For the 15-year-old kids in the gifted math program on the second floor of Baldy, "Full of It" might seem like a great film.
But for college viewers, the depth of the movie ironically fits the title.
"Full of It" is directed by Christian Charles, who is known more for his Jerry Seinfeld American Express commercials than for his feature length filmmaking.
The plot of the film doesn't dare to venture into new territory. It's the story of a new kid in a new school named Sam Leonard (Ryan Pinkston, "Soul Plane"), who oddly enough is also a gifted math student. On his quest for popularity, Leonard takes the advice of his guidance counselor (Craig Kilborn, "The Benchwarmers"), and invents lies to gain respect from his peers. After a fight with his parents and a terrible night's sleep, Leonard wakes up to find that all his lies have magically come true.
The dog that supposedly eats his homework really does start to eat his homework. The Brussels sprouts he hated in the beginning become his favorite food, and even his pretend relationship with Carmen Electra becomes a reality.
Not before long, Leonard is the most popular kid east of the Mississippi. But then, sure enough, the movie shows viewers that being popular and perfect doesn't equate to happiness.
The first noticeable flaw in the film is its protagonist Sam Leonard. Not only is Pinkston's acting imperfect but he's a hobbit-sized 17-year-old senior.
Then there's Vicki Sanders (Amanda Walsh, "Sons & Daughters"), the pretty popular girl that every boy and middle-aged man alike fantasizes about. The only problem is that she's not pretty. In fact, she's far from it. She looks like a Barbie doll placed too close to the fireplace.
The real beauty of the film is Annie Dray (Kate Mara, "We Are Marshall"), Leonard's underappreciated, nerdy friend. She would have been much more appropriate for the part of the popular pretty girl, instead of attractive outsider geek.
Charles' casting confuses the arrangement of familiar high school archetypes, but this is somewhat reconciled by Kilborn's hilarious portrayal of the guidance counselor. His struggle with a pharmaceutical drug addition drew more than a few giggles. However, most of these wisecracks flew over the heads of a majority of the audience, which consisted mostly of teenage girls two years away from having a driving permit.
Joshua Close ("The Exorcism of Emily Rose") does a pretty decent job in the role of the bully, Kyle Plunkett. Seeing the bully's popularity plummet while Sam's fame rises creates some amusing revenge schemes. Without giving too much detail, they involve rope, a car battery and some type of house hold kitchen cleaner.
Maybe it's just that the bar is set too high. The high school comedies of the '90s were golden. "Can't Hardly Wait" and "10 Things I Hate About You" had something everyone could enjoy. Then "Means Girls" upped the ante, setting the standard for this generation's teenage flicks.
These are the high school comedies with the perfect mixture of wit, talent, and charm.
If "Full of It" does have anything to offer, it is charm, but charm can only go so far. Without any real humor the film lacks permanency.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
