Assassination of a High School President (2008) User Reviews (50)

The name's Bobby Funke...I write for the paper

[Patel_KH · 6/10 · 5 October 2009]

"The name's Bobby Funke...I write for the paper" as soon as this dialogue came up in the opening few minutes, I thought hmm...maybe this film would be interesting. As it turned out, after about 90 minutes from that time, I think it was an interesting film but not entirely. As ambiguous as this sounds, the film almost entirely was carried off by the good performance from its lead Reece Thompson. He was just about perfect for the role of Funke.

The pace of the film is very nice and the story{mystery} unveils nicely. Though predictable at times, the screenplay never gave up all its cards before the climax. The music was well suited and the side characters did their job well except for a few.

Now the biggest culprit is Mischa Barton. For some reason she was never convincing enough and always appeared very phony. Least to say she didn't immerse herself into the character. Though we all know she is not famous for her acting skills, she didn't put her 100% behind the role. For all her fans there is some good news...she shows off her boobs in this film.

Now, this film is no Oscar winner or a GEM or one of the best ever and I'm positive the film-maker never intended it to be BUT its quite enjoyable if you can look beyond Mischa Barton and to a small extent the predictability of the plot. I must add, it has quite a few funny moments. The dialogue is good at some instants and horrible at others.

A Mixed Bag

[gradyharp · 5/10 · 7 April 2011]

ASSASSINATION OF A HIGH SCHOOL PRESIDENT is a big step above most of the teen movies that focus on potty mouth dialogue and absurd situations just to get laughs. Writers Tim Calpin and Kevin Jakubowski have come up with a script that is sometimes smart but ultimately full of holes in deciding where it wants to take the original premise of this high school movie. Director Brett Simon seems to sort of let the movie flow as it develops, preventing a tight telling of a story with potential.

Bobby Funke (Reece Thompson, a promising new talent) is a nerdy newspaper reporter who is never able to finish a story. Student Body President/basketball star/ladies' man Paul Moore (Patrick Taylor) seems to have everything Bobby wants, including the attention of the school's most beautiful girl Francesca (Mischa Barton). As fortune would have it a crime happens - the SATs are stolen from the office of Principal Kirkpatrick (Bruce Willis playing Bruce Willis) and Booby is on the investigation and story, a story that points to Paul as the perpetrator. Bobby's nerdiness is transformed by his attention and by the affections of Francesca, and soon the school collapses under the cloud of the crime. It is how the 'crime' is inspected and resolved that ends the film. For Bobby Funke it is a matter of 'What price glory'.

The cast is fresh and it is a pleasure to see some new faces with promise. Whether it is the director's or the sound mixer's fault, much of the dialogue is swallowed by the soundtrack, a problem thankfully solved by turning on the subtitles. This is a movie with promise from all involved and it will be interesting to see if it has an impact on teen flick quality.

Grady Harp

Assassination of a High School President should be assassinated

[moviesaccordingtodes · 5/10 · 21 October 2010]

I liked the detective wanna be feel…both intriguing and amusing. The movie was unnecessarily perverted, but as a movie seeking teen viewers it was probably trying to get on their level and to appeal to them. Since teens are perverted this makes sense.

That's really all I can say about this movie. I chuckled a few times and I liked the detective feel and narrations. Other than that I wasn't too interested in the story. It wasn't too captivating but then again…I'm not a teen. Maybe this film is just out of my age range.

The acting was what was expected in this type of film. I was kind of surprised with the acting because two of the main actors are Bruce Willis and Mischa Barton…need I say more? The best actor to me was the lead role, Reece Thompson. Never heard of him before but he played the part well. I felt like Willis and Barton were trying to hard to fit their roles. I can't blame them for this though. If the film was better I think the acting would have been as well.

Skip it and watch Brick(2005) instead

[imdbbl · 29 November 2009]

High School. Four of the most important years of your life. But it isn't always dances and keg parties and sucking face in your parents' mini-van. Sometimes it's ugly and hard and complicated. As complicated as a conspiracy to overthrow the president. There's something rotten at St. Donovan's High and sophomore newspaper reporter Bobby Funke is on it like pink rubber bands on your little sister's braces. When senior hottie Francesca Facchini solicits Funke's help tracking down a set of stolen SATs, Funke uncovers a story dirtier than the lunch lady's mustache. After he fingers the school president (figuratively) for the crime, Funke becomes one of the most popular kids at St. Donovan's High. No longer known simply as the freshman who was once tied to a giant snowman penis, Funke wins the respect of everyone from the Desert-Storm-hero-turned-educator Principal Kirkpatrick to the kid that farts on him in Spanish class. When Francesca takes Funke to homecoming, even the in-school suspension delinquents turn nice and offer guidance on how to keep his boner in check during slow dances. But high school's not always what it seems. As Funke's popularity grows so do his suspicions. Did the president really steal the SATs? Or is Funke just a pawn in a conspiracy as complicated as adolescence itself? Determined to find the truth, Funke digs deeper and unearths the sordid underbelly of St. Donovan's. Student council members, college bookies, public school brats, everyone seems to play a part. Armed only with a learner's permit and the spirit of Woodward and Bernstein, Funke must crack the case before it cracks him...Assassination of a High School President is a high school noir comedy with a good performance by its lead actor, Reece Thompson but besides this performance there's not much here worth seeing. Although the film does create a mysterious and tense atmosphere, the effort to do so is constantly undermined by ridiculous jokes and ridiculous characters that basically turn the film into a parody.The story unveils nicely but at the same time, it's not that interesting and it's definitely not original.Bruce Willis who plays the Principal, overacts during his entire screen time and fails miserably at being the comic relief and Misha Barton seems to have lost all her acting-skills since leaving The O.C.. Definitely not worth seeing, but if you really want to watch a film-noir with a high school setting, watch Brick(2005),a much more interesting, and better written film.

5.5/10

a lesser 'brick'

[adidaz-1 · 7/10 · 7 October 2009]

A pretty fun movie, but I thought I'd take the time to point out something that apparently all the other reviewers have missed. this, to me, is pretty much a Brick rip-off. which is not to say it's a bad movie, as often if you pick a good movie to copy, you can end up with a good film yourself. But definitely, if you haven't seen Brick, do so. It's the same "hard-boiled" patter and convoluted connections that make up the high-school drama. Only Brick is way tougher, more intelligent, and a lot more heartbreaking.

Once again, I really like Assassination of a High School President. Although I would never recommend it to someone without making sure they've seen Brick first.

Bruce Willis was good

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 15 January 2018]

BRUCE WILLIS WAS GOOD...but the story somewhat lacked. Mischa Barton seemed a little old for a HS girl. I guess she had a contract which forced her to appear topless in a bath tub. Willis' character is funny. The movie, I suppose is modern times, although Willis has a picture of Ike in his office as well as a TV from the 1950's. One family has a bean bag chair, then there are disco lights at the dance. I was confused as to the time period. The music at the dance was modern and there was a bad reference to a cell phone, but none of the kids have a cell phone. Once you get past the weirdness of the time period, the movie settles down to a so-so who-dun-it, with twists (the box tells you there are twists so they are expected). The first person narration throughout much of the movie got to be boring. I did enjoy the "John Wilkes Booth" limp of the assassin, as well as the character of the school nurse. The Spanish teacher was supposed to be quirky but really was bland due to a bad script. I think the movie would have been better if they added another quirky teacher or two to the mix as background characters similar to the Spanish teacher.

It's more enjoyable if you don't compare it to "Brick".

[KineticSeoul · 7/10 · 14 November 2009]

Like some critics are saying, this movie is similar to "Brick". But the thing is there can only be a certain amounts of different genres, types and styles of films. So for a detective story to happen in a high school setting in a over exaggerated, unrealistic, and fantasy like style is fine although it's been done before. I mean there is tons of movies for a certain type of genre, but you hardly see people whining about similar styles in films and go see it anyways. So "Assassination of a High School President" is it's own film, as a matter of fact it would have worked as a fresh sequel for "Brick". Now is it better than "Brick"? I don't think so. And if I had to compare it to "Brick" this is complicated but not as intelligent, not as convoluted but also not that much in depth, less heartbreaking but comedic. Also main character in this film just isn't cool or slick as Brendan from "Brick", but that could be his charm. Sophomore newspaper reporter Bobby Funke is assigned to write a cover story on Paul, the popular class president and top athlete. After a stack of SAT tests is stolen from the office of a bada** principal Kirkpatrick(Bruce Willis) and Bruce Willis is the main reason I decided to check out this film. Funke publishes an expose that names Paul as the prime suspect and, suddenly, Bobby is the hot shot on campus. But when Paul's girlfriend who is the hottest girl in school makes a move on Bobby and even his former bullies lay off his back, Funke begins to doubt the jock's guilt and everyone else's motives. And his investigation uncovers a campus wide conspiracy that threatens to take down people in high places in school. Funke must decide to either stay as the new stud on campus or decide to tell the truth, although he is sort of forced to go with the other option. The build up was good but the ending wasn't that satisfying because it was simply far fetched, had plot holes and just wasn't that creative, but passable.

7.4/10

a bit too knowing for my own tastes

[dbborroughs · 4/10 · 21 October 2009]

Reporter for the high school newspaper tries to find out who is behind the theft of some SAT exams and in the process discovers a greater conspiracy.

Knowing high school comedy/drama is a bit too knowing for my tastes. Its clearly set up to seem like its hip and cool but to me it seemed forced and false (perhaps it was done to cover the fact the film is derivative of other better school comedy dramas). It grated on me to the point that I stopped caring. It not a good sign when I got up and walked out and left the DVD running. I did come back and watch the film to the end but I never much cared.

I'm probably not the audience for this film. If you think you might be give it a shot, as for me I'll watch Heathers again.

Great adaptation of Chinatown set in High School

[cadillac20 · 8/10 · 11 October 2009]

While some may compare this to Brick, the 2005 similarly-set High School film noir, Assassination is much more comparable to Chinatown, which is clearly it's biggest influence. In fact, you'll see lines lifted right out of the film. But is it good? Yes, actually, it's quite good. Clearly, the filmmakers here were not taking this quite as seriously as either Brick or Chinatown, and it pays off with a fun, funny, sometime campy, film noir with a good mystery and some well acted roles.

The writing presents a stylish script with dialogue that is often funny and over the top. Bruce Willis is especially mentionable as a veteran-turned-principle who pines over his time spent in the military taking out bad guys and his hate for chewing gum. He's perfectly over the top. Reece Thompson also does a great job as the lead character, playing up the gumshoe role with relish. It's fun to see him be him and follow him on his journey.

One line in the film goes something like "high school is simple...yet it's not." The film does a particularly good job of showing this throughout in scenes that inspire laughs. We have a suspension hall that acts like a prison, and is presented in such a way as to inspire this comparison. We have an assassination attempt that...well, I won't spoil it. But suffice to say, this scene in particular demonstrates exactly what I am talking about. It's a good revelation of how high school can be: in the end it seems simple, but while in, high school can be anything but.

The film is very entertaining and should be fun for anyone looking for a good noir. It's not serious like it's inspirations, but it does contain a good mystery, some good acting stints, and some fun dialogue. I recommend it for anyone looking for something slightly different to watch on a Saturday night.

not terrible, but not great

[mostpeoplearedjs · 6/10 · 21 March 2010]

So on the cover it says a cross between "Rushmore" and "the Usual Suspects" but I don't think it's that close to either one of those. Maybe closer to a light version of "Brick" (which is a brilliant movie). If you like high school stories but how the odd one out suddenly gains popularity you might want to give this a shot. Bruce Willis' role was pretty amusing and he actually had a larger role than I would have thought. Some amusing moments and not a bad watch but not enough to make you really invested in the story. Even if I guessed the villains, the explanation at the end didn't seem plausible enough. But it did remind there are a couple of things about Mischa Barton I miss....

Might as well be an audio book

[bowmanblue · 4/10 · 24 October 2014]

I don't know what's wrong with Bruce Willis. He seems to be starring in more and more of these 'straight to DVD' films these days. I can't see him needing the money while he's still making Die Hard films, so why does he do it? Here, like so many other (non cinema) films, he puts his face on the front cover of the DVD box and various promotional material to lure people like me into thinking he's in it for more than a few minutes. In truth, his part is little more than an extended cameo.

The film is about a school that is entirely populated by stereotypes. The nerdy boy likes the hot girl. There are arrogant jocks and a host of other clichés. Then, when some test papers are stolen, the hot girl wants the nerdy boy to investigate for the school newspaper. So follows a sort of 'detective story' only with no actual detectives and in a school instead of a seedy criminal underworld. Plus the lead character narrates constantly. If he walks into a gym, he tells you he's going to walk into a gym then goes on to list every person taking part in a physical activity inside. Seriously, it was like watching a film with the director's commentary on! I was watching this film and it's never a good sign when you start wondering how long it's been on for. I guessed 45 minutes. I checked on the DVD timer and found I'd only watched 15 minutes. I'm afraid I couldn't last any more than 30 minutes of this.

Maybe it got better after that and, if I did myself and the film a disservice, I apologise. But the opening half an hour was so dull, full of clichés and over-narration, I just couldn't bring myself to watch it any more.

Completely awesome

[cremins03 · 10/10 · 1 October 2008]

I saw this film at Sundance at the Salt Lake screening. I have to say I was really surprised by how much I liked it. This is NOT your typical high school movie. It's the antidote to say movies like High School Musical. I'd call it Rushmore meets the Usual Suspects or John Hughes on acid or something. The characters were great, Bruce Willis was excellent and most of all it was absolutely, laugh out loud hilarious. I can't believe this film hasn't come out yet. I'm really looking forward to seeing it again. I get the feeling it could go on to become one of those Lebowski type comedies. There was so much stuff packed in there that it should get better every time you see it.

I've got a 175 IQ! Do you know what that means? It's that I skipped the 3rd grade!

[sol1218 · 6/10 · 2 October 2009]

**SPOILER ALERT** Having made a big splash at the 2008 Sundance Film Festivle the movie "Assasination of a High School President" was slated to be released in the late winter or early spring of 2009. Only to be put on the back burner when the company that made in went bankrupt. Now available on DVD we can finally see what the big fuss was all about.

School newspaperman Bobby Funke, Reece Thompson, was the butt off all jokes by the students at St. Donovan High until he broke the story to who broke into Principal Kirkpatrick's, Bruce Willis, office and stole all the SAT tests. As it turned out the culprit was non other then St. Donovan's star basketball player and student president Paul Moore, Patrick Taylor. Overnight Bobby became the most popular kid in school with even the hottest and brightest girl at St, Donovan, Paul Moore's former girlfriend, Francesca Fachini, Mischa Barton, dying to get Bobby to jump into the sack-or bathtub-with her!

As Bobby was basking in his new fond popularity he started to have doubts about Paul's guilt. Everything about Paul risking everything in stealing the SAT tests just didn't make any sense to him. It seemed to Bobby that Paul was either blackmailed or tricked into committing that dastardly crime by someone who knew about his dark past. When Paul threw a number of basketball games by shaving points for reasons known only to himself and the bookie he threw the games for Freddy Bismark, Adam Pally. As Bobby started to investigate farther his worst suspicions became realities. Even worse Bobby also discovered that he himself was being set up as a pasty by those who framed Paul to take the fall for them if the truth was ever to come out!

***SPOILERS***Nice detective work on Bobby's part has him break the case of the stolen SAT tests but almost at the cost of his life. The stolen SAT's was really a diversionary action by those who set Paul up in a much bigger crime that they were in the process of committing; Embezzling the high school student treasury as well as dealing drugs on campus! It's when Bobby's life was on the line, in him being kidnapped and threatened with being thrown out of a sixth floor window, that the roof fell in on his potential murderers!***MAJOR SPOILER***They as bright as they were never expected he would have alerted the local authorities as well as Principal Kirkpatrick to who they were what they did and where they'll be at the time he was to confront them!

Poor Movie

[ahmedn32004 · 4/10 · 28 January 2012]

I was encouraged to watch this as it is classified as comedy here on IMDb. And I'm in love with Comedy movies. So I got the movie and watched it and for my disappointment I closed it from the half of the movie. I didn't find any comedy in the movie nor any action.

I really regretted watching this movie as it was very boring, I could hardly complete it again after closing it twice in the middle. The story is not that cool, it is not hilarious as some members reviewed it and it is not so interesting.

I recommend not wasting your time watching this movie and I don't know how it got more than 6 rating stars.

Mortarboards

[tedg · 26 October 2010]

I fell into "Brick" quite by accident. It was an accident that I discovered it, and knowing nothing about it, I found myself swirling in the story without defenses.

That is why I am open to similar experiences. This actually tries much the same thing: conventional noir embossed on a comically exaggerated high school universe. I like the structure of this better, because it pokes fun at the neonoir technique itself: the detective is a newspaper reporter and the mystery is not something that discovers him, but something that is assigned. He gets the story wrong, twice, because he is being conned.

The form has him as a voice-over narrator with untrusted views. He gets caught up in sex, as do we by deliberate manipulation of us both.

There are some interesting reversals, the most interesting of which is that there is a conventional assassination attempt with a rifle and all, but it is BY the high school president. By the end, we are pretty tired of the mystery because the discovery has no novelty or engagement. Instead, we are treated to an imbalanced, comic satire of high school life. The extremes are amusing and a few are clever. But the main mystery disappears under it.

We'll see Mischa Barton in the future, as "the girl" in some big budget action movie. The camera loves her.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

Classic Noir Invades High School

[thecinemaboy · 7/10 · 23 October 2009]

When I was trying to develop a headline for this review, my initial idea was the following: "Classic Noir for the 'Twilight' Generation." Then, I stopped...thought about it...and promptly deleted it. First of all, to say that "Assassination of a High School President" will only appeal to tweens and teens would be a sad undervaluing of the film's effectiveness. Secondly, I doubt that the majority of the "Twilight" generation will appreciate it as much as those people of an older set. Girls infatuated with Edward Cullen are not likely to be amused by references to the Watergate scandal or an overall mood that is purposefully reminiscent of Roman Polanski's "Chinatown". They will be more preoccupied by the charming attractiveness of Patrick Taylor, playing the titular school president, and the fact that Mischa Barton, still trying to solidify a career after "The O.C.", shows her breasts. Surprise, surprise, CW fans, this isn't the first time that she has done so. But, I digress.

Read My Full Review Here: www.thecinemaboy.blogspot.com

Mischa

[RavenGlamDVDCollector · 7/10 · 13 May 2015]

A hell of a lot of fuss is made by other reviewers re the script, the story itself, Bruce Willis, et al. I bought the DVD because I collect Mischa Barton's films, so I'm sorta myopic in a way, I know, but wake up, people, what was this film really about? Does it have any bearing on real life? Wasn't there just a whole lot of surrealism in it? For one thing, that 'paintball assassination' scene occurs through closed windows with glass panes that doesn't shatter as there is obviously no bullets involved. Yet there is still hits. Intact glass notwithstanding. As far as I've checked the other reviews, nobody points this out.

Everything just seems designed to make a movie filled with shocking events, and in Mom's-apple-pie America nothing high-school-wise is more shocking than the Colombine refrain, so let us have a scene with a schoolkid aiming a firearm; only, it is a fake.

To me, the focus falls on Mischa Barton. Sadly, I must confess, Mischa Barton is not Marissa Cooper of THE O.C. in here, not even her shadow, not even the shadow of her shadow. Yes, I also think Mischa just plays herself, but that worked for THE O.C. Here she gave a minimalist performance which is sadly lacking. Francesca should have been portrayed as vivacious, instead, Mischa coasts along on the memories us guys have of her in THE O.C. Fortunately the script provided a tantalizing surprise at the end, I didn't even know about the nude scene. If only Mischa's Francesca was half as likable as Reece's Bobby Funke...

There is some really funny gross humor and Bruce Willis has great presence, and, yes, Reece Thompson is the scene- stealer throughout, but movie is ultimately something neither fish nor fowl.

A humorous take on high school, more spoof than biting parody, but worth a view with popcorn sll the same.

[julianbeltrame · 7/10 · 10 March 2017]

This is a minority opinion, perhaps, but I found the film charming and the allusions to Chinatown, amusing, particularly the ending. Willis is hilarious as a drill sergeant principal.The movie is a light spoof, so nobody should expect Citizen Kane or Chinatown, for that matter, but the observations about high school are dead on. I especially loved Willis obsessing over whether a student trying to warn him about the corruption all around him is chewing gum. Think Heathers, with less bite.

An interesting premise ruined by poor writing and direction

[StarsDown · 4/10 · 9 November 2009]

High school is a perfect setting for noir but Assassination of a High School President downplays the genre to instead focus on the high school aspect of the premise. Instead of getting Bobby Funke acting like a hard boiled detective out to wade through an engrossing web of lies and deceit to solve a mystery we get a nerdy kid trying to get a summer internship and gets to fit in with the cool crowd. The failure of the film rests solely on rejecting the noir aesthetic and instead doing scenes with school dances and beer pong. Visually many of the noir staples are missing with no use of shadows, pedestrian use of lightening and no camera angles. Noir is treated as nothing more than a plot device. Without high stakes it is quite hard to really become engrossed with the plot. Hanging in the balance is a summer internship that Bobby never seems to really care too much about and as a result it is hard to get worked up about the plot.

Reece Thompson does a decent job as Bobby Funke, any problems with the character are issues with the writing and not with the performance. There is a huge cast of characters and honestly most serve no purpose but to further the plot. There is no depth and doesn't even make very good use of high school stereotypes. The one that missed the mark the most is the principal played by Bruce Willis. He exists as the authority figure but is way over the top and is a one note joke as an ex-soldier who is overly aggressive and keeps taking about his fighting experiences. The less said about Mischa Barton's weak attempt to play a femme fatale the better. A brief nude scene does not excuse this performance. An interesting premise ruined by poor writing and direction. If you have any interest in this film at all seek out Brick, a film with a similar premise that succeeds in all ways where this film failed and is the far superior one for it.

A quirky, fun, little gem of a movie

[Tcarts76 · 9/10 · 27 September 2012]

I had never heard of this movie and found it laying around in one of my friends large DVD collections. After reading the back I thought I would hate it. I don't know why I torture myself watching movies that I think are going to make me cry to the gods to stop people from making these horrible artsy films, but I do. It seemed like a low budget stylized sort of art film that managed to pull in some mid level stars and in aging one in Bruce Willis. Not my kind of film. I was wrong!(apparently ignoring my gut turns out to be a good idea, but usually it's still torture)

This was really a fun quirky, little movie that I actually enjoyed. The story is fairly sophomoric. A high school cheating scandal that the student newspaper, and the grizzled old war veteran Principal (Bruce Willis) are trying to get to the bottom of.

The acting in this one is admittedly over the top, but that is the strength of this movie. It is suppose to be over the top which provides the humor throughout. Mischa Barton plays the pretty girl, so that was no stretch, Bruce Willis's tough guy image works wonderfully for his character as well.

I won't get into the whole plot/ storyline as anyone can read it above, but it was a pleasantly surprising, humorous story that I would definitely recommend. I am usually not even into this kind of movie but I really enjoyed it. It was much better than sitting through another stupid Harry Potter movie that's for sure.

So if you find yourself bored with nothing to watch, pop this fun little gem in the DVD player. Its a fun one that I think is definitely underrated and worth a view.

Like my reviews? Hate em? Questions? Comments? Have a DVD that you want reviewed? SHoot me an e-mail at: [e-mail]

Brucies bonus

[qfanatiq · 7/10 · 29 January 2010]

This was a very good film, very well put together and great formation of characters.

I very much enjoyed Bruce Willis's role in this film. His character was in my opinion perfectly done. It felt on many levels that the principle was a combination of of main lead roles found in Tim Burton films. He had a crazy streak about him and a quiet dark side. I draw parallel to these but Bruce Willis plays it in a lighter context, removing the undertones of blackness.

While i feel there was not enough of the Principle i think it would have been a delicate line if too much was brought in.

The film crossed many of the emotions felt by the characters while showing them taking in all the typical teen party and school life activities.

Neither mysterious nor funny enough

[hall895 · 4/10 · 26 November 2014]

Assassination of a High School President is a mystery/comedy mishmash in which neither the mystery nor the comedy are really any good. The story unfolds in a high school, where Bobby Funke writes for the paper. Except he's never actually finished a story. But he gets his big break when he's assigned to do an article on student body president Paul Moore. Then the school principal discovers the completed SATs have been stolen from his office. Intrepid reporter Bobby Funke is on the case. He ties Paul Moore to the crime and writes an article incriminating him, pretty much ruining Paul's life. His sleuthing has earned Bobby newfound popularity amongst his classmates but he soon begins to have doubts. Was Paul really guilty? Or was he just a pawn in some sort of grand conspiracy? Bobby resumes sleuthing but unfortunately for the viewers nothing particularly interesting or funny happens while he does.

Reece Thompson does a reasonably decent job with the role of Bobby but the script does him few favors, especially with the way it uses Bobby as a narrator who narrates seemingly every second of the movie. This grows tiresome very quickly, especially as much of the narration is meant to be funny but is not. Meanwhile the film's central mystery ends up not being very mysterious, you'll figure the whole thing out long before Bobby does. The film's obviousness drains much of the drama away. And the film really struggles for momentum. The plot, such as it is, moves forward at glacial pace. Some scenes are absolutely interminable. Humor falls flat. Really the only guy to draw any laughs is Bruce Willis playing the quite strange principal. Willis has his moments, injecting some life into the dull proceedings. Mischa Barton has a big role as the school's resident hot girl. The film tries to set her character up as some sort of femme fatale but neither the actress nor the character convinces. By the end rather than coming together the film pretty much unravels. You can see where the movie's going, you don't like where it's going, and you got very little entertainment out of it along the way. No way to spin this as anything other than a big disappointment.

A slamdunked cult classic with smarts to spare...

[guringo · 9/10 · 4 October 2009]

It's the coming-of-age of a gum-chewing gumshoe, from geek to sleek, in the 'meanhalls' of the school that never sleeps. And as such, it's one hilarious genre-spoof that actually works on all levels, the kind that when you're not laughing out right you're grinning from ear to ear. I'd even say it drives a stake thru Twi'blight, especially in regards to the hyper-true-love-of-the-super-mature-movie-teens.

I loved the 'school as prison' backdrop- Shawshank meets Hamlet 2 sort of thing, but neither over-the-top nor under-fed. The bad guys are neither psychotic nor one-dimensional while the good guys (and gal), well, they're not angels and this, again, is pitch-perfect and so refreshing compared to the usual Hollywood polarization.. and kudos on the editing, the dialogue, the pace - everything really.

One questionable casting choice however is Mischa Barton. I can't seem to come up with a better alternative and she is OK but nothing more -as opposed to the rest of the cast. She seems to have some kind of acting-facial-paralysis, very noticeable in her last scene, and for her sake, I hope she learns to transcend this botox-haze she shares with Kirsten Dunst among others. But this is truly a minor (possible) blemish in an otherwise awesome little movie where the whodunnit is somewhat gratuitous but then, you wouldn't want it any other way.

A Decent underrated teen detective drama

[shashank_1501 · 7/10 · 3 January 2024]

Bobby Funke is the teen lead of this 93 mins of crime mystery who wants to be a full time crime reporter. While working for his school's daily during his sophomore year Bobby gets the opportunity of a lifetime to solve the mystery of missing SAT answer sheets. Without much effort he solves the case and becomes a school celebrity overnight and as a perk to this fame hooks up with the most popular girl around, who in this case is the beautiful Mischa Barton. But this doesn't last long as soon he came to know that he has got it all wrong while solving the case and there is much more to it than he anticipated. This is when it gets interesting and worth watching.

It's a nice watch with the perfect run-time. Cherry on the top is Willis's performance the headmaster. So don't miss it.

Really Disappointing! 2/10

[leonblackwood · 2/10 · 13 July 2013]

Review: This movie was definitely not what I was expecting. Judging by the poster, and the fact that they put Bruce Lewis in it, I thought that it was going to be actually about an assassination, but it ended up being about a boy trying to find out who nicked the answers for the test in a school. There was totally no reason for Bruce Willis to be in it and the storyline was pretty terrible. It just seemed like your usual American teenage college movie, which we have seen loads of times before, and it just seemed to drag. I was quite disappointed with the film and I can totally understand why it didn't make much noise, even if Bruce Willis was in it. Expected Better!

Round-Up: With the murders happening in the schools, I can totally understand why they held this movie back because I don't think that it would have gone down well with the victims relatives. The director didn't really use Bruce Willis that much so it's obvious that he plastered him all over the poster, hoping to get people to see it, but judging by the money that it took, that didn't really work. The main character who is doing all of the investigating was a bit dull and I couldn't understand why he was left to solve the problem when an adult should have dealt with the matter.

Budget: $11.5million (Bruce's Wage!) Worldwide Gross : $70,000 (Terrible!)

I recommend this movie to people who like there typical American teenage movies about college life. 2/10