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2004
Rated: PG-13 for adult language, sexual themes, and drug use.
Genre: Crime Comedy Adventure Romance
Directed By: Brian Robbins
Running Time: 1:33
Review by: Felix Vasquez Jr.
Review Date: 8/15/05
DVD Features:
Audio Commentary - 1. Brian Robbins - Director, Mark Schwahn - Screenwriter
Making-of - 1. MAKING THE PERFECT SCORE
Theatrical Trailer
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Interactive Menus
If you like this, try: Cheats, Cheaters, Ocean's Eleven, Welcome to Collinwood, Snatch, Breakfast Club

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THE PERFECT SCORE

 

I wasn't expecting much with "The Perfect Score"; I mean this is an MTV studios film, It has a bunch of teens in a hopelessly unbelievable plot. What's there to expect? But, in the end, I think my low expectations got the better of me, and when I was done with this, I actually quite liked it. Chalk it up to amazing low expectations, not quality. "The Perfect Score" goes about itself as a lighter, pre-pubescent "Ocean's Eleven", with a cast of relative unknowns and with Scarlett Johansson thrown in for good measure to add a sense of class.

But it's not to say the other stars aren't appealing. Chris Evans is likable as the main character in this ensemble piece. and Erika "Can she get any hotter?" Christensen is also really good as the straight shooting over-achiever. "The Perfect Score" presents nothing new to the audience, there's really nothing original, but it's fun, and pure entertainment, and as hard as I tried, I couldn't help really enjoying this. It's light, energetic, and in the end works as guiltless fluff. There are you usual teen arch-types, but we're presented with likable actors to play them. Johansson is the sexy rebel, Chris Evans is the likable hero, Bryan Greenberg is charming as his sidekick, Christensen is adorable as the over-achiever, Darius Miles is cool as the athlete seeking approval from his mom, and Leonardo Nam is hilarious as the stoner Roy paying obvious homage to Spiccoli and Jay.

But behind the teen antics and gags, there is also some genuine character emphases that really makes up for the antics in the climax as we get to know these people front and back. Johansson pulls in the best performance as the brainy rebel, and really adds to this high spirited adventure comedy. To get a perfect score on their SATS, mostly to meet the hopelessly unreachable expectations of their parents, this group of people decide to raid the office where the SAT scores are being held.

While the actual heist and the scenes following are very fun to watch, what follows can be deemed as truly arbitrary in its result simply because it asks the audience to hold off on logic and common sense, but once you get past that, you can really get to the good character exposition, decent acting, and all around hilarity that follows with some really funny sight gags (scuba goggles to hide one's appearance and cut off their peripheral vision) to some really funny slapstick physical comedy that is never forced and often times very funny.

The film also managed to benefit with often clever dialogue delivered with great timing by the cast who look like they're having fun. The inevitable climax is bittersweet and expected, but it leaves you with a sense of satisfaction, and sometimes entertainment like this isn't exactly a bad thing. If you're hesitant to watch this, I have two more perfectly good reasons to give this a chance: Scarlett Johansson, and Erika Christensen. These two hot chicks are a lot of fun to look at, and Johansson was never hotter. And I love looking at Christensen.

As with most "MTV" marketed films, there's always some of the ridiculous to put up with and hopefully ignore to try and enjoy the rest of the film. MTV has very few good movies under their belts, and despite enjoying this, I wouldn't put this under their hall of fame. As I mentioned, this is a film you must endure a lapse of logic with, and whether it was made consciously or inadvertently by the writers, any one whose ever been to High school and knows the mechanics of SAT's will know this one pivotal fact. The five kids in this film break in to an office to steal the SAT answers so they can all pass, But the problem is, in real life, no two SAT exams are the same.

Each SAT exam holds individual unique answers that are never similar to one another to prevent exactly what happens in this film. For someone to steal the answers would be more impossible then finding all the combinations for a rubix cube, so, in order to watch this film, you must expel that humongous lapse in logic. It's what keeps this film from truly feeling realistic and what grounded this as pure fiction. Could the writers have not thought up a big test and use that concept instead of expecting the audience to forget such a rule? It made no sense and was often distracting. And why would the office that holds the SAT answers have one guard who walks around the building AND watches the security cameras? Doesn't make a lick of sense.

Regardless, the story is very rushed, so much so that we never really get a feel for the characters other than the broad descriptions we're told of. One is a pothead, one has a home life that consists of her father paying little attention to her and bringing a different woman home every night, one is trying to live up to his mom's standards. Other than that we don't get a real feel for their personalities other than what we're told upfront, and the actors adhere to such character concepts never really breaking out from the role. Johannson can do this type of role in her sleep. Had this aimed to be more like John Hughes meets "Ocean's Eleven" instead of being "Ocean's Eleven"-lite, this could have been a great heist dramedy.

And what was the deal with Matthew Lillard? Matthew Lillard plays Matthew Lillard yet again, this spazoid, screaming, outrageous character who is in this for about fifteen minutes. He's supposed to be the paradoxical character to Evan's over-achieving Kyle, but we don't get a sense of their relationship, and Lillard is just playing the same character he's been playing since 1996 that was funny in 1996 and stopped being funny years ago. Give me a break, man and take some acting classes... or a new agent, at least.

Chalk it up to low expectations, a soft spot for Erika Christensen, or just an open-mindedness to what could be, either way I had a lot of fun watching this, and as an entertaining lightweight heist flick it works and works well. Funny, well acted, and great dialogue make this a treat.

 

 

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