LOSER

2000

Take the two talented, young stars who contributed so much to the success of their respective mega-hits last year, Jason Biggs("American Pie,") and Mena Suvari("American Beauty.) Put them in the very-capable hands of writer/director Amy Heckerling("Fast Times at Ridgemont High," "Clueless.") Add to this mix, one of my favorite actors, Greg Kinnear, and two gifted clowns, Andy Dick and David Spade, and what you should get is a funny and intelligent teen-age comedy. Those last two words, "teen-age comedy," can usually be counted on to be an oxymoron describing a genre of imbecilic film, made to titillate some 14-year-old boys who have the mentality of indoor plants! This one aims higher, and it succeeds. Thanks to the fine acting of the leads, as well as a well-written and directed screenplay, a satiric atmosphere is created, in which shots are taken at such ugly targets as date-rape, cell-phones, binge-drinking, undergraduate morons whose parents are subsidizing them(and if you don't think that the three "villains" are realistically portrayed, I can introduce you to the three of them,)uncaring campus bureaucrats, and professors who date their students. No, smart-ass, I never did!!!

4 Stars

NJB