A Cult Classic or Failed Attempt? The Perfect Score Revisited
On the 30th of January 2004, teen comedy The Perfect Score was released. It follows six high school students who decide the steal the SAT tests to help themselves get the best scores for college. However, along the way, they must overcome their problems and learn what is most important for their futures.
Today, I am looking back at the movie and seeing whether it is a cult favorite in the early career of a few A-Listers, or just another teen comedy.
The Perfect Score: 20 Years Later
Box Office
IMDB reports that The Perfect Score had a budget of $40 Million, which for the time seems crazy for a comedy. If that number is correct, it would put this down as a massive disappointment, only making just under $11 Million worldwide. It opened at number 5 in the US Box Office which is always a negative factor for any movie.
Critical Reception
The Perfect Score has a relatively negative reaction from the critics, sitting with a score of 16%. Most of the critics claimed the lack of laughs to hold the movie back. While other movies have done the similar story, with a better outcome.
Positive
Allison Benedikt in the Chicago Tribune quotes ‘Succeeds because at its core it is about the very different pressures very different young adults face, and the test that insists on judging them as one and the same.’
Mike Clark in the USA Today quotes ‘Johansson’s nearly deadpan deliveries are looking adaptable to a variety of roles, and the Nam character’s stoned demeanor gets laughs in a variety of situations.’
Negative
Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Time quotes’ It’s too palatable. It maintains a tone of light seriousness, and it depends on the caper for too much of its entertainment value.’
Melinda Ennis in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution quotes ‘Despite the serious subject matter, director Brian Robbins can’t decide whether this is a drama, a satire or an American Pie-style teen spoof, and the film dissolves into a shapeless, weightless mass.’
The Pre-Avengers
The Perfect Score has Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson in the cast. They both went on to be the cornerstones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Captain America and Black Widow. However, both the then-young stars had different paths before this movie.
Scarlett Johansson was a child star stepping into more adult movies. Her early credits include ‘Home Alone 3’, ‘Ghost World’ and ‘Eight-Legged Freaks’. In 2003 her performance in Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation’ and early 2004 ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ turned heads at her abilities. She has gone on to receive two Oscar Nominations, for ‘Jojo Rabbit’ and ‘A Marriage Story’ both in the same year.
Elsewhere, Chris Evans had appeared in ‘Not Another Teen Movie’, but this was his next major role. A small action movie ‘Cellular’ was the last role before he stepped into his first major comic movie with ‘Fantastic Four’.
The Rest of the Cast
Bryan Greenberg
Bryan Greenberg is the best friend of Kyle and sees his dreams shattered with his lower score, he is a good support character in the movie. However, he went on to have one of the least exciting careers of the whole cast. He has worked on movies such as ‘Bride Wars’, ‘Friends with Benefits’ and ‘The Program’. Bryan never managed to reach a leading man position like his fellow cast members.
Erika Christensen
Erika Christensen has previously appeared in thriller ‘Swinfan’ and appeared in a few of the popular sitcoms of the time. She would be considered the lead female of the film too and much like Bryan Greenberg, she never took off like some of the other cast members. Her biggest role after was in the sitcom ‘Parenthood’ which ran for 6 seasons.
Darius Miles
Darius Miles plays the aspiring basketball player who needs a certain level SAT result to get into college. His character reflected his real career, as he was in the early stages of his professional career in this movie following on from his appearance in ‘Van Wilder’. Darius played professional basketball for nearly 10 years before injury ended his career early.
Leonardo Nam
Leonardo Nam completes the six-person cast on the heist, he plays the typical stoner slacker who ends up joining in the heist. While he never had any major roles, he has become a reliable cast member. In recent years, his most famous role would be in ‘Westworld’. We can also watch out for him in the highly rated Ava DuVernay’s ‘Origin’.
Matthew Lillard
Matthew Lillard was the main reason I went to check this movie out. He was known for ‘Scream’, ‘Thir13en Ghosts’, and ‘Scooby Doo’ to mention a few. I am still a massive fan of all of these movies and the actor in general. While this is only a supporting role, he makes the most of it with added laughs and has continued to go on to become one of the most loved actors of his generation.
Director
Brian Robbins is the director of The Perfect Score. Before this movie, he director cult comedies ‘Good Burger’, ‘Ready to Rumble’ alongside popular sports dramas ‘Varsity Blues’ and ‘Hardball’. After this movie he remained in comedy with ‘Norbit’ and ‘Meet Dave’.
Teen Comedy Competition
2004 has some of the most popular teen comedies which performed much better at the box office. Some are still considered the best of an era too. ‘Mean Girls’, ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ and ‘The Girl Next Door’ would be considered the three most popular.
Do you remember The Perfect Score?
What did you think about the movie?