Director: Amy Heckerling
Writer: Amy Heckerling (Screenplay)
Starring: Jason Biggs, Mena Suvari, Zak Orth, Thomas Sadoski, Jimmi Simpson, Greg Kinnear
Plot: A college student, branded a loser by his roommates and booted from the dorm, falls in love with a coed who has eyes for their condescending professor.
Tagline – Dare to be different
Runtime: 1 Hour 38 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Enjoyable Comedy
Story: Loser starts as small-town boy Paul Tannek (Biggs) gets a full scholarship to college in New York City, he struggles to fit in with his roommate and his friends Adam (Orth), Chris (Saboski) and Noah (Simpson) not liking him. The only student that gives him any time is Dora (Suvari) who is involved with their professor Edward Alcott (Kinnear).
When Paul gets moved out of his dorm, his roommates she it as an off-campus party place as they continue to use his kind nature, while he learns about Dora and her secret. We get to see how Paul must learn to deal with college life.
Thoughts on Loser
Characters – Paul is from a small town, he is over trusting of people which gets him in trouble when his roommates take advantage of him, Dora isn’t the most honest with him and must learn about the busy college life. Dora is the love interest for Paul, but she is dating her professor, she plays into the idea that she is being controlled by her authority figure that is clearly using her. Professor Alcott is the teacher for both Paul and Dora’s subject, he is using her knowing he would get fired if it ever became public. We do meet the roommates that mostly just use Paul to have parties while they try to drug women at the parties.
Performances – Jason Biggs was the king of teen comedies in the 2000s this might well be his least known role, but it sure was just what he was great at. Mena Suvari also came from the American Pie and while I hated her character in this film she showed she was a great go to girl for teenage comedies. Greg Kinnear gives us a good douchebag professor and one we could all hate.
Story – The story follows one small-town college student that must get used to big city, people with different attitudes that will abuse his good nature while he falls in love with a girl that doesn’t notice him. This does have a thin story if we are being honest, as it does show the balance between college romance, and the shallow party lifestyle and not much else. If you want a simple romantic comedy you will enjoy this one even if the supporting characters can frustrate at times.
Comedy/Romance – The comedy isn’t on the same level as the other college films of the time and the romance story is here but it is frustrating to see how Dora doesn’t notice Paul that way for most of the film.
Settings – New York makes for a great setting for any movie as I always say, this time it works because of the new busy location that isn’t filled with honest people that Paul must get used.
Scene of the Movie – Music.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Dora is a dumb girl.
Final Thoughts – This is a teen comedy I did enjoy back in the day, it does deserve more praise even though it feels like I have just moaned about it, I love the music, I like that we see our main character Paul learn about his mistakes through the film and become tougher for the next stage of his life.
Overall: Good Old Teen Comedy.
Rating
