Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

best movie i've ever seen.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The zany rude humor that whipped up gales of laughter in the riotous "Naked Gun" trilogy wanes in the shallow but mildly funny "High School High," a spoof of recent high school sagas such as "Dangerous Minds" and "The Substitute." Scenarists David Zucker of "Airplane," Robert LoCash of "BASEketball," and Pat Proft of "Brain Donors" aren't as successful with this half-baked entry. The comedy in "High School High" seems virtually colorless. Although it boasts more jokes per screen minute than "Airplane" and "Top Secret" or the "Naked Gun" trilogy, this production manages at least to amuse, even though it cannot intoxicate.Weasel-faced comedian Jon Lovitz of "City Slickers 2") plays Richard Clark, a sympathetic but naïve educator who quits teaching history at a 'rich kids' academy to work in a poverty stricken ghetto school. Clark gets more than he bargained for at the inner city Marion Barry High School. No sooner has he climbed out of his car than the same vehicle mysteriously vanishes. Initially, Clark is blind to the rampant crime, gang, and drug problems afflicting the school. He is horrified to see Principal Evelyn Doyle (Louise Fletcher of "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest") hitting students with a baseball bat. While Clark fumbles with his own foes, Griff McReynolds (Mekhi Phifer of "Clockers") is coming back to finish school after a year in juvenile detention. McReynolds wants to go straight, but a gang of drug runners refuses to let him off the hook. Before these bad boys can convert McReynolds to their cause, they have to discredit Clark. Word-plays and sight gags constitute the best of what little comedy punctuates "High School High." The funniest scenes include a send-up of the Russian roulette duel in "The Deer Hunter," an attempted rape in the school library, and Clark's rain-splattered expulsion. Actor-turned-director Hart Bochner concerns himself more with the plot turns than the humor. Bochner doesn't develop his mise-en-scene as imaginatively as Zucker did in his "Naked Gun" movies. Zucker exploited every inch of a scene, with gags on the periphery.When Bochner tries to imitate Zucker, he fails miserably at the task. Bochner shoots the background out of focus where the action occurs so audiences have a hard time spotting students failing down stairs because they wear their pants too low. Blaming Bochner entirely for these shortcomings in this marginal comedy would be to overlook the writers' slack contribution. Indeed, "High School High" features a couple of truly inventive gags, but the movie suffers because there is not enough funny stuff.The writers stretch jokes and ides far beyond their limits, and "High School High" looks like a labored sit-com. The cast performs with deadpan brilliance, but their characters are rarely inspired or loony. Zucker, LoCash, and Proft should be ashamed that it took three of them to pen what little drivel "High School High" has.

John Lovitz is very likable and very funny in this spoof of an inner city high school. The story is familiar, new, naive, fish out of water teacher, is eventually accepted because of his commitment to his students. "High School High", like most spoofs is a hit or miss affair. Some of the gags fall flat, but the film totally redeems itself with several hilarious moments. Stereotypes are on parade, but that of course is the purpose of a spoof, and things move rather quickly, so even the misses are easily forgiven. John Lovitz carries the film, but the supporting cast is quite good also. Bottom line, this is better than 95% of the similar parodies "National Lampoon" spits out, and is recommended of it's type. - MERK

A naive but dedicated educator (Jon Lovitz) decides to teach at the roughest high school in L.A. and once he arrived at this new job, he finds out the conditions at this school is tough, violent and students don't want to know anything about higher education. This educator befriends with an beautiful teacher (Tia Carrere) and an student (Mekhi Phifer), who wants an education. But this student has troubles with his previous gang members, especially with the leader (Guillermo Diaz). Who still wants him to sell drugs on the streets. This educator also has trouble with passionless principal (Oscar-Winner:Louise Fletcher) but he finds a way to teach his most unlikely students and giving them hope for education, which they never had before.Directed by Canadian actor:Hart Bochner (PCU) made an amusing comedy that spoofs films like "Dangerous Minds", "Stand and Deliver", "The Deer Hunter" and other memorable films. Lovitz is extremely likable and he has some very big laughs in this silly comedy. Although this comic spoof is unusually realistic at other moments also. The film has an good message for any students for those who wants an education and to have a bright future but it is also hard, what it's wants to be. Ambitious to be sure but always watchable. Written by David Zucker (Airplane!, Baseketball, Ruthless People), Robert LoCash (CB4:The Movie, Naked Gun 33 1/3:The Final Insult) and Pat Proof (Hot Shots 1 & 2, Bachelor Party, Police Academy). (*** ½/*****).

Spoofing 'Dangerous Minds,' 'Lean on Me,' and others, Jon Lovitz stars in 'High School High' as an ambitious, optimistic teacher from a prep school who wants to prove to his father that he is perfectly capable of inspiring his students at an inner-city high school. While there, he inadvertently becomes involved in a turf war between two rival students and their idiotic posses.Time capsule movie spoofs the mid 90s scene of hip hop has one gag after another, but is probably more destined for laughs for younger teenagers or first-time viewers. I caught this movie on cable after not having seen it in a few years and didn't think it was as funny as I first remember it. Best recommended for Jon Lovitz fans, as he always does well as the clueless doofus. With Tia Carerre, Louise Fletcher, Mekhi Phifer, and Guillermo Diaz.