Review: School for Scoundrels

Posted by: Tom Milroy  •  September 29, 2006 @ 11:59am

Filed under: Reviews

Jon Heder is getting dangerously close to Will Farrell and Owen Wilson territory: playing the same character in every movie.

In School for Scoundrels, Heder is uber-nerd Roger. He works for the New York Parking Authority, handing out tickets for parking violations. He gets harrassed on the job, gets no respect from co-workers, and can't find the cajones to ask his neighbor out. So, Roger hears about a class taught by "Dr. P", Billy Bob Thornton. For five thousand dollars, he'll teach this class of losers how to be men.

No sooner does Roger go out on a date with his neighbor Amanda (Jacinda Barrett) than Dr. P starts to make a play for her. Game on. Who will win the girl? Who do you think?

In smaller roles, Michael Clarke Duncan plays Lesher, Dr. P's assistant, and Ben Stiller shows up as a deranged former student.

Maybe it's just me, but I got the feeling Billy Bob was making this for money and Jon Heder was afraid to turn it down because he's new.

It's directed by Todd Phillips. His credits include Road Trip, Starsky & Hutch, Old School, and next year's Old School sequel (Todd likes movies with "school" in the title).

While there are few surprises in this movie, I didn't hate it. Jon Heder and Billy Bob are fine to watch at any time, but this movie could have used a little more time in class before graduating to the big screen.