The Popkorn Junkie :: Stealing Harvard

Please--don't think I am under the influence for saying this--but, I liked "Freddie Got Fingered". Why? Well, because Tom Green went for broke and didn't leave a single comedy stone unturned. He went for slapstick humor, toilet bowl humor, gross-out humor and even confusing, 'why did that just happen' humor. It was such an ambitious film that it made me smile on more than one occasion, even though every other critic in the world loathed it and hailed it as the worst film of the year. That said, I am a pretty big Tom Green fan. Throw in Jason Lee (a graduate of the Kevin Smith School of Comedy), and director Bruce McCulloch (a survivor of the incredibly offbeat "Kids in the Hall"...remember "Brain Candy"--that movie was hilarious) and it should have produced a film of which I was quite fond.

WRONG! "Stealing Harvard" scores a big fat 10 on the Lame-meter and scores a big fat goose egg on the Funny-meter. Jason Lee stars as John Plummer, who after promising to pay his niece's way through college, discovers that she has been accepted into Harvard and needs $29,000 to finance her education. So, with his pal Duff (Tom Green), John must find a way, legal or not, to get the money and send her to college. That is the plot of this absurd, laughable (but not in a good way) farce from three of the funniest men on the planet. I don't know what went wrong.

For starters, there is too much going on in the film. Leslie Mann stars as John's fiancé, whose character is more than annoying and really has little to do with the picture other than to add on a few extra minutes of movie time (this movie runs about 83 minutes long, but feels even shorter than that). As for Dennis Farina, Richard Jenkins, Seymour Cassel, and Chris Penn--I don't know why in the hell they are in this picture. If you might recall, Dennis Farina was in another film with Jason Lee this year, the hilarious "Big Trouble". That picture was funny. That picture had talent. This film has absolutely nothing but an attractive appearance and nothing on the inside other than stale popkorn and flat diet cola.

Alas, even though this film is the Antichrist of good comedy, it does manage to muster up a few (and I emphasize few) laughs, most of them at the expense of Tom Green. Green is not your traditional actor and he doesn't exactly stagger the viewer with his dead-on comic timing, but his energy and expressions are enough to cut the mustard. Jason Lee--oh, my how the mighty have fallen. If Kevin Smith were deceased, he would be rolling over in his grave right now, puking his guts out at "Stealing Harvard". When I first saw the title "Stealing Harvard", I thought it was going to be the Caucasian version of "How High". Guess what--I liked "How High" a hell of a lot better than this piece of junk. Go see something else--something funnier. "Igby Goes Down" is playing somewhere--find it!!!!! See it!!!! "Stealing Harvard" stole 83 minutes of my life and I will never get them back.

-- Billy Ray ( 1 out of 4 pops )

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Other Junkie's opinions.....

James ( 3 out of 4 pops )

One Matinee ticket, $5.50......Small Popkorn and Cherry Coke, $7.50......Seeing Dennis Farina in drag, priceless

I remember wanting to see this movie since I first saw the trailer, and it didn't disappoint. Sure, it's no "English Patient", but it's got an interesting plot, funny characters, and I was entertained. I mean how could you not enjoy seeing Dennis Farina in a compromising position? He's the man. One of the best actors, ever. There's also Tom Green, Jason Lee (the one that showed up is the "Kissing a Fool" Lee, not Dogma Lee), John C. McGinley, Chris Penn, and not to mention that this is directed by the great funnyman, Bruce McCulloch! His sense of humor and mine are joined at the hip!