Stealing Harvard | |||||
At first, story is quite bright and fresh. Lee is always watchable, Mann is horribly screechy but manages to make the character at least human, and Mullally as usual steals the show. There are also twitchy comic side roles for the gifted Farina, Jenkins, Penn and McGinley. Then Green enters the picture and it grinds to a halt, launching a series of dreadfully unfunny set pieces and random gags that become increasingly annoying. It's not clever or interesting or sweet or even remotely humorous, obviously trying to be There's Something About Mary and failing at every turn. Then in the final third there is actually some surprising depth when Mann and Mullally, especially, get to do something interesting. It's far too corny and contrived to be remotely entertaining, but if you're stuck in the cinema watching this rubbish, at least there are some tiny rewards if you look hard enough.
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dir Bruce McCulloch scr Peter Tolan with Jason Lee, Tom Green, Leslie Mann, Megan Mullally, Dennis Farina, Tammy Blanchard, Richard Jenkins, Chris Penn, John C McGinley, Seymour Cassel, Mary Gillis, Bruce McCulloch release US 13.Sep.02; UK 21.Mar.03 Columbia 02/US 1h22 It's a gift. Elaine, John and Duff try to get along (Mann, Lee and Green)... | ||||
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