The New Guy Review
by Robin Clifford (robin AT reelingreviews DOT com)May 7th, 2002
"The New Guy"
Dizzy Gillespie Harrison (DJ Qualls) is on the bottom rung of school society at Rock Creek High. He's a blip so small that he doesn't even show up on the student social radar - except to be the subject of the cool kids' abuse. He comes up with a plan to get himself expelled and start a new life in "The New Guy."
Along the way, he gets arrested and ends up in the slammer and is bunked with Luther (Eddie Griffin), a seasoned prison veteran whose stare strikes terror. A former geek, Luther takes pity on the hapless Diz and tells him "I'm gonna take you from bitch to bull." Dizzy Gillespie Harrison is transformed into cool dude Gil Harris and he moves across town to East Highland High Scholl to begin his new life. With the help of his newfound friends at the prison, Gil makes his debut at the school when he is driven up to the door in an armored car and is led in, under Hannibal Lecter type restraint, before the awed student body. But, Gil soon finds out that being at the top of the popularity food change has its own share of problems.
"The New Guy" starts off as a modern Pygmalion tale that should have arced from the geekie Dizzy seeing the need to change himself, or forever be at the bottom of the food chain. It sort of goes this way as Dizzy morph's, with Luther's help, into cool Gil Harris, who can strike fear into the hearts of men (or make the women swoon) with just a look. If the story adhered to a rags-to-riches path, even with the abundant juvenile toilet humor, it may have been a fair to middlin' coming-of-age yarn. But, things take off in too many tangential directions as helmer Ed Decter and scribe David Kendall try to stuff many extras into the story. There are entire scenes that riff the likes of "Braveheart" and "Patton." There is, of course, the obligatory "Big Game" that pits Gil's new school against Diz's old one that is actually an anticlimax the way it is handled.
Penis jokes, bathroom humor, a dwarf tuba player, slutty schoolgirls and some very stupid slapstick are de rigueur for this flick, but none of which is particularly funny. For instance, Gil's arrival under excess restraint at East Highland High would have spread across campus like wildfire but, for some reason, he has to struggle to gain respect - why go through the effort of the spectacular entrance? There are the requisite babes on board led by Watertown, MA, own Eliza Dushku as Danielle - and, as a bonus for the 14 to 24-year old male demographic, an extended, mandatory dressing room montage where the very pretty actress models a succession of skimpy bikinis.
DJ Qualls is a little too odd looking to pull of the metamorphosis from sow's ear to silk purse, but the young actor tries his best and may have succeeded with a better script. Eliza Dushku is definitely a babe, but seems to be mildly pissed through most of the film. Lyle Lovett is particularly horrible as Diz/Gil's dad. Illeana Douglas should fire her agent for getting her the job as the school guidance counselor who thinks that Diz is a troubled youth.
"The New Guy" may appeal to the lowest common denominator but, for me, it registers very high on the stupid-movie scale. It's the kind of film where you resent wasting those 90 valuable minutes of your time. I give it a D.
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