Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsA Fun Nerdy Guilty Pleasure
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 15, 2022
I was a nerd in high school. I still am, but now being a nerd is cool, and I get paid well to be one. Back then, not so much. So this movie is a really fun guilty pleasure for me. Qualls is great as the nerdy outcast (a blip, as they're called in the movie, as they're "barely on the radar"), and casting Lyle Lovett as his dad was brilliance. A solid cast with lots of fun music industry cameos, and Eddie Griffin as the narrator/Yoda in one of his funniest roles other than Undercover Brother.
Is it Oscar worthy? Of course not. It's goofy, and features a lot of improbable scenes. But it didn't set out to be fine cinema, it set out to be fun, and it succeeded very well.
I have mixed feelings about the theatrical vs. director's cut. The DC includes plot elements that do add to the movie, but there are a couple of scenes that are switched out between the two where I think the one in the theatrical version actually works better (specifically, Patton vs Braveheart... Patton works well, and Braveheart is done again late in the film, so switching it out keeps things fresh). My dream version would be the DC with the Patton scene instead of the Braveheart scene, but alas, that isn't available. If I had to choose one I'd go with the DC, simply because there are those actually significant plot elements that are included there.
For those who saw this in the theaters (best I can tell me and three other people) neither home version has the completely unmodified theater version. For some reason, at least one small cut was made in the swimsuit scene, and I've never heard why. I thought it was all in my head until someone else asked about it too. But it is a minor change, and doesn't affect the plot.
