Underclassman
Miramax Films | Release Date: September 2, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
19
METASCORE
Overwhelming dislike based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
0
Mixed:
5
Negative:
20
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
50
Washington PostTeresa Wiltz
If you saw "21 Jump Street" back in the '80s, or any of a number of shows featuring cute and cuddly cops, you pretty much know where this flick is heading. Read full review
50
Film ThreatStina Chyn
If you have nothing more stimulating to do on a Friday night, Underclassman could provide the entertainment--not enlightenment--you seek. Read full review
40
Dallas ObserverLuke Y. Thompson
Some fairly standard shenanigans ensue, and when the clichéd high school culture clash stuff stops, there's clichéd cop movie stuff going on. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Marcos Siega's direction is well-paced, but writers David T. Wagner and Brent Goldberg haven't brought anything sufficiently fresh or original to a formula plot to allow Underclassman to rise above the level of a mildly diverting video rental. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Yes, it's really silly, and no, you won't remember a thing about it the second it's over, but adults looking for fast moving, non-violent fun that kids might actually enjoy could do a lot worse. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Utterly generic. Read full review
38
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
There's little that's special about Underclassman, certainly nothing that Murphy and Eddie Griffin haven't done better in movies far funnier than this. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterSheri Linden
Nick Cannon, playing an L.A. cop who goes undercover as a prep school student, provides the few sparks this wan action-comedy can muster. Read full review
30
VarietyJustin Chang
So far-fetched as to make "Kindergarten Cop" look comparatively austere. Read full review
25
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The loserville teen comedy Underclassman is like a student project sloppily cribbed from other kids' notes -- kids who have seen "Rush Hour" and still can't get over how funny it is to stick a noisy black guy in a distinctly nonblack setting. Read full review
25
Chicago TribuneJohn Anderson
What's remarkable is how absolutely every character in the film is a movie cliche. Read full review
25
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Underclassman doesn't even try to be good. It knows that it doesn't have to be. It stars Nick Cannon, who has a popular MTV show, and it's a combo cop movie, romance, thriller and high school comedy. That makes the TV ads a slam dunk; they'll generate a Pavlovian response in viewers conditioned to react to their sales triggers (smartass young cop, basketball, sexy babes, fast cars, mockery of adults). Read full review
25
USA TodayMike Clark
That sound you hear is from jet engines gassing up, about to zoom Underclassman to DVD-ville. Read full review
25
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
A remedial comedy for idiots. Read full review
25
New York PostLou Lumenick
The only hint of professionalism comes from Cheech Marin as Cannon's boss, who at times seems to be acting in a different movie. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
Less an original product than a shoddy tribute to other mediocre cop movies. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
Grade Underclassman an "Unacceptable effort," and "D" for derivative. Read full review
20
L.A. WeeklyErnest Hardy
Conceptually, Underclassman is the stillborn spawn of "Beverly Hills Cop" and "21 Jump Street." Except its star, Nick Cannon, possesses neither the biting cool of young Eddie Murphy nor the sullen mystery of Johnny Depp. And the script, by David T. Wagner and Brent Goldberg, is breathtakingly bad. Read full review
20
The New York TimesDana Stevens
The latest bit of damaged goods offered up in the Miramax clearance sale, Underclassman plays like the longest episode of "21 Jump Street" ever made. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleMarrit Ingman
Its star, who injected such life into the surprisingly unformulaic "Drumline," is adrift in a sea of cop-movie clichés, and Siega's party-to-go direction hews more closely to his music-video beginnings than to his critically noted "Pretty Persuasion." Read full review
12
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Saved from total puff only by the obnoxiousness of its star, who seems to be laboring under the delusion that he's the next Eddie Murphy. Read full review
10
Village VoiceNick Sylvester
British bliss czars, the doughnut-loving LAPD, and bitchin'-hot Spanish profs, no matter how many, how fat, or how bitchin' hot, can't make up for easy double entendres and zero character development. Read full review
10
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Almost comically unambitious, Underclassman seldom tries to be funny, and never even attempts to be original. Read full review
0
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
The inconsistencies and continuity errors are staggering. Read full review
0
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
Once in a great while -- usually late August -- a movie comes along that's so lame, it doesn't deserve a bad review. It deserves a war-crimes tribunal. Ladies and gentlemen, Underclassman is that special film. Read full review
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