School for Scoundrels
Length: Single
Studio: MGM Distribution Company
Rated: PG-13
Website: http://www.schoolforscoundrels-movie.com/
Release Date: 2006-09-29
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Heder, Jacinda Barrett, Michael Clarke Duncan, Horatio Sanz
Director: Todd Phillips
Screenwriter: Todd Phillips, Scot Armstrong, Stephen Potter
Music Score: Christophe Beck, Randall Poster, George Drakoulias
WorkNameSort: School for Scoundrels
Our Rating: 3.00
As this movie proves, Billy Bob Thornton is at risk of being typecast as the profane, degenerate anti’role model in studio comedies. In School for Scoundrels, he once again brings poker-faced, irony-free acting prestige to a cast full of less talented comedians. Thornton plays the ruthless teacher of an underground class that toughens up meek beta males, instructing them to lie, cheat and do whatever it takes to move up in work and relationships. He’s terrific even when it feels like he’s playing a recycled part; what’s more impressive is the endearing performance of Thornton’s onscreen protégé, Jon Heder ‘ the asinine new poster boy for middling comedies ‘ who’s never been better. The film proffers interesting ideas when chronicling the evolving competition between Thornton and Heder, mapping out the psychological undercurrent of their relationship in a tennis sequence a la Squid and the Whale. For the majority of the movie, though, writer/director Todd Phillips settles for boorish slapstick that wouldn’t even make the cut in Road Trip.
This article appears in Sep 27 – Oct 3, 2006.