Cheaters

Rating:
Summary: Where's th TRUTH?!
Review: I attend Whitney Young, the school that was effectively villianized in Cheaters. I was incensed while reading the reviews that customers have given this movie. There are a few common misconceptions that people seems to believe, and it's entirely the fault of irresponsible filmmakers seeking a better plot through sensationalism. Prior to this film's release, the monitors in our lunchrooms advertised the movie because of our schools involvement. However, after there was a screening to the staff of the school, we were told not to believe the film, that it was not all true. Since no WY faculty was consulted for the film-- only Steinmetz faculty-- it's obvious why a bias existed. Whitney Young is NOT a suburban school. It is in the heart of Chicago. We don't recieve any special funding. Our bathroom stalls are written on,we have disciplinary problems, the usual. True, maybe ours aren't as bad as Steinmetz', but we are in no way treated any differently by the Chicago PublicSchools. The late Acadec coach who was shown betting in the movie was not the type of man who would do such a thing. our cheerleaders don't go to acadec competitions! we're not cocky, we don't think we're better than anyone else and we're one of the most diverse schools in chicago. the acadec team alone probably represents at least 10 different races. So as far as accuracy, this film is for the birds.

Rating:
Summary: If you're going to cheat, cheat smart.
Review: I caught this movie by accident, and I'm glad I did.

Cheating is wrong, right? But, most of us have done it. I, too. Let's say there's a test. You don't cheat, but you study. You get a 90, a great grade. But everyone else doesn't study, cheats, and get's 100's. That's the side this movie shows.

It's based on a true story from 1995, in Steimetz high school.The smart kids from a couple kids compet with either other, and the same school keeps winning over and over, in an unfair manner. Then one of the kids from Steinmetz finds the answers to the test they have to take. Only one girl has to even htink about "if" they should cheat. The real question is how to get away with it.

What words can explain what a great movie this is? You just have to see it to know.

Rating:
Summary: really good movie
Review: I had to watch this movie in my english class. Unlike most of the movies we watch in class, this one didn't suck.

The soundtrack is pretty good too. Too bad you can't buy the CD, though.

If anyone knows the name of the song that plays in the credits part, please let me know.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT movie! The REAL winner!
Review: I loved this film. I don't have HBO, so I had to rent it, but I am SO glad I did! Right away, you are sucked into the story and its characters, and it just made me so thankful for renting it! There is never a dull moment, and all throughout the film you glued to the screen. Even for a cast of teens, there is NEVER even remotely poor acting. And since the film goes into each character's life, you care so much for them and you really do not want them to get caught. In fact, I was so nervous for them, it was as if you don't know they do. When they do, they feel so bad for them, you almost can't stand it. I really wish I knew the real kids and Dr. Plecki of the Steinmetz scandel. I would love to just talk with them about their experiences, that's what the movie makes you do. Jena Malone, who plays the leader of the group, and Jeff Daniels, just steal the show. Each play their part with brilliance, and you remember them from this movie in my opinion.

Usually, I tell the bad parts of a movie, but I can't think of any for this film except one thing: They get caught. But we already know, so I can't say it counts. You will love this movie, and if you buy it, I know you'll be please. This is a GREAT film filled with great performances, great emotion, and just great everything. Totally recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Grossly distorted
Review: I never tender reviews but I think that a reply to the already posted reviews is in order.

First, cheating is wrong. Driving too fast is wrong. The best applicant not getting the job, office, etc. is wrong. Not paying your fair share of taxes is wrong. Getting off by a legal technicality although you committed the crime is wrong.

My point is that cheating is wrong but that doesn't necessarily make it a bad choice.

A chasm exists between reality and the pithy moral/ethical aphorisms we were taught as children.

Have you ever told anyone when breaking up with them (or the other way around) "it isn't you, it's my fault" when you knew that it really was them, but you didn't want to hurt their feelings?

This is reality. Reality is dirty, unfair, and it bites.

This is the lesson of this movie. Don't pitty these students or hate them. Just recall my paraphrase of the last lines of the flick, when one of the cheaters remarks:
"Yeah I got into college. The admissions officer thought my academic team experience built character...I learned more about life during the experience than any other time...If one of my students cheated, would I turn them the little bastards in? You bet, because if they can get past me then just maybe they are ready for the real world".

This is so familiar to me since, as a teacher, I see students all the time who are cheating or in the throes of the ethical dilemma about doing so. I never tell them one way or the other, but I know that many of them do cheat because I'm fairly bright and aware, but I am sure that there are some who even get by me.

Life [is tough], just deal.

Thanks for reading :-B

Rating:
Summary: Lesson for the Real World
Review: I never tender reviews but I think that a reply to the already posted reviews is in order.

First, cheating is wrong. Driving too fast is wrong. The best applicant not getting the job, office, etc. is wrong. Not paying your fair share of taxes is wrong. Getting off by a legal technicality although you committed the crime is wrong.

My point is that cheating is wrong but that doesn't necessarily make it a bad choice.

A chasm exists between reality and the pithy moral/ethical aphorisms we were taught as children.

Have you ever told anyone when breaking up with them (or the other way around) "it isn't you, it's my fault" when you knew that it really was them, but you didn't want to hurt their feelings?

This is reality. Reality is dirty, unfair, and it bites.

This is the lesson of this movie. Don't pitty these students or hate them. Just recall my paraphrase of the last lines of the flick, when one of the cheaters remarks:
"Yeah I got into college. The admissions officer thought my academic team experience built character...I learned more about life during the experience than any other time...If one of my students cheated, would I turn them the little bastards in? You bet, because if they can get past me then just maybe they are ready for the real world".

This is so familiar to me since, as a teacher, I see students all the time who are cheating or in the throes of the ethical dilemma about doing so. I never tell them one way or the other, but I know that many of them do cheat because I'm fairly bright and aware, but I am sure that there are some who even get by me.

Life [is tough], just deal.

Thanks for reading :-B

Rating:
Summary: Aca deca student sees great aca deca movie!
Review: I saw this movie about two years ago when it first came out on HBO. Of course, I was thinking, this is going to be an extremely cheesy movie barely hanging onto the concept of Academic Decathlon (Aca Deca). What I got was quite a shocker. It is an excellent movie in all points of view. My personal favorite part is that it sticks very true to the concept of Aca Deca. It is very realistic in that aspect and they did a lot of resaearch into how it works. That to me is the most impressive part. But you can't let that cover up the brilliant acting done by the entire cast. It's a wonderful movie and I suggest it to anyone!

Rating:
Summary: Cheaters is an AWESOME movie!!
Review: I saw this movie on HBO in 2000 just because there was nothing else on. I started getting sucked into the plot and then I ended up really enjoying it. I made half my family watch it the next time it aired and they all loved it too (and they are all very different people). I was waiting for them to put it out to buy because I knew after I saw it the first time that I wanted to own it. It should be out to rent at a your local video store (I know blockbuster has it where I live) so though I'm not asking you to buy Cheaters, I say give this great movie a chance.

Rating:
Summary: Captivating
Review: I was expecting this to be another goofy teen movie. I was pleasantly surprised. The young actors playing the students were very good. Jeff Daniels was perfectly cast as the world-wary, jaded school teacher. You actually find yourself hoping these kids will get away with it and Daniels is so likable as the sincere teacher that you don't see him as a bad person. The fact that he put his job so blatantly on the line says a lot about where his character was at in his life--fed up! Fed up with seeing his students beaten down because they were not wealthy. This one will make you think. Definatley give it a try. Great for kids too.

Rating:
Summary: Track down this film
Review: I was lucky enough to catch Cheaters on HBO around two in the morning. Though it might, at first, appear to be just another overly "hip" teen comedy, Cheaters is actually one of the best films about high school that I've ever seen. Nicely blending comedy and coming-of-age drama, Cheaters tells the true story of how underdog Stienmetz High School won the 1995 Illinios Academic Decathalon just to then lose their accolades when it was revealed they'd cheated. As someone who was a part of the whole AcDec subculture in high school, I can say that this film managed to perfectly capture the feeling and the atmosphere of that competition, showing not only how it often gives a much needed sense of purpose to students who, otherwise, don't have a place in the highly regimented caste system of high school but also how public, urban-based schools often face a great deal of elitist bias in favor of more exclusive private and magnet schools. While the film never makes the mistake of excusing or trivializing the cheating, it also makes it clear that the students of Stienmetz and similar schools often are treated unfairly by a stagnant system that has decided to give up on them. In the end, it's hard not to feel sympathetic to these students even as they cheat and it's also hard not to feel that, whatever mistakes were made, the actions taken as a result, by both the media and the Chicago School Board, were even worse. The film perfectly captures the exhiliration of the student's initial victory and, just as perfectly, the terror of being judged in the mad feeding frenzy that grew out of the Stienmetz Scandal. (In one of the film's best scenes, we watch as investigators tell lies of their own to trick the students into confessing just to then give a press conference where they tell reporters that the students are the "coldest," most calculating bunch of liars they've ever experienced.) The film benefits from a talented cast of mostly unknown young actors who manage to flawlessly blend into an always-watchable ensemble. The stand-out amongst the younger actors is Jena Malone, showing a previously untapped range as the most unrepentant of the cheaters. She manages to be chillingly single-minded in the way only a teenager can while at the same time displaying an appealing vulnerability. Too smart for the world of teenagers yet to young for the world of adults, Malone gives a performance similar to Reese Whitherspoon's ground-breaking and brilliant work in Election (which, itself, makes a nice companion piece to this film) but at the same time claims this character as uniquely her own and establishes herself as an underrated actress to watch. As the AcDec coach, Jeff Daniels gives probably his best performance since the Purple Rose of Cairo, bringing some wonderfully ambigous shadings to a character who, at first, just seems to be a stereotypical wimp. After years of appearing in roles not up to his talent, Daniels reminds us that he is one of our most unpredictable actors and his performance here, bravely playing a character who isn't always likeable, will keep viewers guessing as to whether Daniels is the story's hero or its villian. Amongst the other performances, mention should be made of Paul Sorvino who gives a brilliantly comical performance as the school's clueless principal. Even as one is left to ponder the many issues raised by the film, it's hard not to smile at just the image of Sorvino, joyously and ineptly dancing at a school pep rally while the band plays a listless version of "Gonna Fly Now." Its a small, almost cliched role but Sorvino brings a touch of inspired lunacy to both it and the film.

John Stockwell, who both directed and wrote the script, has made a name for himself by making films that deal with flawed human beings whose only real mistake is realizing that the world is made up of shades of gray even as everyone else insists that everything is black-and-white. A former actor who, like the students of Stienmetz, never quite got the appreciation he deserved, Stockwell has shown with this film, his later Crazy/Beautiful, and his script for Breast Men to have a valuable and unique talent for catching the absurdities of everyday life, consistently crafting scenes that manage to be both surprising and true-to-life. (Certainly one of the highlights here is a small but knowing scene where Daniels and his students plan their post-scandal damage control by watching Stand and Deliver, the prototype for the many dedicated-teacher-in-urban-school-films that this film both comments on and sends up). With Cheaters, Stockwell maintains a perfect combination of the absurd and the realistic while keeping the story moving at just the right pace. As well, Stockwell takes one of the most overused techniques of modern film -- the montage scored by an alternative top ten hit -- and actually manages to pull it off. This alone makes him nearly unique amongst Hollywood's young directors. Perhaps even more so than Crazy/Beautiful, Cheaters proves that John Stockwell is one of the most interesting unknown directors out there and stands as a glowing testament to both his talent and the talents of his unsung actors. By all means, see this film.