ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Keira Brennan The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

jgreed-49807 I thought this was a good movie. Although teens were used as the main cast, I think this appeals to all ages. The comedy was dry but great to me, witty even. If someone is not into movies or more into an outlandish comedy I don't they would enjoy it. However, if you don't mind paying a little attention to plots and dialogue, or using a little imagination, you will enjoy this delightful movie. Eric stoltz did an excellent job. I didn't know he directed movies. I look forward to his future films. Whether you watch with your significant other or on your own it should be entertaining.

garygwilliams I love the career trajectory of Olivia Holt. She is starring in her second film and it is just right for her. Her character is a self centered, driven young woman with her eye on becoming a Supreme Court justice. Enter Bernie, the perfect dupe for her, a quirky loner without a clue. It's teen romance movie magic. Eric Stoltz does a great job of showcasing Skylar Gisando as Bernie without forgetting who the real star is. Too bad it will never reach the audience it deserves.

SnoopyStyle Veronica Krauss (Olivia Holt) is an uptight, overachieving high school student who lives with her divorced mom Janet (Kristin Chenoweth) in Livingston, New Jersey. She is horrified to be ranked second in her class with her chances at Yale diminishing. She appeals to the school board to abandon class ranking and is rejected. Her final option is to get the equally awkward classmate Bernard Flannigan (Skyler Gisondo) elected to the school board. Bernard has been going to the board meetings since his late grandmother sat as a member. He's an orphan living with his grandfather Oswald Flannigan (Bruce Dern).The plot is a familiar high school outsider rom-com. Both characters are dorky overachieving loners. Skyler fits the role well but Olivia cannot help her pageant beauty looks. She can't escape the cheerleader trope. They fail to even darken and grease up her hair or simply put on a pair of bottle rim glasses. It's telling that she asks, "Who's the prettiest in class?" The question is tinged with a sense of vanity. It would be more poignant if she asks, "Am I pretty?" but that's a given for her. Anybody with eyes can see that she's pretty. Honestly, the boys would have asked her out over the years at school. This is a troubling oversight by actor turned director Eric Stoltz. He's seen enough to know the high school tropes. It's not like this is trying to break out of the genre. Maybe she could be compared to Tracy Flick in Election but Tracy would never ask if she's pretty. They should either pick another actress or deal with her beauty in the script. I do like calling them Virgin-ica and Barf-nard. There is some fun and some charm to the kids. That helps to give this movie some appeal but this is no classic.

fandomfatale I was really impressed by this movie. I wasn't expecting much from it when I decided to check it out but was quickly charmed. I was hoping there was a romance between the two leads but couldn't tell for sure from what I had read about it beforehand. (I had been planning to turn it off if it didn't turn out to be a romance.) For those of you who are curious: yes, they do get together. I would call it a romantic comedy (there's the formula fight towards the end) and it's definitely not a typical teen movie even though it takes place in high school. It was very focused and didn't waste a lot of time on filler to pad out the timing, which I appreciated. And the two main characters were very likable and quirky. It was kind of interesting, genre-wise. It had the colorful, upbeat feel of, say, a Disney channel move, but definitely was in more of a PG/PG-13 range. The description says that the actions of the main characters inspire those around them, and it actually was kind of inspiring. I would watch it again, which is one of the most important things I could say about it. If you've read any of my past reviews, you'll see I mainly like to speak up for movies that have good romances in dubious or obscure packaging or movies with low IMDB scores that I loved. (Or sometimes just when I have the chance to be the first one to review.) But I can honestly say this is one of my favorite movies that I've taken the time to review on here. I was going to just watch a little of it and then take a nap and ended up finishing the whole thing.