RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Art School Confidential
Art School Confidential

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
  • Bookmark and Share

Art School Confidential (2006)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
35 %
Tomatometer

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted: 130

Fresh: 46

Rotten:84

Average Rating: 5.4/10

Consensus: Art School's misanthropy is too sour, its targets too flat and cliched, and Clowes and Zwigoff stumble when trying to build a story around the premise.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language including sexual references, nudity and a scene of violence.

Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:May 5, 2006 Limited

Box Office: $3,174,973

Synopsis: "Art School Confidential" follows a talented young artist Jerome Platz (Max Minghella) as he escapes from high school to a tiny East Coast art school. Here the boyish freshman's ambition is to... "Art School Confidential" follows a talented young artist Jerome Platz (Max Minghella) as he escapes from high school to a tiny East Coast art school. Here the boyish freshman's ambition is to become the world's greatest artist, like his hero Picasso. Unfortunately, the beauty and craft of Jerome's portraiture are not appreciated in an anything-goes art class that he finds bewildering and bogus. Neither his harsh judgments of his classmates' efforts or his later attempts to create pseudo-art of his own win him any admirers. But Jerome does attract the attentions of his dream girl — the stunning and sophisticated Audrey (Sophia Myles) — an artist's model and daughter of a celebrated artist. Rejecting the affectations of the local art scene, Audrey is drawn to Jerome's sincerity. When Audrey shifts her attentions to Jonah (Matt Keeslar), a hunky painter who becomes the school's latest art star, Jerome is heartbroken. Desperate, he concocts a risky plan to make a name for himself and win her back. Filling out Jerome's world are a host of offbeat characters, including: a quirky art teacher (John Malkovich) who takes an extra-curricular interest in Jerome; a failed artist (Jim Broadbent), drowning in alcohol and self-pity; a regal art history professor (Anjelica Huston) Jerome tries to influence; a coffee shop owner-cum-art impresario (Steve Buscemi) swelling with self-importance; a worldly classmate (Joel David Moore), who introduces Jerome in the intricate mores of campus life; and Jerome's filmmaker roommate (Ethan Suplee), exploding with energy to create a cinematic masterpiece. United Artists and Sony Pictures Classics present Terry Zwigoff's "Art School Confidential," starring Max Minghella, Sophia Myles, John Malkovich, Jim Broadbent, Matt Keeslar, Steve Buscemi and Anjelica Huston. The film is produced by Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich and Russell Smith, partners in the production company Mr. Mudd, which also produced "Ghost World." Based on Daniel Clowes' short comic story of the same name, "Art School Confidential" is directed by Zwigoff from a screenplay by Clowes. --© Sony Pictures Classics [More]

Starring: Max Minghella, John Malkovich, Jim Broadbent, Ezra Buzzington

Starring: Max Minghella, John Malkovich, Jim Broadbent, Ezra Buzzington, Sophia Myles, Matt Keeslar, Anjelica Huston, Steve Buscemi, Adam Scott, Nick Swardson, Paul Collins, Roxanne Hart

Director: Terry Zwigoff

Director: Terry Zwigoff
Screenwriter: Daniel Clowes
Producer: Russell Smith, Daniel Clowes
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Exclusive Clip - "Self Portrait"
    >
1 of 1

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Oct 10, 2006

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Art School Confidential

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Director Terry Zwigoff presents a scathing satire of art school student existence but derails the movie, about a talented young artist (well-played by Max Minghella), with an artificial sub-plot about a campus serial killer.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
04/19/09
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Unfortunately, the tender observations Zwigoff and Clowes specialize in are largely missing from Art School Confidential, which spends its energy on the zany people who'd usually pepper the edges of their films.

Full Review Source: Paste Magazine | comment Comment
06/08/08
Robert Davis
Paste Magazine

A stilted satire of teenage passion and apathy, sex and death and crime...so concerned with aping style that it never bothers to consider its characters as people.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
02/01/08
Karina Longworth
Cinematical

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
12/07/07
Keith H. Brown
Eye for Film

It's the work of two misanthropes in an even worse mood than usual.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/23/07
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Simultaneously champions creative desire while calling out the artistic realm's share of pretentious blowhards.

Full Review Source: Projection Booth | comment Comment
07/03/07
Rob Humanick
Projection Booth

An ingenious satire of the pretentious mindset of the elitist art world from the perspective of a rapidly-disillusioned kid who had no idea what he was getting into.

Full Review Source: DallasBlack.com | comment Comment
05/20/07
Kam Williams
DallasBlack.com

Making fun of art students is like shooting Darwin fish in a barrel.

Full Review Source: UGO | comment Comment
03/24/07
Brian Tallerico
UGO

Suffers from snail-like pacing, an underwhelming central character and the "shooting fish in a barrel" syndrome: The film's targets are all too obvious.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/01/07
Lewis Beale
Film Journal International

Maybe this material isn't entirely fresh, but Zwigoff delivers it with the snap of a quick punch to the face -- which is, in fact, the first image in the film, and a model for innumerable excellent sight gags to follow.

Full Review Source: Nation | comment Comment
11/11/06
Stuart Klawans
Nation

...generally comes off as nothing less than a substantial disappointment.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
10/13/06
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

The few characters we might have cared for become increasingly shallow, and it all lapses into clichés about the relationship between art and infamy, between personal integrity and selling your soul, and so on.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
09/01/06
Peter T. Chattaway
Christianity Today

Curiously, this relentlessly cynical tone turns out sounding refreshingly original compared to the usual pieties in the genre.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
07/12/06
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The true merit of the movie is the momentary pleasures of the dialogue and the performances, but the story itself leaves you wanting. So, is it art? Looks like it.

Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
06/16/06
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina

Has the makings of a mediocre, after-school sitcom

Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
06/09/06
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit

Art School Confidential s'avère une autre belle réussite pour les deux artistes [Zwigoff et Clowes] qui, espérons-le, collaboreront à nouveau dans un avenir rapproché.

Full Review Source: Panorama | comment Comment
06/05/06
Jean-François Vandeuren
Panorama
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
06/03/06
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Rather than observing the intimate details that make an Art School project special, the filmmakers opt to focus on Art School partying (i.e., drinking and vomiting) instead.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
06/03/06
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Unfortunately, Clowes' script is lame and littered with stereotypes, and the performances of Max Minghella, Sophia Myles, John Malkovich, Jim Broadbent and Anjelica Huston can't save it.

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
06/03/06
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan

It’s fine that this film feels uncomfortable indulging the shopworn tropes of coming-of-age story or black comedy or romance or mystery thriller, but, well, ambivalence is self-propagating.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
06/03/06
Jonathan Kiefer
Sacramento News & Review
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
all

Latest News for Art School Confidential

September 14, 2007: Zwigoff, Clowes to Assemble $40,000 Man
The creative duo responsible for Ghost World and Art School Confidential has found its next project. More...

August 27, 2007: Video Exclusive: Sophia Myles talks Hallam Foe with RT
We chat to the supremely lovely British actress about her latest role in David Mackenzie's new film. More...

May 14, 2006: Box Office Wrapup: "Mission: Impossible 3" Beats "Poseidon" to Remain at #1
Tom Cruise's spy sequel Mission: Impossible III remained the most popular film in North America for the second straight weekend while the big-budget disaster film Poseidon... More...

May 07, 2006: Box Office Wrapup: "Mission: Impossible III" Big, But Not Huge at #1
Tom Cruise climbed into his usual number one spot at the box office with his heavily-hyped spy sequel Mission: Impossible III, however ticket sales fell below most industry... More...

See More Topics...

Related Forums for Art School Confidential

Click here to be the first to post a message on this forum.

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
79%
79%
Gran Torino
30%
30%
12 Rounds
23%
23%
Confessions of a Shopa…
—
The Code
39%
39%
Inkheart

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
22%
22%
Push
12%
12%
The Unborn

More New Releases…

RT On Current TV

What’s Hot On RT

Deconstructing Harry

Deconstructing Harry

Pt. 3: Cuaron's darker Prisoner of Azkaban

Best Mockumentaries

Best Mockumentaries

From Borat to Spinal Tap, this one goes to 11

Humpday Clip

Humpday Clip

An exclusive peek at the indie comedy!

Half-Blood Prince

Half-Blood Prince

How good is the 6th Harry Potter?

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: T.J. Hooker Film in Development
8
  • Warners Shortens Green Lantern Wishlist Source: Hollywood Reporter
86
  • Harold Ramis Talks Ghostbusters 3 Source: MakingOf.com
28
  • Spider-Man 4 Gets Its Third Writer Source: Latino Review
60
  • Warners Wins Favorable Ruling in Superman Case Source: Variety
18
  • Remo Williams Rides Again Source: Risky Biz
10
  • Mortal Kombat 3 Filming in September? Source: Slashfilm
82
  • MacGruber Gets a Director Source: Variety
39
  • PG-13 Turns 25 Source: VideoETA
8
  • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
92
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
67
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Transformers and Ice Age Tie for Top Spot
59
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
48
  • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
46
  • Total Recall: Mock Docs That Rock
41
  • Five Favorite Films with Kathryn Bigelow
39
  • Critics Consensus: Bruno is Certified Fresh
39
  • RT on DVD: Knowing, Push, The Unborn Unleashed
26
  • Five Favourite Films with Jaime Winstone
19
  • Watch RT on Current TV
6
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • RT Interview: Director Carlos Cuaron on Rudo and Cursi
0
  • RT Interview: Tony Scott on The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
10
  • Cannes 2009: RT Interview - Sally Hawkins on We Want Sex
2
  • RT Interview: Tilda Swinton on Julia
5
  • Hollywood Legend Debbie Reynolds Reflects On her Life in Showbiz
10
  • Exclusive: McG Talks Terminator Salvation
24
  • Georgia Groome - Fresh Talent on RT
5
  • RT Interview: Reading The Reader with Stephen Daldry
11
  • RT Interview: Oscar Nominee Melissa Leo
7
  • Carey Mulligan - Fresh Talent on RT
7
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Art School Confidential at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Art School Confidential at IGN
  • Art School Confidential at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno External Link

MSN's David Fear and Frank Paiva go head to head discussing the pros and cons of Bruno star Sacha Baron Cohen.

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

The AV Club's Scott Tobias takes a second look at David Lynch's cult classic, Lost Highway.

Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles
Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles External Link

TIME takes us on a 25-year long journey into the superstar's career, giving us a look at his 10 best roles.

A Baywatch Comedy?
A Baywatch Comedy? External Link

BuzzSugar reports on Paramount's plans to rebirth the iconic TV show as a comedy film.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.