THE PERFECT SCORE

Starring:
Chris Evans, Bryan Greenberg, Erika Christensen, Darius Miles, Leonardo Nam, Matthew Lillard and Scarlett Johansson

Director:
Brian Robbins

Running Times:
92 mins

Out to buy on DVD 13/09/04

"I've never really done anything"

Anna

The SATs are the most important examination in any young American's life. This standardised test will decide how the rest of your life will turn out. Whether it be getting into the college of your dreams, heading to the NBA, living up to your parents expectations or just getting into the same college as your girlfriend, your SAT score will determine if you will ever attain these goals. Kyle (Evans), Matty (Greenberg), Francesca (Johansson), Anna (Christensen), Desmond (Miles) and Roy (Nam) are not going to take any chances on their dreams however as they plan break into the Princeton Testing Centre and steal the answers.

If you cross the Breakfast Club with Mission Impossible and you get what the filmmakers were trying to achieve with The Perfect Score. However they came up quite a few marks short.

The idea of a group of mismatched high school students coming together to plan an elaborate scheme to steal exam papers is hardly original but this movie has one saving grace, the actors. In Scarlett Johansson and Erika Christensen you have two of the best young actresses working in the business at the moment. While neither of their roles are hardly the most challenging they will ever have, they bring that little bit extra to the characters making the movie all that more watchable.

The rest of the actors are quite watchable as well. Leonardo Nam is good as the narrator and comic relief as druggie, nerd Roy. He has most of the comedic moments in the movie and turns into quite a likeable character. Chris Evans and Bryan Greenberg as Kyle and Matty bring nothing new to the genre as they just look like clones of every other American teen star but they are watchable all the same. Darius Miles is good as Desmond but it would be nice to see an Africa-American character wanting to get on academically instead of just via sports. There is also a funny cameo role for Matthew Lillard as Kyle waster bother Larry.

This is an MTV Movies production and you can really tell. The character introductions feel more like an episode of "The Real World" or "Cribs" and the fast cuts and constant use of music are just there to cater for the key demographic the movie is aimed at. This isn't a bad thing but it takes away any original look the movie might have been trying to achieve.

The Perfect Score is an average teen comedy adventure that only really stands out due to presence of Erika Christensen and Scarlett Johansson. Quite enjoyable in places but not enough to be at all memorable after the credits roll, The Perfect Score falls well short of that accolade.

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