High School
High School
R | 03 June 2010 (USA)
High School Trailers

A high school valedictorian who gets baked with the local stoner finds himself the subject of a drug test. The situation causes him to concoct an ambitious plan to get his entire graduating class to face the same fate, and fail.

Reviews
YouHeart I gave it a 7.5 out of 10
CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
cjb-in-usa First off, this unfairly represents cannabis. Marijuana in particular does less bad than good.No creativity here, just one off, shock value vulgarities poorly passed off as humor. On the surface a harmless fiction, but like an iceberg the true danger isn't easily seen. All potential viewers should be warned to keep their attention ready, and question the motivations for creating this film aside with the (seemingly) single goal of profit. So as you watch, constantly question "why?". If successful in doing so, an entire hidden world will start to become apparent. Those whom produced this sloppy film have showed their just how sneaky and unintelligent they are all while doing the progression of humanity a huge disservice. They're ultimately fearful, simple people so the transparent agenda is partially explained. Maybe my identifying reality will teach them to be good people not so filled with self hate.
KineticSeoul This is a dull, predictable and dumb stoner movie that isn't funny or entertaining to watch. If you seen these types of genre before you can tell how everything is going to play out. The movie is called "High School" and most of the movie takes place in high school. But almost has nothing to do with high school. The whole movie could have taken place at a office building or a factory etc. And it wouldn't have made much of a difference. The plot is about a conceited teen and his stoner friend make a non-believable bromance and decides to make the whole high school high. So the conceited teen with the highest GPA in the school who smoked pot once can go to a good college even if he fails the drug test. Since they really can't do anything if the whole high school fails the drug test. But basically to sum the movie up, it's about how potheads rule and people that are against are the villains. If the movie is dumb but funny it would be watchable but that isn't the case. The whole movie is just a predictable dull mess. That tries very hard to be funny but just isn't. I don't know why Adrien Brody decided to play a part in this movie.3.8/10
Steve Pulaski I know quite a few people I could recommend John Stalberg, Jr.'s High School to. Someone seeking a funny comedy while sober is someone I'd refer more in the direction of Judd Apatow, Kevin Smith, or even John Waters, if they craved something transgressive and daring. You know those ominous adolescents who used to hang behind your school, doing God knows what? Get in contact with them. I got a film they might want to see.This is a stoner film that only works if you're under the influence of some pretty strong marijuana. Viewing it without smoke of some sort floating in the air serves no purpose unless you want frustration to brew for an hour and a half. Considering that stoner films like Bio-Dome and the Harold and Kumar franchise work well on their own terms, without chemical reinforcement, to see High School completely rely on its audience's level of impairment seems like a shallow cop-out.We get generic protagonists who attend the most generic high school run by the most generic principal in a generic uninteresting and contrived story about Henry and Travis (Matt Bush and Sean Marquette), two upperclassmen that plan to get the entire high school for no real reason other than the fact that the school has recently implemented strict drug testing and they figure by getting the entire school so dazed and confused it will lead to them to second-guess their decision. That makes about as much sense as randomly shooting guns in the air to show that Americans really need them, but that's logic when you're under the influence, I suppose.They wind up putting keef, a chemical stronger than marijuana with advanced side effects, in the school's bake sale brownies, and sure enough, the school becomes stoned and the remainder of the film follows around these two idiots (one of them is a valedictorian, but I'll question where the brains are in his head) as they go to classroom after classroom, giggling childishly at the stoned school.Where did they get that keef, you may be asking? From the local loser drug-dealer nicknamed "Psycho Ed" (Adrien Brody), who is equipped with a raspy voice, braided hair, full body tattoos, and lazy eyes. They steal it from his shack, and he quickly pursues them for the remainder of the film. Brody gives a dedicated performance here. Even as an Oscar winner, he doesn't appear to be taking the "collect the check" route unlike our good friend Nicolas Cage. On the other hand, Michael Chiklis portrays the deranged school principal, boasting a wig, a red beard, and glasses. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.High School originally ran at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival as a midnight movie and took two years to get DVD distribution, even with Adrien Brody, Michael Chiklis, and Colin Hanks headlining. Perhaps this means there's a middling interest for these kinds of films. Or ones that are simply done poorly. At least Brody appears to be having fun. That's more that can be said for the sober members of the audience.NOTE: Let's hope it didn't take you this long to discover the ambiguity of the film's title, either.Starring: Matt Bush, Sean Marquette, Adrien Brody, Michael Chiklis, and Colin Hanks. Directed by: John Stalberg, Jr.
rgblakey Most of the stoner comedy films that come along play pretty stupid and are an acquired taste. The latest High School looks to take the same template but add something a bit unique to it with more story. Is it possible to really be able to make a stoner film that stands out as more than just that or is it just a guise to attract a bigger audience.High School follows a valedictorian who decides to take his first hit of pot only to find out that they are having random drug testing the same day. To try and nullify the test he teams up with the school's biggest stoner to attempt to get the entire school high. For the most part this is your typical stoner comedy, but thanks to the great cast and new twist with the story it manages to become something more and quite entertaining. Of course the story is highly unbelievable, but if you can set that aside and just have fun with it you are sure to have a great time. The entire cast does a great job, but two standouts come in the form of school faculty with Colin Hanks and Michael Chiklis. Hanks seems to just letting it all out to having a lot of fun not taking himself seriously and delivering some memorable moments. If Hanks is letting it all out, then Chiklis has split open and pours it out on the floor. His delivers a performance out of character that is both hilarious and a bit creepy. The obsessed principal he brings to life would easily become one of the more memorable film characters if this film got a wider release. Every aspect of his performance works and is bothersome on so many levels. The other stand out is Adrian Brody who is always good and seems to enjoy the stranger roles, but here just seems to lose his mind inside the character and become one with this psychotic drug dealer.This movie is a lot of fun and reminiscent of the comedies of the 80's. Filled with a great cast, over the top story, and an original take on the stoner comedy High School will have you eager to light it up and smoke until the last puff.http://www.examiner.com/movie-in-dallas/bobby-blakey