The trailers preceeding “School For Scoundrels” didn’t fill me with enthusiasm for the upcoming film. Why, you ask? One trailer which featured a man getting blasted in the crotch with a paintball gun, and another featured a different film with Billy Bob Thorton as a tyrannical educator. Both of these gags also appear in “School For Scoundrels.”I wondered, is the average Hollywood comedy so unoriginal that previews for other comedies are virtually interchangeable, and that even a brilliant actor like Thorton can be flattened by the humdrum spirit of it all?
“School For Scoundrels” never does completely break the mold and become something special, but there were a few surprises. It possessed a restraint that I wouldn’t have expected from director Todd Phillips, the man behind over-the-top yet tepid comedies such as “Old School.” For example, in one scene the protagonist decides to swipe the lobsters out of a restaurant fish-tank in a PETA-esque attempt to impress the girl. I thought I could see the nose and groin pinching a mile away, but instead, he simply lets them loose in the water.
I was also surprised at how well Jon Heder serves as the lead – though my expectations were so low this might not be much of a compliment. After reaching instant stardom as the title character in “Napoleon Dynamite,” Heder has been repeatedly cast as a second banana in an attempt to cash in on his ensuing popularity. This marks his first run as headliner for a major studio production. He by no means matches up to Thorton, his antagonist, but fits well into a role that doesn’t require much range.
Heder plays Roger, a panic attack prone Parking Enforcement Officer (meter maid) who dotes on self-help books and has never stood up for himself. Roger is such a loser that three disadvantaged children in a row have rejected him as a Big Brother. One day, his pal at the YMCA informs him of a class that teaches weak-willed men to stand up for themselves and take control of their life.
What the pal didn’t mention was that the class is taught by a sinister bully named Dr. P (Thorton), who also happens to know what he’s talking about. Dr. P and his bodyguard Lesher (Michael Clark Duncan) resort to extreme methods to toughen up their hangdog students, such as forcing them to initiate confrontations with their tormentors and engaging in one of those movie paintball wars where genitals seem to have a bullseye on them.
The class gives dating advice in the form of guidelines such as “Be dangerous, it’s cool,” “No compliments, ever” and “Lie, lie, and lie some more!” As found by anyone who has ever been disappointed in the way real dating works, the advice actually helps Roger get closer to Amanda (Jacinda Barrett), the pretty Aussie next door who falls in and out of love with Roger at the screenplay’s convenience. The newly confident Roger’s luck takes a turn for the worse when Dr. P sets his sights on Amanda, partially because he wants to give Roger a hands on lesson, partially because he is a venomous jerk.
Yes, the set-up is fairly formulaic, and everyone will see the ending coming a mile away. But I still found much to laugh at. Phillips puts both Thorton and Heder to good use, and loads the film with great cameos from David Cross, Sarah Silverman, Ben Stiller, and a bunch of those comedians you would see on VH1 pop culture celebrations. It may be hit and miss, and while the hits are usually barely hits, the misses are always near.
Then again, maybe I’m just relieved that I finally watched a comedy that doesn’t rely on gross-out jokes, the F-word, or male frontal nudity for the majority of the gags. After witnessing the blood-curdling antics of the Jackass gang last week, this feels like a pleasant chaser to the disgusting but effective shot.
3 out of 5
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