Review of Art School Confidential (2006) by Codylee R — 03 May 2008

Quite funny in parts, but disappointing.

Given the conventions, pretensions, illusions, and perversions of the art world in general, and of art school in particular, the idea to glean comedy from this particular institution is a promising one. And with a kick-ass cast including John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi, Jim Broadbent, Anjelica Huston, and Ethan Suplee, the film had plenty of potential.

Unfortunately, this potential is somewhat wasted.

One wonders if the film shouldn't have been titled National Lampoon's American Art School Pie 2. We follow our protagonist -- Joe Everyartstudent who, naturally, is very talented and has trouble with girls -- as he is introduced to an assortment of one-dimensional stock characters -- jock, stoner, nerd, gay boy, goth girl, nympho, etc. Oh, and the woman destined to be his love interest, the initially inaccessible girl of his dreams, who seems to think she resembles Cameron Diaz more than she does. Later, we meet Joe Everyartstudent's quirky family, naturally including a hottie younger sister and a feisty ol' grandma.

The film isn't all so conventional, and there are flashes of biting satire, but they are not sustained. After essembling a cast that could have delivered a fuller and less juvenile send-up of the art world, and then walking quite a ways down the low and already much travelled road of paint-by-the-numbers teen sex comedy, the film explores darker territory, turning its focus to a serial-killer subplot that seems incongruous and unnecessary.