Will Gluck

A film starring Nicholas D'Agosto and Eric Christian Olsen (Screen Gems, 2009)

Two high school football players join the cheerleader squad to get girls.

C+ (Okay).

It's an objectively bad movie. The two "stars" just sort of stand there delivering their lines. And it's as gross as you'd expect given the synopsis. But then every now and then something funny happens, or something weird. By the end of the movie, it had me smiling. There are worse ways to sit around looking at pretty people for 90 minutes.

(Aug. 2023)… (more)

A surprisingly charming and witty teenage comedy about a girl who accidentally starts a rumour which gradually defines her entire school persona. Stellar performances and surprisingly fun dialogue lifts this well above its already decent premise, especially from Emma Stone as the lead. I especially enjoyed the scenes with her home life, the (clearly earned) implicit trust shown by her adorably quirky parents (played by the always amazing Tucci and Clarkson) was a wonderful breath of fresh air compared to the expected moody teenager / exasperated parent scenes such films usually serve up. If the high school comedy genre itself isn't a turn-off for you, you'll probably have a fun hour and a half with this film.… (more)