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Uncool in school'Loser' wins no credits in lusterless college tale(CNN) -- Writer/director Amy Heckerling has always been in touch with her inner child, with good results. She brought us the 1982 classic teen flick "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" followed 13 years later by another ode to high school cool, "Clueless." Her latest effort, "Loser," doesn't stray far from that same mold. This time, however, the action has moved from high school to college, and focuses on the out-crowd instead of the in-crowd. Jason Biggs of last year's "American Pie" and Mina Suvari, also of "American Pie" and 1999's "American Beauty," co-star as a hapless couple in "Loser." (They should have called this "American Loser"; Suvari seems to be on a roll here). Clueless, haplessBiggs plays college freshman Paul Tannek. He's a loser. You know he's a loser because he's on a scholarship, wears a funny hat with ear flaps and actually cares about school. Here's a final clue about his standing: Dan Aykroyd plays his goofy, well-meaning dad. Suvari plays Dora Diamond. She's a loser, too. You know, because her hair looks like it was arranged with an egg beater. And yes, she, too, actually cares about school. How uncool can you get? Paul is assigned three dorm mates, Adam, (Zak Orth), Chris (Tom Sadoski), and Noah, (Jimmi Simpson), who are self-proclaimed pinnacles of sophistication and cool -- right down to their painted fingernails. The three proceed to make life miserable for our lovable loser who's had the audacity to invade their space. Ultimately they kick him out, so the poor guy finds living quarters at a local veterinary hospital. Say what? Now his former dorm mates are his best buddies since the hospital is the perfect place for after-hours parties. Say what? Meanwhile, Dora is having problems of her own. She's commuting from the 'burbs, working nights at a sleazy cocktail lounge to make ends meet and dating one of her professors, Edward Alcott (Greg Kinnear). Losers, loversThrough a series of pat, predictable, and oh too, too, too convenient plot twists, the losers find each other -- first as friends, then as something more. Their new feelings for each other give them the courage to walk away from all the users in their lives and stroll away happily into the sunset. The end.
This is the same basic formula of boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girl -- all set in a classic "fish-out-of-water" situation. There's nothing new at this party. Suvari and Biggs are sweet and appealing, Kinnear flashes his patented gee-whiz, bad-boy grin again and again, and the whole thing is wrapped up in a slick 98 minutes. "Losers" lacks the fresh zaniness and the off-the-wall attitude displayed in Heckerling's previous efforts. At times, the situations and plot seem forced, and the whole thing is too formulaic. If you're in the demographic for this film -- say, a mature 14-year-old to an immature 24-year-old -- it may be worth your time and money. Everyone else can wait until it comes out on video. "Loser" opens nationwide on Friday, July 21 and is rated PG-13. 98 minutes. |
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