Plot: What’s it about?
Immediately after watching “The Perfect Score”, I deduced that it was a hybrid of “The Breakfast Club” meets “Ocean’s Eleven”. Evidently I wasn’t the only person who thought that as the exact same quote is listed on the front of the DVD. Thank you, Mr. Jack Garner, for coming to the same conclusion that I did. With that being said, the movie not only uses its title “The Perfect Score” for a good SAT score, but also the heist that is contained within it. Aren’t these writers clever? Unfortunately this movie has neither the heart or charm of “The Breakfast Club” or “Ocean’s Eleven”, instead it’s filled with predictable characters (that I’ll get to later), even more predictable situations and some scenes that just seem to make time stand still. The movie isn’t without its funny parts, though as Roy (Leonardo Nam) provides most of the film’s comic relief, and in good fashion. He plays the resident stoner, of course, so he’s required to be really smart yet hides it all through a cloud (get it) of marijuana. We never actually see him smoke it, but we can at least read through the lines. The rest of the cast is made up of more characters that we already know: the jock (Darius Miles), the brain (Erika Christensen…what’s she doing in this movie?), the misfits (Chris Evans, Bryan Greenberg) and the outcast (Scarlett Johansson).
The plot? Well, it’s relatively simple when you factor in the movie title and the first five minutes. It’s SAT time again and the stress level is high. Kyle (Chris Evans) has wanted to be an architect for as long as he can remember and desperately needs to get into Cornell to hone his skills. He needs a 1430 or better (which he told his parents he got), but his 1050 isn’t going to cut the mustard. Meanwhile, his best friend Matty (Bryan Greenberg) is pining over his girlfriend at the University of Maryland and his scores aren’t high enough for him to get in. The two conspire to break into the SAT headquarters (which is, of course, conveniently located in their home town) so they can steal the answers to the verification master and then ace the test. One small problem…how to get past security and pull off this heist? Well, as luck would have it Francesca (Scarlett Johansson) not only runs an underground web site, but her father owns the building that houses the SAT and all the answers. Francesca reluctantly agrees to help them out, if only for lack of nothing better to do. Word spreads and soon a few more are involved – essentially everyone appearing on the cover of the DVD – and they must rely on each other to pull off the heist. Will it work? What do you think…
Video: How does it look?
Visually, “The Perfect Score” is almost that…perfect. The included 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer shows off a very colorful, and a times muted, palette. The disc is also available in a full-frame version, sold separately of course. I noticed no evidence of artifacting, edge enhancement or anything else that might detract from the picture. I found that a few of the scenes were a tad bit oversaturated and the opening scenes, sepia tones and all, looked pretty good on my screen. It’s a shame that such a good-looking transfer was wasted on a sub par movie.
Audio: How does it sound?
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is actually quite robust at times, the surrounds are used in a few scenes and I found it surprising that a “teen comedy” would pack quite the punch. However it did and this makes me happy. For the most part, though, this is a dialogue-driven movie (yes, really) and the majority of the effects are in the front range of your speakers. Again, for a new to DVD movie, this shows that no matter what the genre, any movie can have a decent sounding track if some of the right elements are in place.
Supplements: What are the extras?
As far as the extras go, there aren’t many. Director Bryan Robbins (“Varsity Blues”) and his screenwriter Mark Schwahn, make up the somewhat decent audio commentary track. They talk of the obvious influences of the movie (mentioned here a few times by yours truly) and of the challenge of bringing this to the screen. The “teen” movie isn’t as big as it was a few years back, but “The Perfect Score” proved that it wasn’t a total flop. A standard EPK featurette cleverly entitled “Making ‘The Perfect Score’” is included as well. The usual topics are covered, essentially bringing it from script to screen and everything in between. Also included is the original theatrical trailer (hey, this is Paramount we’re talking about here…this is a big deal)! While “The Perfect Score” didn’t really do it for me, maybe I’m about fifteen years too old to really relate to the SAT’s. Show it to a high school student and perhaps they’ll get more of a kick out of it than I did…or maybe not.
