High? More like the low point in Oscar-winner's career

Enlarge Image

NEIL JACOBS / ANCHOR BAY FILMS And the Academy Award doesn�t go to... (from left) Bush, Brody and Marquette.

In John Stalberg Jr.'s first feature film, former childhood friends Breaux and Henry come up with a plan to spike the bake sale brownies to get the entire school high. Henry is, understandably, suspicious of this dubious plan.

"In times like this," Breaux says, "you need to think like a stoner."

Um, yes. I think this logic also applies to the movie. High School (note: "high" is bolded on the film's poster) might actually be endurable if one was under the influence of cannabis, hallucinogens, etc. But I'm not advocating that anyone take drugs.

This high school ("high" is not bolded) comedy gets rolling with valedictorian-in-waiting Henry (Matt Bush) taking a hit -- literally and figuratively. The day after he tries marijuana for the first time with Breaux (Sean Marquette), their horrible school principal (Michael Chiklis) demands "excellence not inebriation" and administers mandatory drug testing for all students.

With Henry's university scholarships threatened, the duo decide to drug the entire student body, thus tainting the test. What ever happened to just playing hooky? Right, we're thinking like stoners.

The boys buy 42 boxes of brownie mix, and for the special ingredient? They steal it from local law student-turned-drug dealer, Psycho Ed, who is played by Adrien Brody. No, you're not hallucinating. The Oscar winner transforms himself into a twitchy, tattooed and squinty-eyed work of fiction, the "Francis Ford Coppola of the weed-growing industry," as Brody described the role to reporters. (Note to Brody: Simply citing eminent filmmakers will not elevate the work.) The end result is that Brody appears as a crazed pirate imitating an unhinged hustler.

While you may watch Brody with a curious fascination, Bush and Marquette don't have the same chemistry as, say, Michael Cera and Jonah Hill, who played besties in Superbad. Bush's Henry isn't hapless or vulnerable or funny or anything. He's just smart (though not smart enough to know that you don't steal from a psycho), which doesn't make you care if a cup of pee ruins his life.

Stalberg's world is a teenager's stereotypical fantasy land where the teachers are horny buffoons (they get turned on by kinky fantasies featuring Bryan Adams, or even by the word "beverage") and the students are one-dimensional tropes: the hot cheerleader as the love interest, the evil nerd as the conniving villain, etc. Chiklis (The Shield) plays an equally exaggerated caricature, a dictator who touches himself under the desk and pontificates in a Shakespearean accent.

Pawns in Breaux and Henry's grand adventure, students end up wandering the school halls, smacking their dry mouths and giggling at jokes that no one, not even the audience, will find funny. All this hooka, I mean hooplah, is intended for an adult audience, since the 93-minute film boasts an 18A rating for the ubiquitous use of drugs, profanity and bare boobs.

Stalberg, who directed and co-wrote the script, also touches on privacy rights, workplace harassment and fading friendships; there's also a nice moral to the story. What it all means though, you can't be sure. In fact, there is no point in scrambling your brains with analysis -- this is your brain on High School -- because the movie is meant to be a diversion, a vacation from thinking. It's just not as fun as it seems.

-- Postmedia News

Other voices

Selected excerpts from reviews of High School:

One of the broadest, silliest (yet somehow still endearing) stoner comedies in a while, indulging the adult members of the cast with particular gusto.

-- Norman Wilner, Now magazine

A stoner comedy with a slightly musty vintage aroma.

-- Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

It's about a 'high' school, and once you've gotten that you've pretty much figured out this stoner comedy.

-- Robert Levin, amNew York

Somehow, High School, directed by newcomer John Stalberg, lured serious talent, including Adrien Brody, Colin Hanks and Michael Chiklis. Even odder: They're the worst actors of the bunch.

-- Scott Bowles, USA Today

Compiled by Shane Minkin

Film review:

High School

Starring Matt Bush and Adrien Brody

Globe.

18A

100 minutes

One-and-a-half stars out of five

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 22, 2012 D7