Eliza Dushku in The New Guy (2002)

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This movie really exists in a world of its own.

Attempting to draw from the surrealist school of high school comedies, ala Better Off Dead, The New Guy tells the story of a geek who gets expelled intentionally, then makes himself over into a cool guy at a new high school.

It has some moments of lunatic inspiration, like a Braveheart parody, a Patton parody, and the yearbook picture of a "slutty" girl, but the script strays so far from reality that it is difficult to relate to its characters in a real way. For example, the geeky guy gets thrown into jail at one point, where he first gets the idea to re-invent himself from his cellmate. Fair enough, except that every time he needs some more tips, we see him again in jail, then back in high school again. Is he on some kind of release program? In the final reel, the cellmate is out of prison at a high school dance, although we know he has eight years left to serve. Of course, he was back in prison at the end, narrating the story to a mysterious guest visitor (a star cameo). These details are not especially important in a surreal comedy, but they made the film impossible to follow, and the characters inaccessible except as comic stereotypes.

More important than that, however, was the fact that the geeky guy was every bit as geeky when he went to his new school, yet became the idol of thousands, desired by women, envied by men. I couldn't figure out if that was bad acting by the lead, or some kind of joke that I just didn't get, but I swear to you that he was every bit as geeky-acting and looking.

Some of the film is just plain crap. Eliza Dushku spends a couple of minutes modeling bikinis for the geek, and she dances around for him with the same kind of dancing moves that would be used by a lap dancer in a strip club. I liked looking at her, but what was the point?

Odd stuff, often incoherent, often failing woefully in its attempts at humor.

On the other hand, there were several entertaining cameos, a good-hearted attitude, and a few minutes of madness that gave me a few laughs. On balance, I'd say it was a watchable, but barely watchable, youth comedy. This film is a C-.

Nudity Report: Dushku has a great swimsuit montage scene. No nudity, but it's a lengthy sequence in which she models all kinds of bathing suits while dancing around.

Critics Vote: Ebert 2/4.

IMDb Summary: IMDb voters score it 5.1/10.

Box Office: With their dollars: it grossed $28 million on a $13 million budget, thus assuring that investors will not lose anything. The gross was quite disappointing, however, considering a 2700 screen rollout.

DVD Info: Widescreen format, anamorphic 1.85:1


Written by Scoopy…courtesy of Scoopy.net