Underclassman (2004)
Average Rating: 2.9/10
Reviews Counted: 83
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 78
Despite the appealing presence of Nick Cannon, Underclassman is a shopworn Beverly Hills Cop/ 21 Jump Street knockoff.
Average Rating: 2.9/10
Critic Reviews: 28
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 27
Despite the appealing presence of Nick Cannon, Underclassman is a shopworn Beverly Hills Cop/ 21 Jump Street knockoff.
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Average Rating: 2.7/5
User Ratings: 39,416
Movie Info
Nick Cannon stars in this comedy thriller as a 24-year-old police detective who takes no small amount of ribbing from his fellow officers for his boyish looks. His appearance, however, lands him a plumb assignment at a posh private high school, where he discovers the students are operating an underground business stealing and selling luxury cars. The Underclassman also stars Cheech Marin, Roselyn Sanchez, and Kelly Hu. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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Cast
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Nick Cannon
Tracy "Tre" Stokes, ... -
Kelly Hu
Lisa Brooks -
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Cheech Marin
Capt. Delgado -
Shawn Ashmore
Rob Donovan -
Ian Gomez
Det. Gallecki -
Hugh Bonneville
Headmaster Powers -
Roselyn Sanchez
Karen Lopez -
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All Critics (83) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (5) | Rotten (78) | DVD (8)
Consists of little more than tired racial jokes and fish-out-of-water gags.
Top CriticThis is geared toward the preteen set, but director Marcos Siega proves inept at executing the most basic dramatic and comedic setups, and Cannon's mugging and preening quickly grow tiresome.
This is one of those movies where at the end of the year you'll say, 'Underclassman, what was that about? I don't even remember it.'
Less an original product than a shoddy tribute to other mediocre cop movies.
Hu, Marin and a very fine British actor, Hugh Bonneville (Iris) playing the school's headmaster, bring some desperately needed authenticity and texture to this Miramax film.
If it weren't for the racist and puerile humour and the general laziness of the production, you could almost understand a movie like Underclassman. And maybe even forgive it.
Marcos Siega's movie is a smudged paint-by-numbers police story with every cliche except a 24-hour deadline to solve the case.
Meant as a vehicle to deliver young actor Nick Cannon to headliner status, this lame comedy just limps along like a tricycle with bent rims.
Cannon co-executive produced so he has to accept some of the blame for the lack of laughs and thrills, leaving Hugh Bonneville to ham it up for all he's worth as the school's snobbish headmaster.
The finish, a rush of climaxes, can make you feel zoned at 3 a.m., trying to decide between TV and the wallpaper.
Even the chase scenes sag as debut director Marcos Siega disappoints audiences at every turn.
It's mind-boggling that such relentlessly offensive trash ever finds financial backing from a major Hollywood studio.
The premise of The Underclassman is so familiar as to be groan-inducing, but the happy surprise is that it goes down very easily, and makes for agreeable summer light entertainment.
The smart-mouth-maverick-cop genre never looked more shopworn and played-out than in this halfhearted, half-baked mess.
It seems that the filmmakers behind Underclassman think that Nick Cannon is the second coming of comedy genius. The sad fact is that he ain't.
Underclassman is primarily a string of clichés looking for a story.
However unfortunate or sad it is that people enjoy experiencing mediocre quality cinema, if you have nothing more stimulating to do on a Friday night, Underclassman could provide the entertainment -- not enlightenment -- you seek.
Almost comically unambitious, Underclassman seldom tries to be funny, and never even attempts to be original.
The film feels like the victim of too many rewrites and edits, with lots of plotlines that go nowhere or feel oddly unfulfilled.
Cannon simply doesn't have the chemistry with his co-stars that he needs; it's as if he's trying to perform a one-man show
Underclassman flails around for 95 of the draggiest minutes that you could possibly encounter.
At times Tracy's a sensitive guy who just needs a hug; at others, he's an obnoxious motormouth.
Nick Cannon is a funny guy. Not only that, he's got talent and charisma. He deserves to be in a film that doesn't try its best to make him look bad.
Underclassman can't seem to decide if it wants to be a cop comedy or take on a more serious tone. Either way, it doesn't succeed.
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