Fantastic!

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Paul (Christopher Gorham) is a doctoral student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Naturally, this is admirable as the school's reputation is very fine. Unfortunately, Paul has big shoes to fill, for his father is one of the most beloved professors on campus. But, Paul is having great difficulty finishing his dissertation, probably because of his need to "measure up". To blow off steam, Paul makes the rounds of trivia contests held at local bars with his friend, James (Nelson Franklin), a college test adviser. Since this activity is far more than a passing interest, it pushes his academic goals even farther away. Then, another complication arrives. Paul's world is shaken when a beautiful freshman student, Naomi (Arielle Kebbel) is a pupil in Paul's study lab. Bright and unconventional, she opens up a world that Paul hasn't experienced, one beyond the outskirts of Ann Arbor. But, as pressure mounts for Paul to finish his degree, be a local trivia champion, and win Naomi's heart, something's gotta give. What? This is a fine film, with an unusual story of academia most viewers won't know. It has many solid discussion points, from religion to family ties to cloistered environments. Gorham, Franklin, and Kebbel are wonderful in their respective roles, as are the lesser cast members. Then, too, Ann Arbor is tailor-made for a nice setting while the challenging script and direction are quite fine as well. Will it play beyond Ann Arbor? I hope so, for it has many genuine assets in the art of film-making.

There are no great twists in this movie and nothing ground breaking. It's not remarkably funny, it's not extremely bad. It just is a very average blend of a growing up movie that tries to be a comedy.The plot line follows the basic boy is stuck in life, boy meets free spirited girl, boy gets girl, boy gets a wake-up call, yada yada yada storytelling. Very easy to predict once you've been introduced to the main characters. The whole trivia thing is just an excuse to shoot in a bar and in the end is actually a pretty small part of the whole movie. There is one scene where the main character gets very philosophical in class about the concept of questioning what one reads and it's relation to creating something holy, which is actually surprisingly thought provoking (although the setting in which it is presented again is pretty cliché).If you're into the whole "growing up in college" thing, or if you just want something where no brain power is necessary, then you might have a few enjoyable hours with this one.

This is the academic equivalent of a movie where a big time college football coach raises his son to be a quarterback. The son thinks that this is what he wants, but it doesn't make him happy; so he looks to find something to make him happy -- in this case trivia contests and a disturbingly underage girl.The football coach equivalent dad is a wonderful character, who is a non-actor, real college professor, who basically plays his real life self. His performance alone is worth the price of admission. The movie portrays something which I haven't seen on the screen before, but which is something which goes on a lot in real world university campuses. Borderline sexual predation by a very mature graduate student, teaching assistant, and an incoming college freshman, straight out of high school. The movie raises just the right amount of discomfiture, but avoids overt creepiness by showing that the girl is much more mature and worldly-wise than is the older man. Ultimately, she controls their relationship, not he.Along the way, there is gorgeous cinematography of a real Midwestern college town in autumn and several legitimate laugh out loud moments. The most formulaic moment is the ending -- directly inspired by Good Will Hunting, it would appear.I'd give it 3 stars out of 4 -- since it's a movie about academia, a solid B+.Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach CA

This movie is impossibly clichéd and stupid. Ridiculous storyline involves an English literature graduate student who is, the audience is repeatedly, ham-handedly bludgeoned into understanding, repressed and constrained by the life-long influence of his father, who is also, impossibly, an English literature professor in the same department. Add water to the standard elements of a wanna-be movie narrative: Young romantic interest helps protagonist break out of his rut and find his own identity; developing sense of self helps protagonist relate more genuinely to the students he teaches (the protagonist's "break-out" teaching assistant class toward the end of the movie being one of the most unwatchable segments of film I've seen in my life); evil rival European comparative literature student nemesis (seriously). The "mad-cap," "zany" trivia contest happening in the background providing painfully predictable comic relief. This movie does more than waste your time; it makes you long for your own death.