Directed by Todd Philips and written by Scot Armstrong, the minds behind “Road Trip,” “Old School,” and “Starsky and Hutch,” “School for Scoundrels” has the potential to become a classic romantic comedy. Poor insecure Roger is a nice guy, but he’s a loser. Picked on, bullied, and completely ignorant of how to deal with women, he has no hope of ever getting Amanda, the girl of his dreams. That all changes when Roger’s friend Ian lets him in on a closely guarded secret; there is a special school for guys like Roger and joining the school could change his entire life. Roger attends the secret classes and immediately his social life begins to change for the better.
Roger does so well that he’s finally able to approach Amanda and assert himself at work. Unfortunately, Roger’s success brings out the worst in his confidence instructor, who takes Roger’s success as a personal challenge. He begins to sabotage Roger’s efforts with Amanda, finally competing with him for her affections. With his newfound confidence, Roger refuses to be intimidated and decides to fight back against the man who taught him how.
Although the plot sounds very familiar (“Hitch,” “Anger Management”) “School for Scoundrels” still has the potential to be an original movie with a lot of laughs. Some of the names of the cast alone could make you smile: Ben Stiller, David Cross, Jon Heder, Billy Bob Thornton, Sarah Silverman, and DeRay Davis star. Michael Clarke Duncan and Jacinda Barrett also star.
“School for Scoundrels” opens nationwide September 29th.
A completely different movie, “Sleeping Dogs Lie” is the story of Amy, a young woman in love with John, the perfect guy. Their relationship is wonderful, and when he proposes, Amy is thrilled. When she takes him home to her eccentric family, she feels compelled to tell John more about her past, airing all of her secrets. Unsure of how much to tell him, Amy talks to her mother (who has a few secrets of her own) and a friend, who both encourage her to tell him everything. Without revealing her secret to them, Amy decides to tell John everything and is shocked at his horrified reaction. Suddenly their relationship is in jeopardy and Amy regrets telling him the whole truth. Things get worse when Amy discovers that her brother, who’d been eavesdropping on her conversation with John, is going to reveal Amy’s secret to the entire family.
“Sleeping Dogs Lie” is the brainchild of comedian and voiceover actor Bob Goldthwait, who wrote and directed the film. Originally shown at the Sundance film festival in January, it will be a limited release in September.
