? A wimpy New York
traffic enforcement agent (John Heder) signs up for a crash course in manliness
whose teacher is played by Billy Bob Thornton. A return to the theme of “what
it means to be male” for Old School director Todd Phillips and
collaborator Scot Armstrong. Jacinda Barrett (of The Last Kiss) is
Heder’s would-be girlfriend. A remake of a 1960 film based on novels by Stephen Potter.
+ Why is watching
Billy Bob Thornton and his teaching assistant (Michael Clark Duncan) berate a
bunch of 30ish wimpy white guys funny? I’m not sure, but it probably helps that
Thorton is so convincingly degenerate.
- I wasn’t as big a
fan of Old School as some people, but this expends even less effort than
that movie at making its silly premise believable, or making a noteworthy
sociological comment that such a story actually could have. Thus this new School’s
appeal rests purely on gags, and on that basis it’s somewhat wanting, lacking
as many memorable set pieces of the Old sort. In some ways, it’s like a
rehashed Revenge of the Nerds.
= **1/2 Of obvious
appeal to Old School fans, who’ll probably like it a bit less, and
Thornton fans. Best if you like your comic characters exaggerated and don’t
mind a silly plot.
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