Product Details

• Actors: Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Heder, Jacinda Barrett, Michael Clarke Duncan, Sarah Silverman
• Directors: Todd Phillips
• Writers: Todd Phillips, Hal E. Chester, Patricia Moyes, Scot Armstrong, Stephen Potter
• Producers: Annette Savitch, Bob Weinstein
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Genius Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: February 13, 2007
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000K2UH06
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #146,600 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "School for Scoundrels Unrated Full Screen" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

A young guy short on his luck enrolls in a class to build confidence to help win over the girl of his dreams which becomes complicated when his teacher has the same agenda. Studio: Genius Products Inc Release Date: 09/16/2008 Starring: Billy Bob Thornton Matt Walsh Run time: 107 minutes Rating: Ur

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It was okay, March 3, 2007

By 

Cathedral of Crane "Mr. Jory" (home) - See all my reviews

This review is from: School for Scoundrels (Unrated Widescreen Edition) (DVD)

This movie had its funny moments, although Jon Heder was always better as Napoleon Dynamite than any of these other roles he plays. The concept behind having a "school" that is supposed to teach confidence but really conveys sinister ways in order to reach that confidence was good. I do not recommend the unrated version though. The only reason it is unrated is because Billy Bob says G## D##### about a million times. After a while the curse words get to the point where they are weakening the film and not strengthening it. Then again its just B grade comedy, despite having Ben Stiller in the mix. Okay to rent but definitely little substance to make it part of your collection.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars so disappointing! Jon Heder-you can do better!, October 5, 2006

By 

English major (Georgia) - See all my reviews

I had high hopes for SFS, and the early previews ("trailers") I saw were so promising. Jon Heder? Billy Bob Thornton? What could go wrong? As it turned out...quite a bit. I read a review which mentioned that Jacinda Barrett is too bland to be a leading lady, and I wholeheartedly agree. I would NOT recommend this. There were a few laugh-out-loud moments, but they were very few and far between and didn't make up for what happened (or didn't happen) in the interim. All in all, it was a waste of time. One of the few redeeming qualities was the soundtrack, but that didn't make up for that two hours of my life spent watching this.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Was this supposed to be funny?, July 18, 2007

By 

JD (Provo, Utah USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: School for Scoundrels (Unrated Widescreen Edition) (DVD)

I had high hopes for School for Scoundrels, and that may have added to my eventual disappointment in the film. I should have set my expectations lower but both Thornton and Heder are capable of delivering the laughs - just not in this movie.

The movie's plot, while basic, should have been funny. Heder is a loser with no courage and a panicky/fainting personality. He is sent by a friend who boasts that he's seeing "two Asian girls at the same time" to Thornton (Dr. P.) who teaches a rough class that supposedly stiffens spines and will make its students over into lions for $5000. This revolves around hurting the students, yelling at them (and in the case of Lesher, even raping them). Yup, Michael Clark Duncan (who plays Thornton's assistant) starts out as his usual no-nonsense gruff self and then becomes something more creepy and ugly as the movie winds down. Was the image of Duncan raping these losers supposed to add humor to the story?

Anyway, as we all know from the previews Heder finds the lion within (Thornton's tutelage notwithstanding) and a new competitive side of Thornton emerges. Not to be upstaged by Heder he moves in on Heder's girl (Jacinda Barrett). The movie has been slow up till now, the laughs mild and sparse, but things look like they'll be picking up finally. Heder and Thornton spar for Barrett's attention and give us some genuine laughs, but as soon as it gets going it falls into the realm of the implausible and not-so-very-funny. When Barrett's apartment is broken into and vandalized (supposedly by Heder) there isn't much to laugh at anymore - except maybe that the movie expects us to believe that she can't see through what is happening around her. In fact the scenarios become so ludicrous and ugly that you may be shaking your head in disgust, but not laughing. And Heder's girl? Well, she starts to look less and less like a prize worth fighting for as the movie progresses. All the while you have to listen to Barrett's roommate spout nonsense toward Heder's character because everyone knows that you can't have a comedy without the quirky roommate right? In this case her quirks are more aggravation and annoyance than anything else.

In the end, Ben Stiller shows up with bad hair, bad accent and cats, and with his help Heder is ready to take on Thornton to try and win Barrett's affection, or save Barrett from Thornton, or beat Thornton, or something like that.

Like I said, Thornton and Heder have shown in other movies that they do know how to do comedy, but their performances here are shallow at best. For all the work Thornton had to put into this he could have been reading from que cards the whole time, but that hardly matters his character never breaks free from its mold. Heder is somewhat charming and likeable but spends far too much time being the brooding, loser punching bag. The supporting cast comes and goes but never offers any lasting impression and their inclusion in the film feels like it is by requisite and not the decision of the people in charge for making this movie.

Like the supporting cast, the jokes are just the requisite ones and bring no originality to the film, its like no one is even trying with this one the jokes are so dumb. Dumb humor is fine in a dumb humor movie, but School For Scoundrels isn't content to be a dumb humor movie and takes itself way too serious - and tries to force feed the audience with that crap. No thought and no fun; the movie doesn't have anything to stand on.

You may enjoy the film if you are a fan of Thornton or Heder. But if you are like me you will feel more ripped off than satisfied by School For Scoundrels.