 It’s time once again for “Learning Movies with Shawn McLoughlin.”
In the past I have provided you with examples of Neo-Realism and Cinéma vérité. Today we are going to look at a new genre that School For Scoundrels has its roots firmly planted in.
Cinéma répété - a style of filmmaking, combining frequently seen techniques that originated in other films, and with generic storytelling elements. It is also known for taking the middle road, ensuring its appeal to the largest possible audience and offending no one. The name in French means roughly "God damn, not again!"
Yes, I made this genre up. That doesn’t mean I’m wrong. Just look at the plot:
Roger (Jon Heder, Napoleon
Dynamite) is a pitiful loser (typecast much?) who is
in love with his neighbor Amanda (Jacinda Barrett). Two things
prevent a blissful courtship from coming to fruition. One,
as previously mentioned, he’s a pitiful loser and two, he’s
continually cock-blocked by Becky (Sarah
Silverman), Amanda's roommate.
At the advice of his friend Ian (David Cross, She’s The Man) he enlists in a clandestine class taught by Dr. P (Billy Bob Thornton) which is supposed to increase his self-esteem and, essentially, turn him into something less than a pushover. Unsurprisingly, he gets a little more than he bargained for. Lot’s of silliness between Roger and the other classmates happen as they go about doing the “assignments” they are given. Over time, and an especially well executed paintball tactic, Roger begins to excel and becomes the star pupil. Dr. P didn’t expect this, and in fact feels threatened by Roger’s new found self-respect. The confrontation starts getting personal and Dr. P starts going after Roger’s girlfriend, for no reason other than to humiliate Roger into submission.
 School For Scoundrels’ plot hits every cliché in the book. There is not a single, solitary original bone in its body. It doesn’t make it bad, but the hapless-boy-yearns-for-unattainable-girl-yet-it-all-works-out-in-the-end scenario is more played out than Scrabble.
There is something else wrong with School For Scoundrels, although it was tough to discern. I am going to pin it on the two leads not really having any chemistry together. Even as grudges go, Heder and Thornton just don’t seem to mesh well together. Thornton was up to his usual comedic skill, but in scenes where he is not supposed to be funny, he appears to be phoning it in. Heder is surprisingly decent in this film, and his affection to Amanda is believable – even cute. But he still doesn’t seem real. No person in actuality is as stupid as his characters tend to be and the evidence of that is in full effect in one of the very first scenes as he is shown paying for the parking ticket he issued.
 Where the film does succeed is in its supporting cast. David Cross, Sarah Silverman, Horatio Sanz, Michael Clarke Duncan, Luis Guzman and even Ben Stiller all have minor parts, and they are all really funny. It proves that the creative team behind School For Scoundrels, Todd Phillips (also director) and Scot Armstrong know how to write (this is the same team that brought us the ridiculously funny Old School) but who else is there to blame for something so… ordinary. Making things worse, the film is obviously tamed down to meet the target Heder audience. Little swearing, few sexual jokes and no nudity, and no envelope pushing.
In the end, School works as a decent Sunday film that comes on and you’re bored or hung over and don’t feel motivated to change the channel to something more interesting. But it shouldn’t be looked at as anything more than that – to anyone.
The DVD Presentation
There isn’t anything bad to say about the DVD quality. It looks decent, it’s anamorphic. Yay. The surround mix is decent, but it isn’t particularly enveloping – this is a comedy though. Standard stuff for this genre. This “Unrated Ballbuster Edition” of School For Scoundrels is apparently a longer cut than what was theatrically released. Not having seen the film before now, I don’t know what is new, but it’s great that Dimension has also made the theatrical cut available on DVD separately for those that care. (A full frame release is also available – but only of this extended cut.) Subtitles are available in English and Spanish for those that require them.
 And the Extras Are?
Feature Commentary with writer/director Todd Phillips and writer Scot Armstrong –
A decent and very conversational commentary track, but nothing you haven’t heard before. Then again, there isn’t much to School For Scoundrels, so there probably wasn’t much involved in making it.
Alternate Ending – (4:04)
This was interesting to watch. The film doesn’t truly end differently, but Roger never makes it on the plane, and events play out differently. In essence, this is the more “romantic” ending than the one used in the film, but it actually would have made School For Scoundrels even more predictable and cliché than it already is. The only drawback is that it’s non-anamorphic.
The Making of You Didn’t See on TV – (19:27)
This thing is nearly twenty minutes long and there is nothing at all that happens in it. Essentially it’s the cast trash-talking on each other or just goofing around. In many ways it’s like an extended gag reel. You won’t learn a single thing about the production from this, although some of the quips are funny.
Gag Reel – (2:09)
Oh wait, this is the gag reel. Why does every bit of it seem less like mishaps, and more like it was completely friggin’ staged?
Theatrical Trailer – (2:30)
Eh, it’s a standard non-anamorphic comedy trailer. Yippee.
And that’s all there is, save for some auto-play, non-selectable trailers when you start the disc. If you’re curious, they are for Fan Boys, Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker and Scary Movie 4.
Not the most loaded DVD, but it’s a not a horrible package. I’m sure younger Heder fans will get a kick out of the supplements.
The Bottom Line
There is a quote on the cover of the DVD that says “Bad Santa meets Napoleon Dynamite.” I happened to love Bad Santa (see my Corrupt Christmas feature), and hate Napoleon Dynamite on a level that few other things can reach. School For Scoundrels thankfully falls somewhere in the center. This won’t be hitting the DVD player again anytime soon, but it’s hot horrible, and makes for a decent time-killer. I wouldn’t go out of my way to see it, but giving the disc a rent wouldn’t hurt anyone interested in doing so.
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