- Must Watch: Destructive Trailer for Roland Emmerich's 2012 (169 Comments)
- First Grueling Trailer for The Twilight Saga: New Moon (150 Comments)
- Does This Final New G.I. Joe Trailer Convince You to See It? (109 Comments)
- Profile on Marvel Studios with Big Updates from Kevin Feige (80 Comments)
- Must Watch: First Trailer for Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island (79 Comments)
- Visual Effects Supervisor Charles Gibson Directing The Goblin (Jun 21, 2009)
- Sony Dumps Steven Soderbergh's Moneyball Movie Last Minute! (Jun 21, 2009)
- Producer Joe Gatta Updates Rodriguez' Red Sonja Movie (Jun 20, 2009)
- Latest Updates from David S. Goyer on The Invisible Man (Jun 19, 2009)
- Sly Stallone's The Expendables Could End Up Being PG-13? (Jun 19, 2009)
| Inglourious Basterds | 8.5/10 |
| Star Trek | 9/10 |
| Monsters vs Aliens | 5/10 |
| Sin Nombre | 8.5/10 |
| Duplicity | 7.5/10 |
Sundance Review: Assassination of a High School President
January 24, 2008
by Alex Billington
- US Release Date: Sundance Film Festival 2008
- Genre: Comedy, Mystery
- Running Time: 90 minutes
- Directed by: Brett Simon
- Assassination of a High School President on IMDb
9/10
I love high school movies, don't you? With the Sundance 2005 film Brick, high school movies finally could be smart, interesting, and entertaining. With Assassination of a High School President at Sundance this year, I've discovered yet another great high school movie that combines the strength of both Brick and last year's Rocket Science to create one awesome unforgettable film. I went into this not even looking forward to seeing it and was delightfully surprised.
Assassination of a High School President is about Bobby Funke (Reece Thompson), a journalist for the school newspaper who acts 20 years older than his age, wears a detective-style trench coat, and chews more gum than you eat food. Think Watergate's Woodward and Bernstein embodied into a nerdy a high school sophomore, and you've got Bobby Funke. His first assignment is to write an article on the class president, but when he's coaxed by the "hottest girl on campus" (Mischa Barton) to instead investigate the case of the missing SATs, thinks really start to get sticky.
Since this is a high school movie, let me explain it with a bit of math. Assassination of a High School President is Brick + Rocket Science (thanks to Reece Thompson) + a hotter lead female (Mischa Barton) + better comedy + a stronger script. It's the combination of the best parts of Brick and Rocket Science, two of the other best high school movies in years, and a better script. This movie is solid gold and I'm glad I took the time to go discover what will definitely be one of my favorite movies of 2008, and I truly mean that.
I can't say enough good things about Reece Thompson. This guy is on his way to incredible success, and if two independent high school movies alone can prove that, then I can't wait to see what else he'll do. He builds upon his Rocket Science performance and really takes it to the next level here. Screw Bruce Willis, who has a supporting role in this as the principal, it's all about Reece's spot-on hilarious portrayal of young gumshoe journalist-detective Bobby Funke that not only carries the movie but makes this so damn funny.
The comedy never stops, the story is full of twists that keep you on the edge of your seat, and overall this is one of the best balances of mystery and comedy that I've seen in ages. As is the case with most Sundance movies, because they are usually "finished" being edited the night before they premiere, this could use a bit of tightening before its final presentation, but not much. In the end, Assassination of a High School President could easily be a huge success, and I hope it is, because it's a great movie that deserves endless appreciation.
And did I mention Mischa Barton is smokin' hot?! See below.
•  |
Related Articles
- » SXSW Review: Assassination of a High School President
- » Help Save Assassination of a High School President from DVD Doom!
- » Sundance 2008 Day 8: It's All About High School!
- » Lionsgate Adapting Action Comedy Novel Severance Package
- » Sundance 2008 Day 10: We've Reached the End
- » Sundance 2008 Day 6: The Critics Battle and Larry Bishop
Reader Feedback - 6 Comments »
1
Ew, Mischa Barton is so not hot!
Jessica on Jan 24, 2008
2
is this along the lines of 'election?' if so, i will look forward to seeing this.
Jared Lemle on Jan 25, 2008
4
Why the word "assassination" in the title? I'm curious.
Bayle on Feb 19, 2008
5
It's because of the premise. I don't want to spoil anything, but basically, the class president is "framed" in a way, and there's a plot like concept of assassination and such… It's not as violent as you think, it's a very good spin on the story to use for the title. It's really hard to explain without seeing it, but I think it's a great title and could make for some good marketing in a way…
Of course, there's the whole NIU incident which might put a damper on using that title now… 
6
Oh ok. Oooo you just made it more interesting for me now =]
and no….spoils. Thanks!
Bayle on Feb 20, 2008