Preview Review: School for Scoundrels

Sometimes, Martin goes to the movies. Sometimes, he goes before the movie is EVEN OUT! It's times like this he must...

RANT AT THE SCREEN: BEFORE IT'S RELEASED!

Today's film is School for Scoundrels. Can Jon Heder + Billy Bob Thornton = funny? Yes, Yes it can. But don't be fooled!

Let's start off with the summary. Roger's (Heder) life sucks. He has a crappy job as a meter maid in Manhattan, and is prone to panic attacks. Despite living on his own, he is frequently sorry and callow in his relations with others. It's gotten so bad that despite being part of the Big Brother program, children want other big brothers than him. He wants nothing more than to date a girl in his building.

He becomes aware of Dr. P's (Thornton) program, which turns the spineless into lions, allowing them to take the shots in life which they previously did not. He excels at P's methods, and proceeds to come into conflict with his teacher over methods and objectives, and finally Dr P's gaul of trying to date the girl he cares about.

This movie is PG-13, and maybe that's the biggest problem here. Everyone is waiting for Thornton to go "Bad Santa", or some shock factor for Heder to curse, and it never happens. They aimed for the teen crowd, but this is a movie for the older viewing audience. Unfortunately, it misses the mark it's aiming for, and gets almost completely lost in the third act before finishing on a decent note.

Which is not to say the movie isn't funny. It is! There are several bits that give all they can, and more than one character really hits stride. Cameos by should-be comedy heroes and heroines are abundant, and really do help the movie. Some, like Ben Stiller, are completely misused.

So where does "School for Scoundrels" stand? This isn't a great comedy movie, but it is pretty good. If it just let itself go a little more, it could've hit the high notes rather than come off heavy-handed and a few jokes short. Or maybe they should've shot for the R rating. In a world where movies are coming out on DVD extended and unrated, it'll be interesting to see what was left on the cutting room floor to be added back in later. Bad Santa and Dodgeball both got better with more added back, and maybe this will do the same. But maybe this film is all it's ever going to be, like Benchwarmers.

In the end, I give it three manilla envelopes out of five.