MOVIE - "School for Scoundrels"

Todd Phillips has sure come a long way since Road Trip.

No. Wait. No, he hasn't.

His latest, School for Scoundrels is a straightforward revenge comedy that lacks the charm of Starsky & Hutch's unadulterated chemistry and Old School's irrepressible spunk. Like Benchwarmers before it, Jon Heder rises up for the nerds of the world...but honestly, is there anybody who isn't sick of this kid yet? To the film's credit, it makes the supporting cast of hacks like Horatio Sanz look great, but the few talents actually in the movie (like David Cross and Sarah Silverman) are stuck playing shades of themselves. Only Billy Bob Thornton, as the self-professed "doctor" winds up looking good (unlike Michael Clarke Duncan, who must just be desperate for cash). Suave and with a real fire in his eyes, Thornton brings out shades of both Steve Martin and Michael Caine in that other Scoundrel movie, which, considering he's the only life to this film, is almost a prerequisite.

Read on at [Film Monthly]