Despite the appeal of cobra-eyed Thornton and bunny-nosed Heder, Scoundrels trips early, and often.
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09/29/06
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School for Scoundrels (2006)
24
%
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Reviews Counted:135
Fresh:33
Rotten:102
Average Rating:4.6/10
Consensus: School for Scoundrels squanders its talented cast with a formulaic, unfocused attempt at a romantic comedy that's neither romantic nor funny.
Theatrical Release:2006
Box Office: $17,787,157
Synopsis: Dr. P (Billy Bob Thornton) runs a SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS at which luckless men are given a crash course in the ways of the alpha male. Dishing out trite but, to the men involved, revelatory advice... [More]
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Heder, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jacinda Barrett
Director: Todd Phillips
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Reviews for School for Scoundrels
Top CriticEverybody looks glum, and that's just how we feel.
09/29/06
School for Scoundrels is a simply written, perfectly cast, sneaky-edgy, stab-yourself-in-the-leg-with-a-pen laugh riot.
09/29/06
Heder's low-key, surprising charm and Thorton's gleeful wickedness at least glide the film in for a landing. You'll enjoy yourself.
09/29/06
This time the pace is so weak that long periods go by without even the whiff of a joke.
09/29/06
Top CriticHeder's looks and mannerisms are so inherently geeky that the post-transformation Roger appears to be less a lion with a hearty roar than a dork with delusions of grandeur.
09/29/06
Top CriticThe screenplay, co-written by director Todd Phillips (Old School) is obvious and uninspired and prevents the comically adept Thornton from letting loose.
09/29/06
Phillips' version does add one tantalizing twist as Thornton singles out his best student (Heder, of course) and takes him on mano a mano, but it seems like an awful lot of trouble to win over such an uninteresting love interest.
09/29/06
What's almost refreshing about Phillips' approach to comedy... is that he and co-writer Scot Armstrong like the classically unfettered fun of a silly bit played to the hilt.
09/29/06
Top CriticThe writing, by Phillips and his usual collaborator, Scot Armstrong, doesn't give either comic performer much that's interesting to do.
09/29/06
A guy's movie, a comic battle of dueling manhood. The surprise is that Heder, both in his comedy and his machismo, came fully loaded.
09/29/06
There has to be something intrinsically lovable about a hapless character to draw in an audience. That’s what Heder did as misfit-outsider Napoleon Dynamite. And it’s just not happening here.
09/29/06
Too bad what should have been an epic clash of comic misdeeds feels, in the end, defanged.
09/29/06
Nice guys and creeps make it to the finish line, though I won't say how they place. But I will divulge this: The movie's a loser.
09/29/06
Is it a black comedy that isn't dark enough? Or a dumb comedy that isn't stupid enough, or a gross-out comedy that isn't yucky enough? Or is it really just a romance comedy that isn't sweet enough?
09/29/06
There's too much familiarity in School for Scoundrels for it to be break-out funny. There are chuckles, sure, but they're chuckles you've had before.
09/29/06
Todd Phillips is swiftly becoming the go-to guy for comedy that's a lot smarter than it looks or probably needs to be.
09/29/06
Top CriticIt's actually Thornton's amusing performance that makes the first half of this silly film watchable. After that, Ben Stiller comes along to do a painfully unfunny supporting bit and pretty much sucks all the remaining funny out of the movie.
09/29/06
Cruelty, of course, can be a valid basis for comedy, and comedies also can survive a lot of mistakes. Falling flat, however, isn't one of them.
09/29/06
Top CriticGuys are guys in Todd Phillips movies, for better or worse, but almost always for the purposes of arriving somewhere in the same ZIP code as the truth.
09/29/06
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