe that Annie received no academic sanctions for her transgressions? Was Delia ever held to account for her actions, including murder? Did Regan recover from getting clocked with a fire extinguisher? Above all, was the dedicated teacher Miss Brewer eventually reinstated after indirectly serving to uncover a sordid conspiracy at the Kingston Academy?
