Stealing Harvard (2002)

Tom Green seems to be all over the place these days. He’s got a new talk show (it’s on really late, but it’s there…for the moment) and now he pops up in a new movie starring everybody’s favorite comic book collecting oddball Jason Lee (Chasing Amy, Mallrats).

Will Jason Lee be able to calm down Tom Green enough to make this a decent movie, while at the same time prove himself as a decent actor without director Kevin Smith?

Jason Lee does a pretty good job here trying to play the decent guy caught up between two promises. He wants to keep both, and ends up taking an odd turn you know he never saw coming. He really shines when he first finds the news. You can just see the shock prominently on his face, yet he doesn’t overplay it to the point of silliness. The rest of the film is just the result of that one moment, and he doesn’t get to shine as much anywhere else.

Tom Green, a bit freaky, as usual, displays his own unique charm in this film, and yet comes off as the biggest dork, all at the same time. I know it works for him, but I don’t think any other actor should try risking this approach. It usually doesn’t work, and that’s part of the funniness about him. He’s one of those guys you don’t really know why you like, but you do. Pauly Shore was the last actor to take this route, and look what happened to him!

The plot was somewhat typical for a comedy, but seemed a bit higher class then most of the ones coming out recently (The Hot Chick, Just Married (2003), etc.).

This seems about on par with Orange County (2002), and there are quite a few similarities between the two. They’ve both got the odd friend (Jack Black and Tom Green) , they’ve got a simple guy whose life gets turned upside down (Colin Hanks and Jason Lee)…get the drift?

Basically, what it all boils down to, is a personal choice. Are you a big fan of Jack Black, or are you in Tom Green’s corner? True, Jason Lee far outshines Colin Hanks, but if you’re going to see Stealing Harvard, you have to get a kick out of Tom Green. If you don’t, the rest of the movie won’t matter. He’s in it enough that if you don’t like him, don’t see the film. Same goes for Jack Black and Orange County (2002).

All in all, Stealing Harvard turns out to be a decent film in the latest slew of comedy films. It stands out (just a little) from the crowd, and does have a good plotline to go with the laughs, which most comedies seem to forget about these days. They just look for the laughs, and then slap together a plot to go between them.

Stealing Harvard seems a bit more thought out, and is much the better because of it. Not bad for a former “Kids in the Hall” star-turned-director!