Everyone knows that one guy-the one who still wears his cowboy pajamas, gets up early to watch his lineup of Saturday morning cartoons and couldn't get a date with an actual girl if his life depended on it. In the new movie School for Scoundrels, Jon Heder is that guy-but not for long.
For the few out there who have been living under a rock for the past couple years, Jon Heder is the titular Napoleon of the film Napoleon Dynamite. At the start of Scoundrels, Heder plays the familiar role of the quirky outcast-can he do anything else? But soon we can all breath a sigh of relief as we realize that his character Roger is determined to make a change. Acting on the advice of a friend, Roger coughs up money to join a class that will turn him from zero to hero-from wimp to masculine master of his territory in a matter of weeks.
Dr. P (Billy Bob Thornton) is his all-knowing mentor. But when Roger catches the attention of the girl of his dreams, then rises to the top of the male heirarchy faster than Dr. P might like, the competitive teacher moves in to prove his superiority with the ladies.
The cast is packed with exceptional but little known comedic talents, such as Luis Guzman and David Cross. Add actors such as Michael Clarke Duncan and Thornton who exude attitude, and the film reaches a level of hilarity that Heder's awkwardness could not achieve alone.
With an appealing combination of slapstick physicality and witty banter, this film just might appeal to the comedic tastes of more critical viewers. But in the end, School for Scoundrels is a movie made for all the pajama-clad hopefuls searching for that special girl.
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