Assassination of a High School President Review

Pretty much a hilarious Indie Comedy that spoofs a whole lot of other movies. Reece Thompson (a young Tom Cruise look alike) plays Funke, High School newspaper writer turned detective, who idolizes Woodward and Bernstein, and is solving the mystery of the missing SAT exams - both who stole them and why. I thought the reason for the theft was pretty clever. Thompson brings just the right amount of geekness to the role, as he investigates the crime, bumbling into one lead after another. Mischa Barton as Francesca, hottest girl on campus, looks good but shows little acting skill. Bruce Willis, as Principal Kirkpatrick, fresh from leading troops in the Mideast, is just hilarious - a true nut case who carries every scene he's in. There's a whole collection of other quite unique characters you meet in this movie's convoluted plot - and almost all of them are really well cast with actors delivering great performances. The script has wonderful one liners, sometimes delivered so fast you miss them. And a lot of these comical lines are insightful observations about that strange culture called High School. If I had to compare this movie to others, I say it has the Film Noir aspect of Brick tempered by the comedy of Fast Times at Ridgemont High.