Film Reviews

The Perfect Score

• Rating:
• Director: Brian Robbins
• Starring: Bryan Greenberg
• Details: US / 110 mins / (12PG).

Flimsy but somewhat humorous comedy-drama in which a group of high school students decide to nick their SAT papers in an effort to make it into the big bad world of college scholarships. Kyle (Chris Evans) and Matty (Bryan Greenberg) hit upon a dream ticket of thieving the answers to get their favoured university. Of course, a manoeuvre of this size requires the assembly of a crack squad of individuals, including the mandatory punk girl, Francesca (Scarlett Johansson); the kid who is on a first name basis with a bong, Roy (Leonardo Dam) and the jock-like Desmond (Darius Miles). Before you can call say The Breakfast Club, these kids have hatched a crazed plan to get the test papers, and in the process, cause all manner of mayhem.
Brisk and energetic, The Perfect Score may not win any awards for originality or daring plotting (it's basically a retreading of the characters of the superior The Breakfast Club), but it is a pretty good humoured little film, which makes the most out of its eager as puppies young cast. On the downside, the filmmakers moralise a little too much about the ills of standardised tests and aptitude examinations, and while it fails to sufficiently address any of the points it raises, there's enough here to make The Perfect Score harmlessly diverting fluff. However, one would suspect that after her recent string of lofty arty hits, Scarlett Johansson won't be including this one on her CV anytime soon. A guilty pleasure.

Review by Garreth Murphy