Rating: 
Summary: STEALING MY HEART
Review: A great example of what Bruce does best, character-driven abstract humor. This movie shines among floundering modern hollywood comedies, a pillar of greatness. Never have I seen such a good performance from Tom Green, and Jason Lee's acting was as good as always. This movie is highly underrated.
Rating: 
Summary: "I was hungry so I decided to heat up a brick of cheese."
Review: Comedy is hard. Just ask the people who made Stealing Harvard (2002). Directed by Kids in the Hall alum Bruce McCulloch, starring Jason Lee and Tom Green, Stealing Harvard provides some (some, meaning not nearly enough) funny and charming moments, but really not enough to carry the film. At the time of writing this review, there are over 100 used copies for sale here, and the lowest price is under a couple of bucks. That should tell you something...
Anyway, the film is about a character named John Plummer (Lee) and an off the cuff promise he made to his college bound niece when she was younger, a promise that just happened to be caught on video tape, and one where he told her that if she ever got into college, he would pay for it...well, it's many years later, and she does get into college, Harvard, in fact, and now she needs $30,000 to make up what isn't covered by herself and her scholarships. John does have the money, but problem is, it's earmarked for him and his fiancée Elaine, played by Leslie Mann, to buy a home and get married. In an effort to find another way to come up with the money, John turns to his friend Walter P. `Duff' Duffy (Green), a half-wit with a penchant for coming up with plenty of schemes to obtain the money, most being highly illegal.
So what's wrong with the movie? I guess the main thing is it just wasn't that funny. I do like Jason Lee and I even think Tom Green is pretty funny, in the context of his MTV show, but the comedy is very sparse throughout the film, and I never really felt like the main characters ever really gelled. I actually found some of the supporting characters in Dennis Farina (John's boss and future father-in-law), Megan Mullally (John's sister and mother of his niece), John C. McGinley (the intense bald-headed police detective), and Seymour Cassel (Duffy's uncle who provides the boys with one of their many plans to get the money) to be funnier and more interesting to watch than the main characters. Lee and Green just never really clicked full on for me. I had read that Owen Wilson was originally wanted for Green's part, and I think that would have worked better, as it seemed pretty obvious that a lot of Green's screen antics were probably improvised, and in small doses can be funny, but not in the large volumes we are given here. Had the comedy been more persuasive throughout the film, I probably wouldn't have had time to dwell on whether or not the characters worked well together. As I said before, I do think Tom Green is pretty funny, at least he was on his MTV show, and in small doses, but here we just get too much of him, and his weird, flaky, in-your-face schtick drags on and gets old fast. If you want a much better example of this and/or you're a real glutton for punishment, go pick up his 2001 release of Freddie Got Fingered. Am I saying Tom Green ruined the movie? Nope, as I felt there just wasn't really that much of a movie to ruin. I say ruined, but the movie wasn't really that bad, but I would have a hard time recommending anyone run out and see it, or even rent it, for that matter, as even though the film ran a paltry 82 minutes, it's few truly comic moments do not add up to a funny movie.
The wide screen print here looks very good, and special features include deleted scenes (although I could not tell why they were deleted as they would have fleshed out the runtime and even added a bit more to the storyline, but whatever...), filmographies, and trailers for various Paramount releases. All in all, if you are looking to kill an hour and twenty minutes, or you're a die-hard Tom Green fan, then this film is for you.
Cookieman108
Rating:
Summary: I was hungry so I decided to heat up a brick of cheese."
Review: Comedy is hard. Just ask the people who made Stealing Harvard (2002). Directed by Kids in the Hall alum Bruce McCulloch and starring Jason Lee and Tom Green, Stealing Harvard provides some (some, meaning not nearly enough) funny and charming moments, but really not enough to carry the film. At the time of writing this review, there are over 100 used copies for sale here, and the lowest price is under a couple of bucks. That should tell you something...Anyway, the film is about a character named John Plummer (Lee) and an off the cuff promise he made to his college bound niece when she was younger, a promise that just happened to be caught on video tape, and one where he told her that if she ever got into college, he would pay for it...well, it's many years later, and she does get into college, Harvard, in fact, and now she needs $30,000 to make up what isn't covered by herself and her scholarships. John does have the money, but problem is, it's earmarked for him and his fiancée Elaine, played by Leslie Mann, to buy a home and get married. In an effort to find another way to come up with the money, John turns to his friend Walter P. 'Duff' Duffy (Green), a half-wit with a penchant for coming up with plenty of schemes to obtain the money, most being highly illegal. So what's wrong with the movie? I guess the main thing is it just wasn't that funny. I do like Jason Lee and I even think Tom Green is pretty funny, in the context of his MTV show, but the comedy is very sparse throughout the film, and I never really felt like the main characters ever really gelled. I actually found some of the supporting characters in Dennis Farina (John's boss and future father-in-law), Megan Mullally (John's sister and mother of his niece), John C. McGinley (the intense bald-headed police detective), and Seymour Cassel (Duffy's uncle who provides the boys with one of their many plans to get the money) to be funnier and more interesting to watch than the main characters. Lee and Green just never really clicked full on for me. I had read that Owen Wilson was originally wanted for Green's part, and I think that would have worked better, as it seemed pretty obvious that a lot of Green's screen antics were probably improvised, and in small doses can be funny, but not in the large volumes we are given here. Had the comedy been more persuasive throughout the film, I probably wouldn't have had time to dwell on whether or not the characters worked well together. As I said before, I do think Tom Green is pretty funny, at least he was on his MTV show, and in small doses, but here we just get too much of him, and his weird, flaky, in-your-face schtick drags on and gets old fast. If you want a much better example of this and/or you're a real glutton for punishment, go pick up his 2001 release of Freddie Got Fingered. Am I saying Tom Green ruined the movie? Nope, as I felt there just wasn't really that much of a movie to ruin. I say ruined, but the movie wasn't really that bad, but I would have a hard time recommending anyone run out and see it, or even rent it, for that matter, as even though the film ran a paltry 82 minutes, it's few truly comic moments do not add up to a funny movie. The wide screen print here looks very good, and special features include deleted scenes (although I could not tell why they were deleted as they would have fleshed out the runtime and even added a bit more to the storyline, but whatever...), filmographies, and trailers for various Paramount releases. All in all, if you are looking to kill an hour and twenty minutes, or you're a die-hard Tom Green fan, then this film is for you. Cookieman108
Rating: 
Summary: Jason Lee's performance is highly underrated
Review: Coming from an actor (Jason Lee) who's career has blossomed thanks to director/actor Kevin Smith and another actor who starred in only one other movie (Tom Green in 'Road Trip'), you have to appreciate this movie for what is it. And overall it's a pretty good film. One other review read " not quite 'Road Trip', not quite 'Mallrats'. And that's very true. But both of those movies were so original and popular that it's hard to compare 'Stealing Harvard', or any movie for that matter, to either of them. This movie is very good, and if you enjoy good slapstick comedy, you'll certainly enjoy it. The story is about a regular John (Jason Lee) who once promised his niece he'd pay for college once she was old enough to go. But, as you can imagine, he forgets about his promise; then once the subject is brought back to him he's broke. Although the beginning is a bit slow, the comedy really picks up when Tom Green is introduced. He plays the part of the bungling Duff, a character that's a little more well-rounded than his part in 'Road Trip'. I don't like to give away what happens in movies, so I'll leave it at that. You can probably predict the ending, but then again, when can't you? Jason Lee and Tom Green make an unlikely, but good, duo. I give the director Bruce McCulloch a lot of credit for doing what he did with a semi-off script. But he does manage to throw in some great appearances, including the infamous Chris Penn of 'Reservoir Dogs', Dennis Farina, and Leslie Mann (of 'Big Daddy'). All in all it's a very funny movie; one you shouldn't overlook. The acting is mostly above average, but Jason Lee's performance was certainly the highlight of the movie. I gave the movie only 4 stars because it lacks textbook originality and a strong start. But 'Stealing Harvard' is no doubt a good movie, and you should see it.
Rating: 
Summary: Tom Green and Jason Lee in a really lame comedy
Review: I did like the "Branch Rickey" joke, but I bet that gag was over the head of a lot of people who checked out "Stealing Harvard." Besides, that joke was in the trailer as were most of what ends up being the funny parts from this 2002 comedy. Please, raise your hand if you are sick and tired of trailers usually being better than the movies they trick you into going to see. If this movie did not have a trailer to give away the good parts I could have given it another star. The story that Peter Tolan and Martin Hynes come up with provides a good enough framework for a comedy. John Plummer (Jason Lee) and his fiance, Elaine Warner (Leslie Mann) have finally saved $30,000, which is enough for them to buy a home and get married. But John's neice Noreen (Tammy Blanchard) has just achieved her dream of being accepted at Harvard and she and her mother, Patty (Megan Mullally) have a videotape from many years earlier when Uncle John promised to pay for Noreen's college education. Noreen only needs $29 thousand and change in eleven days. John cannot just give Noreen the $30,000 that is earmarked for the new house and the only reasonable alternative, as suggested by his best friend "Duff" (Tom Green), is to steal the money. This is easier said then done, an idea that could be handled creatively but is not in this film. Instead we have something on the level of "Raising Arizona" if written by high school students who only remember the worst episodes of "Saturday Night Live." This movie is just not funny and most of the cast is clearly trying too hard. A film in which Tom Green and Jason Lee are both too sedate is not a good sign. Richard Jenkins plays the only character who seems comfortable with their role, but I do want to mention that in the last act of the film Leslie Mann's Elaine suddenly turns out to be a bit more than a woman who tends to cry during sex, which was a pleasing surprise. The plot has its standard complications. Elaine is the boss's daughter and daddy (Dennis Farina) makes a point of asking each day if John is sleeping with his little girl and is looking for someway to break up the couple, aided in his effort by Rex the Dog (Zeus). Meanwhile, John and Duff have to contend with both Detective Charles (John C. McGinley) and local thug David Loach (Chirs Penn) as they try to figure out a way of "Stealing Harvard." But you keep coming back to the idea that certainly Green and Lee could have come up with better ad libs that what ends up in this lame little comedy. The working titles for this film included "The Promise," "You Promised," "Say Uncle," "Uncle," and "Stealing Standford." If you check out the deleted scenes there is a point where Noreen wants to go to "Northern," so that last one makes me wonder how hard it would have to do regional versions of this film: Harvard for the East and Stanford for the West, then something like Notre Dame or Illinois for the Midwest and Duke or Miami for the South. But then why stop there? They could change one visual, dub a handful of scenes, and every major college in the country could be the target school for this movie, everything from "Stealing Auburn" to "Stealing Wyoming." That would be one one to generate interest in this movie and get poeple to see it. Then again, it might have been cheaper just to actually make it a funny movie.
Rating:
Summary: Tom Green and Jason Lee in a really lame comedy
Review: I did like the "Branch Rickey" joke, but I bet that gag was over the head of a lot of people who checked out "Stealing Harvard." Besides, that joke was in the trailer as were most of what ends up being the funny parts from this 2002 comedy. Please, raise your hand if you are sick and tired of trailers usually being better than the movies they trick you into going to see. If this movie did not have a trailer to give away the good parts I could have given it another star. The story that Peter Tolan and Martin Hynes come up with provides a good enough framework for a comedy. John Plummer (Jason Lee) and his fiance, Elaine Warner (Leslie Mann) have finally saved $30,000, which is enough for them to buy a home and get married. But John's neice Noreen (Tammy Blanchard) has just achieved her dream of being accepted at Harvard and she and her mother, Patty (Megan Mullally) have a videotape from many years earlier when Uncle John promised to pay for Noreen's college education. Noreen only needs $29 thousand and change in eleven days. John cannot just give Noreen the $30,000 that is earmarked for the new house and the only reasonable alternative, as suggested by his best friend "Duff" (Tom Green), is to steal the money. This is easier said then done, an idea that could be handled creatively but is not in this film. Instead we have something on the level of "Raising Arizona" if written by high school students who only remember the worst episodes of "Saturday Night Live." This movie is just not funny and most of the cast is clearly trying too hard. A film in which Tom Green and Jason Lee are both too sedate is not a good sign. Richard Jenkins plays the only character who seems comfortable with their role, but I do want to mention that in the last act of the film Leslie Mann's Elaine suddenly turns out to be a bit more than a woman who tends to cry during sex, which was a pleasing surprise. The plot has its standard complications. Elaine is the boss's daughter and daddy (Dennis Farina) makes a point of asking each day if John is sleeping with his little girl and is looking for someway to break up the couple, aided in his effort by Rex the Dog (Zeus). Meanwhile, John and Duff have to contend with both Detective Charles (John C. McGinley) and local thug David Loach (Chirs Penn) as they try to figure out a way of "Stealing Harvard." But you keep coming back to the idea that certainly Green and Lee could have come up with better ad libs that what ends up in this lame little comedy. The working titles for this film included "The Promise," "You Promised," "Say Uncle," "Uncle," and "Stealing Standford." If you check out the deleted scenes there is a point where Noreen wants to go to "Northern," so that last one makes me wonder how hard it would have to do regional versions of this film: Harvard for the East and Stanford for the West, then something like Notre Dame or Illinois for the Midwest and Duke or Miami for the South. But then why stop there? They could change one visual, dub a handful of scenes, and every major college in the country could be the target school for this movie, everything from "Stealing Auburn" to "Stealing Wyoming." That would be one one to generate interest in this movie and get poeple to see it. Then again, it might have been cheaper just to actually make it a funny movie.
Rating:
Summary: Stealing six bucks
Review: I haven't seen many performances by Jason Lee or Tom Green, so what I saw here seemed okay. Two friends carry out a string of unsuccessful robberies in order to find the money to pay for John's niece's Harvard fees. Now Stealing Harvard wasn't as funny as I thought it would be. However, it did constitute several good chuckles AND I thought it was an overall entertaining, good show (with a few scenes they REALLY could have done without). Therefore, Stealing Harvard really WASN'T a waste of time. However, it IS a waste of six bucks. Wait for it to come out on video. P.S. Don't make the same mistake I made. If you're going to watch the movie, I hear there are some pretty funny outtakes at the end. I, of course, didn't see them.
Rating: 
Summary: Dissapointing in every way you look at it!
Review: I kept my expectations to a slight amount even after the atrocity that was "Freddy Got Fingered" scarred us but "Stealing Harvard" just goes to show just the cinematic pipsqueak that Tom Green has sunk to. I never was a fan of him or his show but I didn't deny that he has some talent but sadly with his past tow movies, it has come to show that Green has thrown a lot of it into the waste basket with some of the dumbest movies that I've seen in recent years. The acting is just horrible and what tries to make it funny just comes off being dumb and UNFUNNY! It's more than likely for these reasons that I've been shifting away from comedies and into dramas. The movies plot idea is interesting, the idea of a man whose neice is dreaming of going to Harvard University despite the poverty that she and her mother live in. So now Duff (Tom Green) goes on various lawless tactics to acquire money to send her to Harvard. This plot idea is really good but whatever could've put it to good use is completely wasted on bad acting by almost everyone involved. To be honest, I walked out of the room after about 40 minutes because nothing came up that was funny or the slightest bit interesting enough to keep me from going up to my room and resume on homework assignments. This movie is nowhere near as hideously awful like "Freddy Got Fingered" was but "Stealing Harvard" could really have been a great or at least halfway-decent movie but the cast's acting was just lame and unconvincing and completely sank the film to mediocrity in every way you can look at it. There was a reason why almost everyone bashed this movie to pieces. It was not only unfunny but also excessively crude, coma-inducing and just totally stupid, without offering any signs of laughter. Tom Green is not funny at the slightest! Someone please get the bullhorn and tell him that his garbage is insulting. Don't let my harsh review stop you from seeing this but I'm letting you all know. You will end up just throwing a fraction of your life away with this.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious and Very Memorable!
Review: I knew Stealing Harvard would be really funny just because I had a gut feeling.It's something that you can't really explain.Jason Lee who is a great actor was hilarious and Tom Green-well Tom Green is a little weird.I never liked Tom Green but he just has a really funny voice making the humor he tries to make funny just the way he talks and acts...Stealing Harvard could possibly be one of the funniest movies that have ever been made. The supporting cast makes a big difference.Dennis Farina is very funny...In this movie he steals the show.Seymour Cassel was also very funny.I have only seen him in The Royal Tenenbaums but this was anthor good role that he played.Leslie Mann from George of the Jungle also portrayed her character well.And last Megan Mullony from Will and Grace had to be another one of the funniest cast members in the movie. The movie is about John Plummer who lives with his girlfriend Elaine Warner and works for her father Mr Warner.When Elaine tells John that they finally rasied enough money to buy there dream house they prepare for there wedding.When John goes to his sister Patty's house he learns that his neice Noreen got accepted into Harvard and Patty reminds John of the promise he made to his neice that if she ever got into college he would pay for it.The problem is...the tution is around 30,000 which is the amount of money John and Elaine saved up to buy there house.John then turns to the master planner....Walter "Duff" Duffy to come up with a plan.Duff tells John that crimials make money and they decide to plan a theft of a grocery store. ...The movie is very funny and just has that charm to it that most movies can't give out.Go see Stealing Harvard today! ENJOY!
Rating:
Summary: Stealing Harvard- One Odd Comedy
Review: I must say Tom Green and Jason Lee work well together in this incredibly odd comedy from Director Bruce McCulloch. I honestly really like Jason Lee, I liked him in Vanilla Sky and I liked him Dogma and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Tom Green, now he is one odd actor, he is very weird in the sense that he doesn't act normally, I don't know if he tries to be funny that way or he just plain is, well who knows? Anyway back to the film,
Jason Lee play John Plummer, a employee who works at a medical company who is deeply lost. He is engaged and has a fiancee played by Leslie Mann, and she is the boss's daughter, interesting Dennis Farina. Now the boss, hate John's guts. Soon, John fiancee wants to buy a house, because recently they have saved up $30,000 in order to purhcase one. But soon his niece got into Harvard, and he had promised her earlier that he would pay for college tuition, which is very pricy and expensive.
John is lost and doesn't know what to do, so he goes over to his pal Walter Duff, played by super, weird actor Tom Green and he suggests crime. John is very hesitant and reluctant, in making that choice but he doesn't want to displease his niece,so of course the tries the idea of crime. My God, what an idea. From here we get some pretty funny jokes and more humorous-like scenes. Stealing Harvard is rated PG-13 for Crude and Sexual Humor, Language and Drug References. Yup, that's they way films are now a days, vulgar and funny. I would suggest seeing Stealing Harvard, it's actually better that you would expect and quite hilarious and it could have been a great deal worse, so see Stealing Harvard. In theatres everywhere, September 13, 2002.
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