Plot: Six high school seniors decide to break into the Princeton Testing Center so they can steal the answers to their upcoming SAT tests and all get perfect scores.
Runtime: 1 Hour 33 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Perfect Score starts when Kyle (Evans) finds his dream college in doubt when he struggles on his SAT test. He teams up with his best friend Matthy (Greenberg) to find a solution. The pair turn to the daughter of the building owner Francesca (Johansson) to break in and steal the tests.
As the team comes together, they are joined by stoner Roy (Nam), aspiring basketball star Desmond (Miles) and Ivy League student Anna (Christensen). Now the six come together with a plan to break in and steal the test results to get their dream colleges.
Verdict onThe Perfect Score
The Perfect Score is a comedy heist movie following six high school students who are struggling to get into their desired colleges due to their SAT scores. They team up to steal the answers, in an elaborate heist which could save their futures. However, the risk is worth it to them or more about going against the testing system in the high schools.
This is a movie that brings the heist movie to life for a younger group. It shows the challenges being faced by high school students battling it at a certain college. This gets to show the flaws in the system in that a test puts everyone into a bracket, rather than understanding the best way to learn. Away from that side of the story, we get the generic high school students coming together Breakfast Club style.
The cast is the most interesting here. An early couple of roles for future Avengers Chris Evans and Scarlet Johannson. It all fits the era and has a message about the struggles high school students faced.
A Cult Classic or Failed Attempt? The Perfect Score Revisited
On the 30th of January 2004, teen comedy The Perfect Score was released. It follows six high school students who decide the steal the SAT tests to help themselves get the best scores for college. However, along the way, they must overcome their problems and learn what is most important for their futures.
Today, I am looking back at the movie and seeing whether it is a cult favourite in the early career of a few A-Listers, or just another teen comedy.
The Perfect Score: 20 Years Later
Box Office
IMDB reports that The Perfect Score had a budget of $40 Million, which for the time seems crazy for a comedy. If that number is correct, it would put this down as a massive disappointment, only making just under $11 Million worldwide. It opened at number 5 in the US Box Office which is always a negative factor for any movie.
Critical Reception
The Perfect Score has a relatively negative reaction from the critics, sitting with a score of 16%. Most of the critics claimed the lack of laughs to hold the movie back. While other movies have done the similar story, with a better outcome.
Positive
Allison Benedikt in the Chicago Tribune quotes ‘Succeeds because at its core it is about the very different pressures very different young adults face, and the test that insists on judging them as one and the same.’
Mike Clark in the USA Today quotes ‘Johansson’s nearly deadpan deliveries are looking adaptable to a variety of roles, and the Nam character’s stoned demeanor gets laughs in a variety of situations.’
Negative
Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Time quotes’ It’s too palatable. It maintains a tone of light seriousness, and it depends on the caper for too much of its entertainment value.’
Melinda Ennis in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution quotes ‘Despite the serious subject matter, director Brian Robbins can’t decide whether this is a drama, a satire or an American Pie-style teen spoof, and the film dissolves into a shapeless, weightless mass.’
The Pre-Avengers
The Perfect Score has Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson in the cast. They both went on to be the cornerstones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Captain America and Black Widow. However, both the then-young stars had different paths before this movie.
Scarlett Johansson was a child star stepping into more adult movies. Her early credits include ‘Home Alone 3’, ‘Ghost World’ and ‘Eight-Legged Freaks’. In 2003 her performance in Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation’ and early 2004 ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ turned heads at her abilities. She has gone on to receive two Oscar Nominations, for ‘Jojo Rabbit’ and ‘A Marriage Story’ both in the same year.
Elsewhere, Chris Evans had appeared in ‘Not Another Teen Movie’, but this was his next major role. A small action movie ‘Cellular’ was the last role before he stepped into his first major comic movie with ‘Fantastic Four’.
The Rest of the Cast
Bryan Greenberg
Bryan Greenberg is the best friend of Kyle and sees his dreams shattered with his lower score, he is a good support character in the movie. However, he went on to have one of the least exciting careers of the whole cast. He has worked on movies such as ‘Bride Wars’, ‘Friends with Benefits’ and ‘The Program’. Bryan never managed to reach a leading man position like his fellow cast members.
Erika Christensen
Erika Christensen has previously appeared in thriller ‘Swinfan’ and appeared in a few of the popular sitcoms of the time. She would be considered the lead female of the film too and much like Bryan Greenberg, she never took off like some of the other cast members. Her biggest role after was in the sitcom ‘Parenthood’ which ran for 6 seasons.
Darius Miles
Darius Miles plays the aspiring basketball player who needs a certain level SAT result to get into college. His character reflected his real career, as he was in the early stages of his professional career in this movie following on from his appearance in ‘Van Wilder’. Darius played professional basketball for nearly 10 years before injury ended his career early.
Leonardo Nam
Leonardo Nam completes the six-person cast on the heist, he plays the typical stoner slacker who ends up joining in the heist. While he never had any major roles, he has become a reliable cast member. In recent years, his most famous role would be in ‘Westworld’. We can also watch out for him in the highly rated Ava DuVernay’s ‘Origin’.
Matthew Lillard
Matthew Lillard was the main reason I went to check this movie out. He was known for ‘Scream’, ‘Thir13en Ghosts’, and ‘Scooby Doo’ to mention a few. I am still a massive fan of all of these movies and the actor in general. While this is only a supporting role, he makes the most of it with added laughs and has continued to go on to become one of the most loved actors of his generation.
Director
Brian Robbins is the director of The Perfect Score. Before this movie, he director cult comedies ‘Good Burger’, ‘Ready to Rumble’ alongside popular sports dramas ‘Varsity Blues’ and ‘Hardball’. After this movie he remained in comedy with ‘Norbit’ and ‘Meet Dave’.
Teen Comedy Competition
2004 has some of the most popular teen comedies which performed much better at the box office. Some are still considered the best of an era too. ‘Mean Girls’, ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ and ‘The Girl Next Door’ would be considered the three most popular.
Writer: Mark Schwahn, Marc Hyman, Jon Zack (Screenplay) Marc Hyman, Jon Zack (Story)
Starring: Chris Evans, Bryan Greenberg, Scarlett Johansson, Leonardo Nam, Erika Christensen, Darius Miles, Tyra Ferrell, Matthew Lillard, Vanessa Angel
Plot: Six high school seniors decide to break into the Princeton Testing Centre so they can steal the answers to their upcoming SAT tests and all get perfect scores.
Verdict: Stepping Stones
Story: The Perfect Score shows what happens when kids take exams it doesn’t matter how smart you are it only matters what your scores are. Our six teenagers all have different ideas of a future and they all want to achieve it, but these results can change their futures. This shows the pressure these students have to go through and how they all react to it. It comes off as a basic heist film that ends up having a much deeper meaning. It is all very easy to watch and really doesn’t have any twists. It does have very stereotypical characters which you know how their revelation will work out in the end. (6/10)
Actor Review
Chris Evans: Kyle who wants to become an architect but his test scores are not up to the required level to get into the college of his choice. He comes up with a plan along with his best friend and shows leadership skills to keep the team working together throughout. Good performance showing that Chris Evans was going to be become a major star in the future. (7/10)
Bryan Greenberg: Matty Matthews who believes that he can walk into the college where his girlfriend goes to, but he ends up being bought back down to earth by being rejected and joins in with his best friend’s plan to steal the scores. Solid performance on an honest student who really doesn’t know what his future is going to hold. (7/10)
Scarlett Johansson: Francesca Curtis daughter of the man behind the SAT office who gets recruited to help. She is very much too herself and runs a website trying to expose the truth. Good performance from Scarlett showing she was ready to become the mega star she is now. (7/10)
Leonardo Nam: Roy stoner who is bottom of the class, he joins the team because he over hears the plan but ends up showing he is more helpful than first thought. Has most of the funny lines and actions even if he is the stereotypical stoner characters. (7/10)
Erika Christensen: Anna Ross second best student in the class, but always folds under the pressure of exams. She gets pushed by her parents to be the best and attend Brown but she starts to question what she really wants as the film unfolds. Good performance as the girl entering a zone outside her comfort zone. (7/10)
Darius Miles: Desmond Rhodes star basketball player who has been struggling on his studies, gets bought down to earth when he gets told he will still need improvement on the game and the good grades will help him have something to fall back on. Looks the most out of place here and struggles to convince throughout. (4/10)
Director Review: Brian Robbins – Creates a basic heist film for kids which is enjoyable without being memorable. (7/10)
Comedy: The Perfect Score has a few laughs here and there mostly from Roy, but nothing over the top. (7/10)
Crime: The Perfect Score heist side of the story comes off well and shows that there could be punishments if caught. (8/10)
Settings: All basic settings The Perfect Score use don’t really add anything to the story. (5/10)
Suggestion: This is one to try, it is good seeing early Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson work too. (Try It)
Best Part: Evans and Johansson showing they were stars in the making.
Worst Part: The dated Matrix daydream sequences.
Funniest Scene: Roy calls Desmond and ends up talking to his mum.
Believability: The struggle the student go through it real but what they do is not. (5/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Box Office: $11 Million
Budget: $40 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 33 Minutes
Tagline: The S.A.T is hard to take. It’s even harder to steal.
