Loser [DVD] [2000]

When Paul Tannek gets a scholarship at a college in New York he is soon branded a complete loser on acount of him wearing one of the most stupidest hats in the world, having the nerdiest hair cut ever, and going round with about fifty textbooks under his arm. He is constantly pushed around by his room mates and he is forced to move into an animal hospital where theyt have a spare room along with a job.

However when they find out that he has a whole building all to himself, his former room mates persuade him into throwing ahuge party there with plenty of boose, and of course drugs. Its there that Paul meets a really fit girl called Dora who has had her drink spiked and is lying unconcious in his bathroom. Being a sensible lad, he proceeds to take her to hospital where she is treated, and he then takes her back home with him, where she stays to recouporate for a few days.
During her stay, Paul finds out that she is in fact having a secret affair with one of the college proffessors and realises that his chance of getting with her are very small, although she has other ideas.

Jason Biggs, who starred in the hugely succsessful movie 'American Pie', is excelent in his role as the country nerd who moves to the big city and trys to fit in, while the lovely Mena Suvari is again excelent and charming in her role as the gorgous student who is seeing her proffessor. The rest of the cast are also very well picked from Paul's three scheming room mates, to the smug and extreamly arrogant college proffessor.

On the DVD itself there are a number of nice extras that make it that little bit more worth buying. Firstly there are a few behind the scenes featurettes which show how the film was made etc. Secondly there is the music video for the soundtrack to this film 'Teenage Dirtbag', which was a big hit in 2000 and this video was the actual video released with the single, with the same characters as in this film. Thirdly there is a trailer which is good, and finally a number of filmographies from some members of the cast, and the director herself.

Overall 'Loser' is a really fun and entertaining film which although slightly follows in the footsteps of most other teen movies, still manages to be great all round and should satisfy most film fans. So if you fancy a laugh and a film with a really pretty girl as one ofthe main characters, then this is for you.

Now, normally I'm not a big fan of teen movies, college movies or films with Jason Biggs in them. But this little diamond of a film completely upturned my expectations when I saw it for the first time recently.

It's the story of a decent, if somewhat wet-behind-the-ears first year student from Hicksville USA who, being the first member of his family to go to university (and possibly the first to leave their home town), has no idea what's hit him when he arrives in NYC. He doesn't walk the walk or talk the talk and as a result is scorned by his more sophisticated peers.

However, this isn't a "geek undergoes transformation into cool kid and wins over the popular crowd" type of film. Throughout the film, our hero, played by Biggs, keeps his integrity and remains true to himself, defeating the evil date-rape drug plans of his smart-ass spoilt brat housemates. And of course, he gets the girl, played by Mena Suvari, whose sweetly feisty goth turn is a welcome departure from her usual blonde/bland cheerleading roles.

Both Biggs and Suvari are excellent, the New York setting is familiar and iconic filmic territory, and the supporting cast are accomplished adversaries to be overcome in the quest for True Love. This film has everything - Grand Central Station, shared accomodation trauma, loneliness, hats with earflaps, Rohypnol, pets, egg donation, sleazy lecturers, student parties, romance, disappointment, pizza, hope and triumph in the face of the pressures of student life on the cheap.

A treat for the romantics out there, and a heartwarming surprise for the rest of us. If you don't like this film there's probably no hope for you.