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All-Reviews.com Movie/Video Review
Stealing Harvard
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out of 4
 Review by Susan Granger 0 stars out of 4
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There are films that try the patience of even the most cinema-besotted
critic - and this was one of them. It's bottom-of-the-barrel awful, matched only
by "Freddie Got Fingered," another Tom Green wannabe comedy, and Eddie Murphy's
"The Adventures of Pluto Nash."
Jason Lee ("Almost Famous") stars as John Plummer, who's not the
dimmest light on the Christmas tree - but close. He works at Homespital, a home
medical supply store owned by his future father-in-law (Dennis Farina), and has
saved $30,000 with his fiancée (Leslie Mann) so they can get married and make a
down-payment on their dream home. But, years before, John made a vow to pay the
tuition for his niece Noreen (Tammy Blanchard) if she got into a good college.
Miraculously, despite her "sexually indiscriminate trailer park trash" mother
(Megan Mullally) who has four marriages under her belt, Noreen gets accepted by
Harvard University. After calculating financial aid and her savings, she needs
$29,879 from her Uncle John - and she's counting on it. So hapless John faces a
terrible dilemma. In desperation, he turns to his ne'er-do-well landscaper buddy
(Tom Green) and they concoct a series of loony schemes to raise the money. They
break into a home, hold up a liquor store with toy guns, and attempt a bank
heist. Each fails miserably - as does the bungled screenplay written by Peter
Tolan and directed by Bruce McCulloch. The alleged appeal of Tom Green totally
eludes me. He evidences no acting skill whatever, lurches through dialogue and
can't convey even the most basic emotion. His eyes glaze over and his only
reaction to any given situation is a blank stare. On the Granger Movie Gauge of
1 to 10, "Stealing Harvard" is an obnoxious, failing 1. For me, it was an
endurance test.
Copyright © 2002 Susan Granger
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