Despite the strong cast (John Malkovich, Angelica Huston, and James Broadbent) and promising premise, this film fails by trying to be too many things at once: mindless T&A comedy, cynical black comedy, coming-of-age, mystery, thriller, love story.
Sensitive suburban high school artist Jerome (attractive, virginal Max Minghella), is bullied by cute jocks and draws portraits of girls he likes. He escapes to an art school in New York City because he loves a model in its brochure, which goes a long way towards summing up his commitment to art and education.
Jerome has two roommates: one is a gross, loud-mouthed film student; the other a fey fashion student, incredibly the only gay male in the school. There is a 'militant lesbian' and, like her, every student is a one-dimensional stereotype. The cops searching for a campus strangler are brutal, foul-mouthed cretins. Subtlety is not one of this film's virtues.
Jerome meets Audrey, the girl in the brochure, and proceeds to bore everyone with his tireless obsession. No one can blame her when she falls for Jonah, played by princely Matt Keeslar, an adonis whose simplistic art wins acclaim from one and all. Audrey's young god is not who he appears to be and his story, not developed, would have been fascinating. In an ironic twist, Jerome gains artistic success when he becomes associated with the strangler.
There is a genuinely funny moment when Jerome's parents react to his talk of a girlfriend, and a sympathetic one when Jerome seeks advice from Angelica Huston. But there are way too many false notes. Characters are not richly drawn, but simple monochromatic sketches. We are so clearly not in New York: the school is filmed on location in California so one minute we are on a sunny, spacious, modern campus, and the next we are on an impossibly dark, grim New York street set. The Beethoven Concerto used as a love theme throughout the film is uncredited. Audrey is a model, but it is never established what else she does at the school besides being a foil for all the other girls (who are unbalanced, vindictive, and shrill), and an object for drooling, sophomoric males. John Malkovich has some very funny postures and affectations, but is hobbled by the writing, as are all the actors.
The title may be an homage to another silly film about students and cops. High School Confidential starred Russ Tamblyn as a sexy, wise-cracking flat-foot pretending to be in high school. But the 1958 cult classic doesn't aspire to be more than it is: a superficial, clichéd look at teenagers plus it features Jerry Lee Lewis rockin' the school on the back of a flat-bed truck.
Sensitive suburban high school artist Jerome (attractive, virginal Max Minghella), is bullied by cute jocks and draws portraits of girls he likes. He escapes to an art school in New York City because he loves a model in its brochure, which goes a long way towards summing up his commitment to art and education.
Jerome has two roommates: one is a gross, loud-mouthed film student; the other a fey fashion student, incredibly the only gay male in the school. There is a 'militant lesbian' and, like her, every student is a one-dimensional stereotype. The cops searching for a campus strangler are brutal, foul-mouthed cretins. Subtlety is not one of this film's virtues.
Jerome meets Audrey, the girl in the brochure, and proceeds to bore everyone with his tireless obsession. No one can blame her when she falls for Jonah, played by princely Matt Keeslar, an adonis whose simplistic art wins acclaim from one and all. Audrey's young god is not who he appears to be and his story, not developed, would have been fascinating. In an ironic twist, Jerome gains artistic success when he becomes associated with the strangler.
There is a genuinely funny moment when Jerome's parents react to his talk of a girlfriend, and a sympathetic one when Jerome seeks advice from Angelica Huston. But there are way too many false notes. Characters are not richly drawn, but simple monochromatic sketches. We are so clearly not in New York: the school is filmed on location in California so one minute we are on a sunny, spacious, modern campus, and the next we are on an impossibly dark, grim New York street set. The Beethoven Concerto used as a love theme throughout the film is uncredited. Audrey is a model, but it is never established what else she does at the school besides being a foil for all the other girls (who are unbalanced, vindictive, and shrill), and an object for drooling, sophomoric males. John Malkovich has some very funny postures and affectations, but is hobbled by the writing, as are all the actors.
The title may be an homage to another silly film about students and cops. High School Confidential starred Russ Tamblyn as a sexy, wise-cracking flat-foot pretending to be in high school. But the 1958 cult classic doesn't aspire to be more than it is: a superficial, clichéd look at teenagers plus it features Jerry Lee Lewis rockin' the school on the back of a flat-bed truck.