Voll gepunktet (Germany)
The S.A.T is hard to take. Its even harder to steal.
Rating: 3/10
Running Time: 93 minutes
US Certificate: PG-13 UK Certificate: 12
On DVD
According to Roy (Leonardo Nam), the co-conspirator and sporadic narrator of The Perfect Score, S.A.T. stands for Suck Ass Test. Thats as good an indication as any of the sort of comedy this is. In other words, its a not-very-funny one.
Of course, it also lets us in on the fact that Roy and his pals arent particularly great fans of the U.S. exam system, S.A.T. of course being the name of the big test which lets millions of schoolkids in on whether their futures lie as top academics or floor-moppers in Burger King. Apparently its not the fairest of systems (not being a product of American education I wouldnt know, so wont comment), and its something the film clearly aspires to making an issue out of. The only problem is, The Perfect Score flunks.
Anyway, our featured bunch of college hopefuls among them the likes of Erika Christensen, Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson (how on Earth did they rope her into this??) think they have a way of ensuring passes all round. Under cover of night, theyll go to the Princeton Testing Centre, sneak past security, break in, and pinch the answers. It sounds only too easy but, of course, things dont quite work out that way. Shockerooney.
This MTV-produced flop-fest aspires to the sort of teen cult status attributed to the likes of The Breakfast Club (which even bags a mention in the dialogue), but in reality fails even to attain mediocrity. The ill thought-out, wishy-washy attempts at comedy detract from any chance the audience might have of believing these kids are genuinely desperate enough to go through with their mini-heist. Im not saying that making this film a comedy was a mistake, but in order to work it should have been blacker. Hell, being funny at all would have been a good start.
It's Got: Matthew Lillard, reduced to whats practically a cameo role. Well, even bad films can have their good points.
It Needs: Some last minute cramming thats how we did it in my day.
DVD Extras Commentary from Brian Robbins and writer mark Schwan, a trailer, and the standard making of featurette. DVD Extras Rating: 3/10
Summary
A film about exams that tests us in all the wrong ways.