At 13, giant-haired genius Eli (Wolff) is leaving his hapless mother (Posey) to attend university. He wanted to go to Harvard, but ended up at 27th-choice Whittman, where he's taken under the wing of 41-year-old freshman Leo (Fraser), who is trying to start his life over. Then after a run-in with Harvard snobs, Eli vows to get revenge by taking over Whittman's losing Mastermind squad and turning the brainy nerds (Bergman, Lee and de Jesus) into campus heroes who will crush Harvard in the national finals. Meanwhile, Eli falls for town girl Shauna (Garner).

Director Kent and writer Wierzbianski keep the humour black and dry, focusing on the characters and situations. So it's more observational than hilarious, even though there are laugh-out-loud moments along the way. Wolff and Fraser make a terrific pair, the oldest and youngest freshmen on campus, with the tiny, frizzy-headed Eli's winning the hulking Leo over. "You've got genius and bizarre charisma," Leo says. "You're a college star in the making!" And the script gives both characters back stories that let us identify with them in unexpected ways.

Sure, the characters are all types, but they have a complexity that's fun to watch. And the film skewers every cliche as it goes along, underscoring the goofiness with some real emotional resonance. For example, Eli may be an obsessive nutcase, but he's never fit in anywhere, always the smartest person in a room full of idiots. So even if the Mastermind competition takes the usual formulaic turns, we enjoy the snappy details that add layers of meaning.

The film kind of falls somewhere in between a wacky comedy and a thoughtful drama, never quite excelling as either. But it's a strikingly well-written and played one-off that completely wins us over. Each of the actors delivers a remarkably offhanded performance that forces us to look freshly on their personal journeys. And the film has some terrific things to say about both growing up and remaining childish, no matter how old you are.

themes, language, innuendo

26.Feb.14