I acknowledge that I haven't read the book, but this cinematic adaptation made Larry Doyle's novelisation of high school life seem ridden with teenage clichés as well as an unrealistic glimmer of hope for geeks. After all, a valedictorian and a lead cheerleader don't often end up being an item of any sort and the film didn't challenge you to believe it. That being a foremost example, the lack of even faint viability of plot (as impracticable as teen movies tend to be) certainly weighed it down.
I would class this coming of age flick as a nerd comedy albeit so cheesily geeky that it became a bit mindless really. A better way of categorising this film would be from a relative perspective by terming it a poor man's 'Superbad' minus the presence of characters who you'll remember. Unlike that particular take on high school society, the nerd element didn't quite translate into comedy. Were there really any gags in it? Of this, I honestly wasn't overly sure. I was definitely expecting a low grade standard of humour which wouldn't tickle everybody's fancy but the geeky infusion just didn't deliver much on that front.
It was not rather hard to believe in Hayden Panettiere as the 'it girl'. Let's face it, she looks every bit the part. On the same note, Paul Rust wasn't particularly hard to believe either at face value. Yet, he was a picture of disappointing monotony. His performance resembled a punching bag which absorbed the hits that came his way whilst being lifeless and uncontributing. Speaking of punching bags, the senseless 'fight scenes' in this movie definitely seemed out of sync with the concept of teen comedy. Rust didn't do much to create an impression opposing that sentiment.
Profound it may not have aimed to be, but the film does deliver a 'don't judge a book by its cover' message. Doubtful it would be taken too seriously though.
I would class this coming of age flick as a nerd comedy albeit so cheesily geeky that it became a bit mindless really. A better way of categorising this film would be from a relative perspective by terming it a poor man's 'Superbad' minus the presence of characters who you'll remember. Unlike that particular take on high school society, the nerd element didn't quite translate into comedy. Were there really any gags in it? Of this, I honestly wasn't overly sure. I was definitely expecting a low grade standard of humour which wouldn't tickle everybody's fancy but the geeky infusion just didn't deliver much on that front.
It was not rather hard to believe in Hayden Panettiere as the 'it girl'. Let's face it, she looks every bit the part. On the same note, Paul Rust wasn't particularly hard to believe either at face value. Yet, he was a picture of disappointing monotony. His performance resembled a punching bag which absorbed the hits that came his way whilst being lifeless and uncontributing. Speaking of punching bags, the senseless 'fight scenes' in this movie definitely seemed out of sync with the concept of teen comedy. Rust didn't do much to create an impression opposing that sentiment.
Profound it may not have aimed to be, but the film does deliver a 'don't judge a book by its cover' message. Doubtful it would be taken too seriously though.