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Underclassman (2005)
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Reviews Counted:77
Fresh:6
Rotten:71
Average Rating:2.8/10
Consensus: Despite the appealing presence of Nick Cannon, Underclassman is a shopworn Beverly Hills Cop/ 21 Jump Street knockoff.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for violence, sexual references, drug material and some teen drinking
Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Sep 2, 2005 Wide
Box Office: $5,567,645
Synopsis: Nick Cannon plays Tracy "Tre" Stokes, a streetwise LA cop in 'Underclassman' which combines frenetic action with sharp-eared comedy. When a student at an elite private school gets murdered, the... Nick Cannon plays Tracy "Tre" Stokes, a streetwise LA cop in 'Underclassman' which combines frenetic action with sharp-eared comedy. When a student at an elite private school gets murdered, the rough-edged rookie, Stokes gets assigned as the undercover detective to track down the killer. The resulting culture shock is only one of his difficulties. The ever-resourceful Stokes resorts to using his unique blend of sharkish good cheer and rakish charm to woo his beautiful teacher Karen Lopez (Roselyn Sanchez) to help him pass Spanish and his arrogant athletic prowess to make the school streetball team. Once Stokes gets "in" with the edgy team captain and lead suspect Rob Donovan (Shawn Ashmore) he discovers that Donovan is being coerced into participating in a student car theft operation. Using his talent for hunches, Stokes wastes no time employing unorthodox methods of investigation. Although disapproving of Stokes behavior, Captain Victor Delgado (Cheech Marin) is worried for his safety and assigns two of his detectives as back up - Detective Lisa Brooks (Kelly Hu) and Richard Gallecki (Ian Gomez) to keep an eye on him. With their help,Stokes is able to track down the killer, Headmaster Powers (Hugh Bonneville) who turns out to be trading the stolen cars as payment for drugs. -- © Miramax [More]
Starring: Nick Cannon, Roselyn Sanchez, Shawn Ashmore, Cheech Marin
Starring: Nick Cannon, Roselyn Sanchez, Shawn Ashmore, Cheech Marin, Kelly Hu, Hugh Bonneville, Don McManus, Geoffrey Pierson
Director: Marcos Siega
Director: Marcos Siega
Screenwriter: David Wagner, Brent Goldberg
Producer: Peter Abrams, Robert L. Levy, Andrew Panay
Studio: Miramax Films
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Release:
Jan 17, 2006
Reviews for Underclassman
The murder plot is far less important here than the film's intention to sell audiences a hot young star who can charmingly mug his way through a movie.
The latest bit of damaged goods offered up in the Miramax clearance sale, Underclassman plays like the longest episode of 21 Jump Street ever made.
To the person who once told Cannon he was funny, I wish I could jump into my DeLorean, travel back in time, and administer some Irish kisses to this individual.
Nick Cannon is too likable an actor to be stuck in junk like Underclassman.
Even the chase scenes sag as debut director Marcos Siega disappoints audiences at every turn.
This unoriginal, not-raucous-enough- to-be-offensive movie just turns inane.
As fate would have it, I forgot to bring my Cop Movie Cliché bingo card to the screening. It's a shame, because I know I'd have won.
The film feels like the victim of too many rewrites and edits, with lots of plotlines that go nowhere or feel oddly unfulfilled.
It's sad to see an exciting new director supervising a paint-by-numbers script of no creativity whatsoever.
The script, by David T. Wagner and Brent Goldberg, is breathtakingly bad.
[A] clichéd and callow action-comedy piece that’s about as appetizing as a dead worm in the teacher’s apple. Hence, the flawed Underclassman simply doesn’t make the grade
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.
It's difficult to pick the film's most heinous fault: its derivative script and story; star Nick Cannon's painfully hammy performance or Siega's attempts at Michael Bay-lite action scenes and explosions.
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