Not Cool (2014)

A group of modern day Pittsburgh teenagers spend their Thanksgiving break experiencing a mixture of love, friendship, partying, and sex.

Director:

Shane Dawson

Writer:

Dan Schoffer

Stars:

Shane Dawson, Cherami Leigh, Drew Monson

Cast

Credited cast:
Shane Dawson	...	Scott
Cherami Leigh	...	Tori
Drew Monson	...	Joel
Lisa Schwartz	...	Marissa
Michelle Veintimilla	...	Janie
Terri Middleton	...	Black Friday Shopper
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kurt Angle	...	Security Guard
Drew Berens
Kasey Daley	...	Colleen
Sabrina de Matteo	...	Stevie (singer)
Louis DeShantz	...	Partygoer
Chris Douglass	...	William
Garbie Dukes	...	Filthy Hobo
Laurel George	...	Aunt Flo
Antoinette Horick-Meyers	...	Black Friday Shopper

Storyline

A group of former high school students come back home for Thanksgiving. During the few days back they undertake things like partying, relationships, and reconnecting with family. The teenagers experience how to let go of high school and move on with their lives.

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Plot Keywords:

fart | eating feces | penis | bare butt | mooning | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Awful Movies Wiki Official Newsletter

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Shane Dawson Movie

Filming Locations:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,329, 19 September 2014, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$35,688, 28 September 2014

Company Credits

Production Co:

Point Park University, Shaderville, Steeltown Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Zachary Quinto was so offended by the content of the film that he took his name off as a producer.

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Goofs

In the beginning of the movie shows Tori standing at a party with crossed arms and gets vomited on,, but later in the movie when the scene occurs, Tori is actually recording another girl with her phone when she gets vomited on.

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Connections

Referenced in I Hate Everything: the Search for the Worst: Smosh: The Movie (2015)

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Soundtracks

Running Back To You
Written by For The Foxes
Performed by For The Foxes and Allison Weiss

User Reviews

Rarely do I ever give movies a 1, but for "Not Cool" it is more than deserved

I will not get into the biography of Shane Dawson. Generation Z knows where it is at with the crude humor, pop culture references, and name-drops. Hey, I do not knock Dawson's shtick. I liked that Shane Dawson was able to break the mold for Youtube by not pulling any punches; just letting the jokes speak for themselves. I had some decent laughs. I did not care for him the last two years because the shock value almost became masturbatory, but I still wanted to see what Shane could do behind the camera. The answer? Not much. Actually, I think he should sit down and study film more. What Shane presents in "Not Cool" is about the lowest common denominator of film.

"Not Cool" revolves around Shane Dawson, the director himself, and he is Mr. Hot Shot. Everyone wants to have sex with him. Everyone wants to BE him. Shane runs into high school dweeb Tori, played by Cherami Leigh, who Shane wants to have sex. The only problem is Tori is going out for college so what will Scott (Shane Dawson) do?!?! And does Tori actually fall for Scott? Does she want him more than just sex?

Where "Not Cool" is really not cool is in its script. The delivery of these lines is abysmal, and maybe that is because the jokes are already poorly written to begin with. I am no prude, but I do not think eating excrement, "sharting", or projectile vomiting are knee-slappers. I really do not think sex is all that funny. Glory holes, dildos, masturbating, etc. There is just nothing funny here. But when "Not Cool" is not relishing its R-rating, the film becomes even worse. The film is littered with Disney-Channel type humor (which they reference by the way), and it presents scenarios that would make LifeTime blush.

Now the characters do not help much. Shane Dawson is probably the worst actor in this, which is actually kind of surprising. I thought he was wooden in "Smiley", but for such a limited engagement/direct-to-video production, that was to be expected. Shane is just horrendous here. No charisma, no depth, no comedic value. It is almost like he wants to be as hands-on as possible, and you really cannot be when you are not good at directing or acting. Also, Tori is one of the most annoying characters I have ever come across. Her lines of dialogue at times does not match her body, she is just completely whiney and almost antagonist, and she contributes nothing to the film. She might have been worse than Dawson himself. Marissa, played by Lisa Schwartz, was horrendous. I really do not think any of these actors took acting classes because had they, they would not be so over-the-top and artificial.

The directing is all wrong: very amateurish shots, shaky camera, awkward camera angles. It is all just very low-budget. Dawson does not know a thing about editing. Scenes jump around rather than having a flow. It is like Shane just took everything and threw it at the screen to see what sticks. Unfortunately, nothing does. The soundtrack, the production, etc.- it all just fails.

It is kind of funny how the 12 year olds in the Youtube comments were complaining about the film's rating. If I were them, I would complain about the quality of the project. Even if this thing were X rated (or NC-17), it would still be just as bad. I hope that anyone in any generation, whether Z or Y, really does not treat "Not Cool" as an actual film piece. If Dawson's intention was to make some extended Youtube video or an unfunny SNL sketch, he succeeded. But if he really wants to be known as a legitimate director, he should just scrap this and "Smiley". Actually, he should just burn his resume. No one will want to work with him if they watch his performance and direction. I do not care if this is someone's first directing job or if they went to film school. There is no excuse for someone to do this horrendous of a job. What a terrible movie.