It's the movie sensitive teen-meister John Hughes would have made had he been strapped to a bench, a knife at his throat, with a pulsating garage band score on continuous loop placed two inches from his eardrum.
The Perfect Score (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:104
Fresh:17
Rotten:87
Average Rating:3.7/10
Consensus: Neither funny nor suspenseful, this heist / teen flick also fails to explore its potentially socially relevant premise.
Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: High school senior Kyle (Chris Evans) gets a major shock when he discovers his SAT score isn't good enough to get him into college as an architecture major. A perfectionist, Kyle's resilient nature... High school senior Kyle (Chris Evans) gets a major shock when he discovers his SAT score isn't good enough to get him into college as an architecture major. A perfectionist, Kyle's resilient nature is sparked when he embroils his best friend Matty (Bryan Greenberg) in a madcap scheme to steal the SATs. The boys soon realize the enormity of the task ahead of them, and recruit an eclectic bunch of willing accomplices to help. Among their group are Francesca (Scarlett Johansson), an anti-authoritarian hipster whose father happens to work in the building where the elusive test scores are kept; Anna (Erica Christensen), an overachiever who flunked the test due to nerves; Desmond (Darius Miles), the school's star basketball player who wants to get into a good college; and Ray (Leonardo Nam), a hapless stoner who is only included in the group after overhearing Kyle and Matty planning the robbery in the school bathroom. Determined not to fail, the students overcome their different backgrounds and manage to work together by planning an SAT heist in meticulous detail. As the harebrained scheme becomes a reality, moments of bonding, hilarity, and a few lessons in life ensue, as well as a sly critique of the tests along race and gender lines. [More]
Starring: Erika Christensen, Chris Evans, Bryan Greenberg, Scarlett Johansson
Starring: Erika Christensen, Chris Evans, Bryan Greenberg, Scarlett Johansson, Darius Miles, Leonardo Nam, Tyra Ferrell, Fulvio Cecere, Matthew Lillard, Lorena Gale, Lynda Boyd, Michael Ryan, Robert Clarke, Alfred E. Humphreys
Director: Brian Robbins
Director: Brian Robbins
Screenwriter: Mark Schwahn, Marc Hyman, Jon Zack
Producer: Roger Birnbaum, Jonathan Glickman, Brian Robbins, Mike Tollin
Composer: John Murphy
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Reviews for The Perfect Score
Screenwriters Mark Schwahn, Marc Hyman and Jon Zack can't decide whether they want Perfect Score to be funny or serious, with the result that it falls short of being either.
There's very little tension in The Perfect Score because everything seems to fall into their laps or laptops.
Fails to gain admission into the elite group of inspired teen comedies.
Scribes Marc Hyman, Mark Schwahn and Jon Zack have crafted a snappy romp about right, wrong, and the teasing in-between.
It's too palatable. It maintains a tone of light seriousness, and it depends on the caper for too much of its entertainment value.
Its rebel yell takes a back seat to the inevitabilities of the squeaky plot.
Director Brian Robbins is no John Hughes, though he does strive for 'message movie' status.
If we were to give The Perfect Score a SAT score, it would be a 1040--it doesn't pass with flying colors, but it bubbles in a few choice moments.
(Scarlett) Johansson fashions a memorably acidic personality that fits this material perfectly.
Although the comedy is often flat (wow is a Matrix parody dated) and the heist scenes won’t be accused of rivaling Ocean’s Eleven, these characters do resonate.
Even among the ranks of the diminutive, this one's got nothing to boast about.
These generic “insert stoner here” movies will never work, no matter how young you are.Even the least discerning viewer wants to at least watch some kind of character.
Latest News for The Perfect Score
February 15, 2006:
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In 1959 Disney released a live-action family comedy about a family man who turns into a dog. Instead of keeping "The Shaggy Dog" out of the public consciousness, for... More...
December 20, 2005:
Trailer Bulletin: The Shaggy Dog
Anyone up for a Disney remake of "The Shaggy Dog," starring Tim Allen? The one about a guy who turns into a dog? Anyone? If you're brave enough to check out this... More...
August 23, 2005:
Thurber Out; Robbins In as New "Norbit" Director
Filmmaker Brian Robbins has settled into the director's chair for the DreamWorks comedy "Norbit," taking a position that was (until recently) held by... More...
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