This movie is trying to make fun of numerous teen movies; primarily "She's All That," "Varsity Blues," and "American Pie." There are jabs at probably a couple dozen other movies. I'm all for making fun of movies, and certainly there is a lot to make fun of in some of these films ("Down to You" I'm looking at you). But in order to make fun of a film, you yourself have to be smarter than the subject matter you are mocking. And I'm not entirely convinced this film is there.
The potential for truly intelligent satire might have been here, we'll never know. The biggest problem is the creators truly underestimate their audience. After almost every joke, there is an explanation for the joke. For example, in one of the few smart bits, a character tries to start a cliched slow, building applause. But because he does it at such an inopportune moment, it doesn't work. Very funny. But then a character comes over (Oddly, Melissa Joan Hart in a cameo) and explains that that won't work now, and he's got to wait for the right moment. Very unfunny. Give us a little credit; we get the joke, we don't need our hands held.
This hurts the movie because parody works best when its characters aren't in on the joke. In Blazing Saddles, the townspeople don't go "Oh that man is tricking us by holding a gun to his own neck." They go "Would someone help that poor man?!?" In "NATM" every character is completely aware of themselves, and so instead of building off of stereotypes, they are mired in them. For instance, the black character knows he's only supposed to say silly retorts that add nothing to the conversation. Funny when he explains it; not funny when for the rest of the movie he actually only says those three things. Instead, why not have the character only say three things, and then have other characters question him on his bizarre behavior. Same goes for Bruce, a white kid who thinks he is Chinese, funny at first, not funny for the last seventy minutes of the film. The foreign exchange student character probably sounded funny on paper, but it's so over the top it's downright exploitative.
I liked a few of performances; the character of "Ox" is an incredible impression of Chris Klein in every movie he's in. And the film makes excellent use of its soundtrack; all the moments they are making fun of have the original songs in the background ("Kiss Me" when the ugly duckling walks down the stairs in slo-mo, for example). It even has a cute song and dance number.
In any case, there is potential here, and certainly a couple of big laughs. But the film thinks it is a whole lot smarter than it is. I guess in that sense, it really IS just another teen movie.
The potential for truly intelligent satire might have been here, we'll never know. The biggest problem is the creators truly underestimate their audience. After almost every joke, there is an explanation for the joke. For example, in one of the few smart bits, a character tries to start a cliched slow, building applause. But because he does it at such an inopportune moment, it doesn't work. Very funny. But then a character comes over (Oddly, Melissa Joan Hart in a cameo) and explains that that won't work now, and he's got to wait for the right moment. Very unfunny. Give us a little credit; we get the joke, we don't need our hands held.
This hurts the movie because parody works best when its characters aren't in on the joke. In Blazing Saddles, the townspeople don't go "Oh that man is tricking us by holding a gun to his own neck." They go "Would someone help that poor man?!?" In "NATM" every character is completely aware of themselves, and so instead of building off of stereotypes, they are mired in them. For instance, the black character knows he's only supposed to say silly retorts that add nothing to the conversation. Funny when he explains it; not funny when for the rest of the movie he actually only says those three things. Instead, why not have the character only say three things, and then have other characters question him on his bizarre behavior. Same goes for Bruce, a white kid who thinks he is Chinese, funny at first, not funny for the last seventy minutes of the film. The foreign exchange student character probably sounded funny on paper, but it's so over the top it's downright exploitative.
I liked a few of performances; the character of "Ox" is an incredible impression of Chris Klein in every movie he's in. And the film makes excellent use of its soundtrack; all the moments they are making fun of have the original songs in the background ("Kiss Me" when the ugly duckling walks down the stairs in slo-mo, for example). It even has a cute song and dance number.
In any case, there is potential here, and certainly a couple of big laughs. But the film thinks it is a whole lot smarter than it is. I guess in that sense, it really IS just another teen movie.