Stealing Harvard (2003, DVD)

Have you ever seen a movie that looked so stupidly funny, that you figured this must be some sort of spoof movie (like Scary Movie, Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men in Tights), but at the end of the movie, you realized it was just another wasted product that you decided to buy/rent. If you've ever seen "Stealing Harvard", you have.

"Stealing Harvard" stars Tom Green & Jason Lee in what has to be the worst movie of their career. Well, maybe just Jason Lee's career. I've heard Tom Green has done worse. In this film John Plummer is faced with a little dilemma. On one hand, he had promised his niece he would pay her way into college. On the other, his wife wants a house that she considers to be perfect. So naturally, his niece gets accepted into, you guessed it, Harvard. John and his wife, Elaine (Leslie Mann) just saved up about $30,000 which is the cost of both the house and the college payment. This is the setup of our little story.

So where does Tom Green fit into here? Tom Green plays Duff, who is John's friend and a few French fries short of a happy meal, if you know what I mean. Duff tells John that he can help him get the money, no problemo. Well, it ends up turning to be a problemo as all of his ideas are just plain wacky and always illegal. Like attempted robbery, breaking and entering, driving a getaway vehicle. Those kinds of things.

THE GOOD STUFF
Not that much to talk about here. The funny moments most occur as John and Duff, (or just John) do this crazy things to get some money. Perhaps one of the funniest, and perhaps sickest, is when when John gets caught trying to rob a man at his home. So what is his punishment? He is forced to dress in a pink gown and sleep with the man who's holding a big gun and talking about his wife. He had lost his wife a few years ago and this is how he copes with it. He takes a picture at the end and he goes free.

I believe the best actor in this movie is Dennis Farina who plays Elaine's eccentric father. He doesn't trust John, who works for him, and tries to discredit him and just makes him really uncomfortable. He is perhaps the funniest man (even though he doesn't have a really major part) in the film that you can actually enjoy.

THE BAD STUFF

Sure, there were a few funny moments, but there weren't enough for this to be called a comedy. The reason I gave it 3 stars is because it isn't the worst thing you can pick out and I know there are people out there who will think this film is just a riot. I, myself, was finding it difficult to laugh during this film despite the weird antics that occur.

The ending, (not the credits), had to be the worst part of this film. There are 3 basic parts to a story. The building up of the story, the climax, and ultimately the resolution. The resolution just sucked in this movie. The building up and the climax were nothing to be proud of neither, but they were at least better than the ending. Now, I'm not going to say what the ending was, (don't want to spoil it), but take my word for it. It's not the grandest thing ever. Watch the movie and you'll know what I'm talking about.

CONCLUSION

If you're a Tom Green fan or just like stupid comedies, than please rent/buy this film. You'll probably like it. If you're the mentioned person, I wouldn't advise paying to watch this movie. Save your money. Don't buy/rent this movie. If you desperately want to watch it, watch it at a friend's house and then decide.