Assassination of a High School President (2008)

Director:

Brett Simon

Writers:

Tim Calpin (written by)
Kevin Jakubowski (written by)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

Politics, popularity, paranoia, pharmaceuticals. Are you in?

Plot:

At a Catholic high school, the popular girl teams up with a sophomore newspaper reporter to investigate a case of stolen SAT exams. Once the duo target their suspects, a larger conspiracy is unearthed.

Plot Keywords:

Newspaper Reporter | Teenage Boy | Paintball Gun | School Principal | Attempted Murder

Cast

Mischa Barton	...	Francesca Fachini
Nick Blaemire	...	Byron
Zachary Booth	...	Rocky
Gabrielle Brennan	...	Chrissy Moore
Emily Brownell	...	Ms. Smart
Josh Caras	...	Marty Mullen (as Josh Barclay Caras)
Tomas Deckaj	...	Ben Striedel (voice)
Melonie Diaz	...	Clara
Mohamed Dione	...	Ongatumamwe
John Farrer	...	Faculty priest
Tanya Fischer	...	Sam landis
Laura Ford	...	DMV Lady
Luke Grimes	...	Marlon Piazza
Aaron Himelstein	...	Tad Goltz
Marc John Jefferies	...	Elliott Duncan
Zoë Kravitz	...	Valerie
John Magaro	...	Cipriato
Emily Meade	...	Tiffany Ashwood
Kathryn Morris	...	Nurse Platt
Josh Pais	...	Senor Newell
Adam Pally	...	Freddy Bismark
Joseph Perrino	...	Dutch Middleton
Vincent Piazza	...	Ricky Delacruz
Maria Elena Ramirez	...	Nancy Margle
Michael Rapaport	...	Coach Z
Zach Roerig	...	Matt Mullen
Quinn Shephard	...	Eye Patch Girl
Ashley Springer	...	White kid with dreds
Patrick Taylor	...	Paul Moore
Robin Taylor	...	Alex Schneider
Reece Thompson	...	Bobby Funke
Bruce Willis	...	Principal Kirkpatrick
Michael Zegen	...	Stephen Lohman

Also Known As:

The Sophomore (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, some nudity, language, and drug and alcohol use - all involving teens.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bayonne High School - Avenue A & 28th Street, Bayonne, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Vertigo Entertainment

Trivia:

The deleted scenes show multiple references to John Wilkes Booth, which frames the scene where the rooftop shooter jumps down from the roof and limps away on one leg.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Right after the first basketball game, Byron buys a Pepsi in a bottle out of the machine in the school hallway. He pops the bottle cap off using the opener on the machine, but when he brings the bottle up to drink, the level in the bottle is already down several inches, indicating this was a re-take of the shot.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bobby Funke: [narrating] You want to know the truth about high school? You've got to break it down into its elements. Unfortunately, at St. Donovan's, the periodic table is more crooked than a case of scoliosis. Just give me the chance and I'll set it all straight. Case in point...

Movie Connections:

References The Usual Suspects (1995)

Soundtrack:

Somewhere Across Forever

Skip it and watch Brick(2005) instead

High School. Four of the most important years of your life. But it isn't always dances and keg parties and sucking face in your parents' mini-van. Sometimes it's ugly and hard and complicated. As complicated as a conspiracy to overthrow the president. There's something rotten at St. Donovan's High and sophomore newspaper reporter Bobby Funke is on it like pink rubber bands on your little sister's braces. When senior hottie Francesca Facchini solicits Funke's help tracking down a set of stolen SATs, Funke uncovers a story dirtier than the lunch lady's mustache. After he fingers the school president (figuratively) for the crime, Funke becomes one of the most popular kids at St. Donovan's High. No longer known simply as the freshman who was once tied to a giant snowman penis, Funke wins the respect of everyone from the Desert-Storm-hero-turned-educator Principal Kirkpatrick to the kid that farts on him in Spanish class. When Francesca takes Funke to homecoming, even the in-school suspension delinquents turn nice and offer guidance on how to keep his boner in check during slow dances. But high school's not always what it seems. As Funke's popularity grows so do his suspicions. Did the president really steal the SATs? Or is Funke just a pawn in a conspiracy as complicated as adolescence itself? Determined to find the truth, Funke digs deeper and unearths the sordid underbelly of St. Donovan's. Student council members, college bookies, public school brats, everyone seems to play a part. Armed only with a learner's permit and the spirit of Woodward and Bernstein, Funke must crack the case before it cracks him...Assassination of a High School President is a high school noir comedy with a good performance by its lead actor, Reece Thompson but besides this performance there's not much here worth seeing. Although the film does create a mysterious and tense atmosphere, the effort to do so is constantly undermined by ridiculous jokes and ridiculous characters that basically turn the film into a parody.The story unveils nicely but at the same time, it's not that interesting and it's definitely not original.Bruce Willis who plays the Principal, overacts during his entire screen time and fails miserably at being the comic relief and Misha Barton seems to have lost all her acting-skills since leaving The O.C.. Definitely not worth seeing, but if you really want to watch a film-noir with a high school setting, watch Brick(2005),a much more interesting, and better written film.

5.5/10