mediaskills Reviews

School for Seduction (2004)

Very difficult to care about any of the characters

[1/10 · 17 May 2006]

In 'School for Seduction' I was hoping for a northern British comedy in the mould of 'Billy Elliot' or 'The Full Monty' ... or a lesser known gem such as 'The Bare Necessities' (1996). To be fair, the film does have some well-observed moments which could make good sketches in a female-viewpoint TV comedy show such as 'Smack the Pony'. However, as a full-length feature this movie is awful. The men are one-dimensional stereotypes straight from central casting whilst the women fare little better. The real-life Tyneside women I know are, without exception, stronger, wittier and a damn sight sexier than any of the cut-outs portrayed here. The cast do their best to inject some life into the lines they're given but as each character plods her way through an entirely predictable plot line it is difficult to sustain interest. Add a plot twist which is, in the true sense of the word, incredible and the production sinks without trace. For sisterhood solidarity movies give me 'Real Women Have Curves' or 'Beauty Shop'; for Northern British comedy give me 'Brassed off' or 'Blow Dry'. 'School for Seduction' - it just sucks.