Product Details

• Actors: Jason Lee, Tom Green, Leslie Mann, Dennis Farina, Megan Mullally
• Directors: Bruce McCulloch
• Writers: Martin Hynes, Peter Tolan
• Producers: Bert Salke, Chris Brancato, Howard Lapides, Marty P. Ewing, Maureen Peyrot
• Format: Color, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Spanish
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: June 24, 2003
• Run Time: 85 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00007M5KM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #701,868 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In Stealing Harvard, the charming Jason Lee (Chasing Amy, Almost Famous) wastes his talent playing John, a nice guy who once rashly promised his niece that he would pay for her college education. Now she's been accepted into Harvard, and though John has just the right amount of money in the bank, that money is meant to buy a house for himself and his fiancée Elaine (Leslie Mann, Big Daddy). Afraid of disappointing his niece, John enlists his friend Duff (Tom Green, Freddy Got Fingered, Road Trip) on a spree of inane criminal escapades that go wrong. Lee is an engaging actor, but he can't make the half-baked gags of Stealing Harvard funny. Similarly wasted are Megan Mullally (Will & Grace), Dennis Farina (Out of Sight, Snatch), Chris Penn (Reservoir Dogs, Short Cuts), and others. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Tom Green was occasionally funny., April 26, 2003

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stealing Harvard (DVD)

Summary:
John Plummer (Jason Lee (I)) lives a kind of doldrum life as an assistant manager of a home medical supply store. He's dating the owner's (Dennis Farina) daughter, Elaine Warner (Leslie Mann), and they are planning on getting married. They had decided to wait to get married until they had saved up enough to put a down payment on a house. The movie begins with them realizing that they have finally saved up enough money. There's just one problem, John promised his niece, Noreen Plummer (Tammy Blanchard), that if she got in to college he would pay for it. Well, she got into Harvard and now she needs the money - the exact amount that he had saved up. John is stuck with a decision but can't take away his wife's dreams, so he turns to an old friend to help him come up with the money, Walter 'Duff' Duffy (Tom Green (III)). Duff comes up with several illegal plans for getting the money, each getting them further into trouble with the law. Eventually all of the plans catch up to them and they have to deal with the chaos they have been causing and they still don't have the money.

My Comments:
The movie was occasionally funny, but only occasionally. The plot was pretty good and the story wasn't terrible, but it wasn't really memorable. The major problem with the movie was that it was supposed to be funny, but it wasn't. Jason Lee tries, and some of the situations are a bit humorous - specifically the repeated instances of the main characters having to dress up as women for the Honorable Emmett Cook (Richard Jenkins (I)) - but the best it does is get an occasional chuckle.

This movie seemed to receive a lot of hype, and, frankly, I thought it was going to be more about actually going to college. But college and college life really have very little to do with it.

Overall, this movie didn't live up to the hype it received. It may be kind of funny if you're really bored and need something to do on a Friday night with friends. Otherwise, not worth your time.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious and Very Memorable!, October 3, 2002

By 

Ed Mich "Ed" (New York) - See all my reviews

I knew Stealing Harvard would be really funny just because I had a gut feeling.It's something that you can't really explain.Jason Lee who is a great actor was hilarious and Tom Green-well Tom Green is a little weird.I never liked Tom Green but he just has a really funny voice making the humor he tries to make funny just the way he talks and acts...Stealing Harvard could possibly be one of the funniest movies that have ever been made.

The supporting cast makes a big difference.Dennis Farina is very funny...In this movie he steals the show.Seymour Cassel was also very funny.I have only seen him in The Royal Tenenbaums but this was anthor good role that he played.Leslie Mann from George of the Jungle also portrayed her character well.And last Megan Mullony from Will and Grace had to be another one of the funniest cast members in the movie.

The movie is about John Plummer who lives with his girlfriend Elaine Warner and works for her father Mr Warner.When Elaine tells John that they finally rasied enough money to buy there dream house they prepare for there wedding.When John goes to his sister Patty's house he learns that his neice Noreen got accepted into Harvard and Patty reminds John of the promise he made to his neice that if she ever got into college he would pay for it.The problem is...the tution is around 30,000 which is the amount of money John and Elaine saved up to buy there house.John then turns to the master planner....Walter "Duff" Duffy to come up with a plan.Duff tells John that crimials make money and they decide to plan a theft of a grocery store.

...The movie is very funny and just has that charm to it that most movies can't give out.Go see Stealing Harvard today!

ENJOY!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dismal Waste of Time, April 20, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Stealing Harvard (DVD)

I rate a comedy by how many times it makes me laugh. Stealing Harvard didn't make me laugh at all. I like the other movies with Jason Lee and Tom Green, so I was very disapointed by the lack of humor in this flick. Keep in mind that I'm not very picky, I even enjoyed Freddy Got Fingered. I don't even demand a coherant story plot, I just want to laugh. This movie has absolutely no comedy value.