User reviews

The plot is as simple as the film itself: John (Jason Lee) once made a promise to his niece that if she ever got accepted to college, he would pay her way. When the time arrives, he finds himself broke, and resorts to asking his loser buddy, Duff (Tom Green), for help. Clichés and hi-jinks ensue.

The film is surprisingly sterilized, especially when you consider its two stars: Jason Lee, a Kevin Smith alum, and Tom Green, the gross-out king who wrote, directed and starred in "Freddy Got Fingered." Lee is likable and congenial, if a bit soft, while Green relies more on physical humor and less on substance. He utters a few humorous lines here and there, but he is, in essence, just a prop. There are several other talented comedic actors such as Leslie Mann ("Big Daddy"), Megan Mullally (TV's "Will & Grace"), John C. McGinley (TV's "Scrubs") and of course, the amazing Martin Starr (TV's "Freaks & Geeks") who help keep the film fresh and funny, but unfortunately there's just not enough of them. The film is stacked with great and hilarious actors, but rarely takes advantage of this fact. As far as the humor goes, it forgoes the gross-out comedy of the time in an effort to yield rather tame and inoffensive results. And in its brief 82 minutes, it works. "Stealing Harvard" is hardly a classic, but if one were to sit down on a dead Sunday afternoon, kick back and relax with few expectations, it works. You'll likely get a few solid chuckles out of it, and it's innocent and simplistic plot makes for a good "turning off the brain" time.

I saw this movie because Tom Green and Jason Lee was in it. I know that that doesn't really gaurentee anything, seeing as how they both have a spotted track record. Anyway, it wasn't horrible, and I guess it had its moments of decent laughter, but it wasn't all that great. Nothing to spectacular here, but what did you expect.

Okay, okay. Bad premise, bad script. Otherwise, this is a good film played for laughs. Jason Lee, Tom Green and Megan Mullally are all on fine form, playing the characters we have come to expect from them.

In particular, Jason Lee is his typical self here, playing the slightly angry yet humorous good guy. For some, Tom Green may be too wacky, but his character, Duff, is like a toned-down version of himself, so it will surely prove bearable for his naysayers.

Some really good comedy moments and a few nice set pieces are enough to make up for an otherwise silly and clichéd film. Definitely worth a watch, I found it really enjoyable in a switched-off-brain sort of way.

Been reading some of the other reviews of this movie, and I'm not sure what these other people were looking for, but this is supposed to be a screwball comedy, not anything more.

The majority of the bad comments had one element in common: they hate Tom Green. Well I can't change their mind about Tom Green, but Tom Green doesn't really play a big role in this movie -- at best he's a major supporting role. Make no mistake, Jason Lee really is the one carrying this movie, so if you detest Tom Green, don't worry. And Tom Green really is quite understated in this movie compared to how lunatic he really can get.

One storyline they could've expanded on were Megan Mullally, playing Jason Lee's slutty older sister, and Leslie Mann, playing Lee's uptight fiance. These two had detest each other dynamic going which would've been fun to watch if they interacted with each other more.

So for all of those recommending that you give this movie a pass, I say ignore them. Just come with the right frame of mind, this is not a supposed to be Shakespeare, just check your brain at the door, and enjoy.

First off, this movie SHOULD have been great. Bruce McCulloch directing? Yeah! And the cast is comedy gold: Jason Lee, Tom Green, Leslie Mann, Dennis Farina, John C. McGinley, Megan Mullally... I mean, even the women are funny! The only thing that's really lacking is, sadly, the script.

Everyone is funny, they just don't have enough to work with. The characters are 2D, the plot paper thin, and everything is just too convenient. Now I didn't expect anything weighty or life changing. Just something worth caring about.

Don't get me wrong, the movie IS funny. Tom Green is great, providing some hilarious moments (Drinking milk and then suddenly pouring lemon juice in his mouth, for instance.) For the most part though, the humor relies entirely on his performance, not the strength of the writing. Also, Jason Lee is cast here as the Straight, the regular guy just trying to get his life in order. Personally, I much prefer him as the goofy sidekick type (i.e. Tom Green).

All in all, this makes for a palatable little episodic comedy. But there's not enough to sink your teeth into. You can't get involved enough to really let go and laugh.

Sometimes it takes a piece of raw brilliance, other times sheer agony to entice a lad out of retirement. "Stealing Harvard" provided enough motivation for this lad to return to IMDb.

It's just not fair that people should be allowed to pay to see a movie like this. Surely a new breed of censors must be introduced. Censors who can asterisk a movie that will almost be a certainty to disappoint. This way the innocent public can steer clear of trash like this and other such films like "What Dreams May Come". There was no enjoyment to be found from this movie. Just a stinging pain to the heart, reminding you of the ugly experience and lighter wallet you now possess.

I will say one thing. I saw this movie in a full house, and I heard only two people laugh through the movie. Two in about one hundred. Long, long odds.

I have never expected much from Tom Green, and after seeing his first box office crash FREDDY GOT FINGERED, I wasn't going to this movie with very high expectations. As a matter of fact, I would have given it some credit if it could make the audience laugh without using some dull and overdrawn, over the top joke.

This movie with its premise, could have been a decently entertaining, however, Tom Green had to be in it. Tom has no sense of what is funny, and like in FREDDY, he comes off as a lame, low-life who cannot execute one funny joke. The times that were supposed to be funny were just shameful. Other characters played by Jason Lee, Leslie Mann, and Dennis Farina, were a waste of good talent. None of them were allowed to develop on their characters and thus join Tom Green as pointless and lame.

When it comes to movies like these, I ask myself one question, "How in the heck to these movies make it into theaters?"

This cheesy, waste of money that could have been better spent tied in a bag and thrown out a window, of a movie should have never made the final cut. Bye Tom, figure it out, the people of America want something with some content, not some toilet trash.

I give this piece of garbage a 1/10

I enjoyed this movie. Well, it might not be the best, but it had good actors who delivered well. Tom Green was absolutely hilarious. So was Jason Lee. I can see why people don't like this movie, but I actually thought that this movie was better than I ever expected. I expected it to be okay, and I actually really liked it after I saw it. I still really like it. It has everything for a good movie, but maybe it met the minimal standard on them. I disagree with my own previous statement myself, but it's a reason why others might not like it. I guess it was just my type of movie. I say watch it, I assure you it is at least not a waste of time. It has no really bad parts where you regret it because it's awful. I think that because it has no tremendous high points it officially becomes an awful movie. I say see it, and if you don't like it, oh well.

2002 has seen some pretty horrid films. Crossroads, 40 Days and 40 Nights, Eight Legged Freaks, Rollerball, Swimfan...the list is long. With Stealing Harvard, it is made even longer.

I don't know how this film got past the production studio. Its story is full of holes of titan sized proportions. The dialogue is filled with lame attempts at humor that do nothing but fail. The characters are pathetic one-dimentional stereotypes that annoy the audience. Even the music seems second-rate and fails to set the mood accordingly.

That makes four strikes: more than enough to throw this garbage out.

I had never heard of this movie until 2004... I was scanning through StarZ, and seen a movie coming on in 10 minutes, it had Jason Lee, and Tom Green... so of course i was gonna watch, I actually liked the movie, it was funny and had a great story.

A man promises his niece he will pay her way to college, and not really believing she will go, gets into Harvard. So somehow he was to come up with the money. His friend 'Duff' gets him into all sorts of trouble, telling him all these ways to get money. But ultimately they cant ever seem to pull it off. Lee's character's girlfriend's dad (woah), says a remark to her about her in-home job. So she decides to try and help Lee and Green... Even though her character doesn't like Green. She plans to steal the money from her father. Admist this hiest, many funny things happen, yet i won't say what happens towards the end. I would tell anyone to pick it up and see it.

Normally I wouldn't have bothered, but I read some of the reviews here that said not to worry, it was mindless, but very funny, even hilarious. So I watched it.

I didn't laugh once.

I will admit that Tom Green is not my cup of tea. Even though he and I are fellow native Ontarioans. That kind of gutter slapstick I just don't find funny at all. Like fart jokes. But the whole movie was like that; certainly not the worst I've seen, not as bad as Freddy Got Fingered, anyway. But no, not funny.

So, I tried to like it, but sadly, I got nothing out of it. Just be warned if you're considering watching this and you haven't seen it before. Unless you really like Tom Green, you will waste your time.

I've probably seen this movie at least a dozen times in my life, along with road trip, van wilder, harold, Kumar, Jay and silent Bob and half baked. All 10 out of 10 for what they were/are.

All i really need to say is another reviewer on here i think his name was andrew-is right on the mark if you are middle aged,or over 30-35 then why are you watching this in the first place?This is'nt the best comedy ever or close,but it's at least above average.The one thing i'll never ever ever understand is (and ask yourself if you fall into this cat.)if you are 35-55 etc. WHY THE HELL ARE YOU GOING TO SEE TOM GREEN MOVIES or any other movie that you know you will hate ????why why why well i will tell you all why you do, you go to them so after you see them you can rant to everyone else about how the young people these days are so screwed up, and god movies are sooo stupid on and on and on.You want your type of movie go sleep through the english patient or the dang fat greek wedding those are made for your type it is because of people like you that everything has to be soooooo pc movies toys the way you talk the way you act rrrrrrrrrrrr when will it all end

anyway i gave this movie a 7

If it had not been for the exceedingly unfunny sight gags and basic writing style, I'd immediately fault Bruce McCulloch's Stealing Harvard for being an assembly of charmless stupidity and its use of bland, undeveloped characters. Consistent readers know I've subjected myself to stupid comedies and have emerged from some of them with a good review in hand. Such films would be Bio-Dome, Encino Man, and more recently, 2010's remake of Death at a Funeral.

However, there are requirements that I have in my head to be able to call a stupid movie a good one. For starters, a setup that's at least mildly intriguing. Second, one liners that are somewhat memorable. Finally, something that can differentiate it from a stupid movie in the crowd. Stealing Harvard only succeeds in having a somewhat interesting premise and one funny sequence, which involves shouting, repetition, and randomness - thinks I am known to have a disdain for.

Our story begins with John (Jason Lee), a man who is this close to marrying his fiancée and buying a home. His plans get halted when his niece (Tammy Blanchard), who he has become increasingly close to due to her lack of a father figure, reveals that she has been accepted to Harvard, and pulls out a tape of her when she was little, after she failed a spelling bee. On the tape, her uncle John promises her that he will pay for her to go to school when the time comes, and, in present time, she tells them there is only one small chunk left to pay - a $29,000 chunk.

Try to digest that plot point while I bring out another. John's best bud is "Duff" (Tom Green), a clueless, lazy dork who runs a third-rate landscaping business. He reveals to John that while clean and landscaping some rich stiff's home, that he has an open safe with a boatload of money that is simply collecting dust. The two half-wits decide to break in to the home and take the money, but when that idea fails, they concoct more, one of which is robbing a liquor store yuet becoming more preoccupied with who has what fake name rather than the actual operation.

Jason Lee, an actor who we saw was completely capable of creating a character in Chasing Amy and Mallrats functions with sitcom shallowness here, and Tom Green, an actor whose wide range of performances hasn't allowed him to adopt much likability, is a text book idiotic Neanderthal here.

And don't even get me started on the barrage of lackluster plot points and details the film includes, either. There's a little thing in comedies I call "too much information," where a running joke or setup is attempted to be created out of something rather disheartening or simply not funny. Certain "too much information" gags here are the details and the sequences showing John's fiancée (Leslie Mann) crying during sex and her oppressive relationship with her overprotective father. Such things do not belong in a comedy.

Stealing Harvard greatly reminds me of a smarter, infinitely more nuanced comedy called Orange County, that came out the same year as this one in 2002. The film centered around Colin Hanks' character who desperately tries to get accepted to a college, but he finds that his dysfunctional family and chaotic mishaps are burdening roadblocks to this dream. Hanks' character had a screw-up brother, played by Jack Black, who acted much like Tom Green in this film. Hanks' character also reminded me of the niece character here, played by Tammy Blanchard, as someone clearly ambitious but limited. Why was Orange County a three star comedy and this one a one and a half star comedy? Because Orange County chose wisely and took the challenge, focusing on the struggling soul at the core of the story. Not the imbeciles limiting them.

Starring: Jason Lee, Tom Green, Leslie Mann, and Tammy Blanchard. Directed by: Bruce McCulloch.

Call me crazy, but I liked this movie. It had its moments. I especially liked Elaine's dad; his character was the funniest. The part where John and Mr. Warner end up in drag at the judge's house was so funny. Then the end was great when John writes I have the picture, and the judge lets him off. And all the silly ideas John and Duff come up with to get the money were quite entertaining. I liked the fact that for once, Tom Green didn't play a gross out character.

FINAL VERDICT: This is a comedy worth seeing. It's only about 80 minutes long, but that's about right for a Tom Green movie.

Who ever decided to give Tom Green his own show, plus several movies, needs to be deported. That pretty much goes for all of Tom Green's fans as well.

This movie tells the tale of a man who decides to steal a bunch of money in order to put his niece through college. This has the potential to actually be a funny movie, but then the producers decided to cast TOM GREEN, and the movie is essentially just a longer version of his show.

At least I learned something from all of this; Even if a cool actor (Jason Lee) is cast in something, it only requires a lousy actor like Tom Green to mess it up. Avoid this movie like you run from your mother in law.

by Dane Youssef

Was this supposed a movie?

I have no idea....

I think it was trying to be one.

The plot is basically something for a fun Saturday-night buddy movie.

Jason Lee is John Plummer, a home-care worker at Homespital who's engaged to and just looking for a house to settle down and have a family with. His fiancée's father is also his boss.

His boss is going to be his father in law and naturally hates John as any true father-in-law should. He tells him, "Have you slept with my daughter? If you have, I'll give you immunity and that if he have slept with her, he should tell him there and now and they'll let it go." He asks him again point blank: "Have you slept with my daughter?" And John himself goes blank.

Then, looking like some kind of animal caught in oncoming headlights, John wisely lies.

Mr. Warner smiles and responds: "Good! Godammit, that's good! Because if you had, John, I was gonna kick your balls up into your head and let them rattle around in your skull like dice in a Yahtzee cup!" He and his fiancée Elaine Warner (Leslie Mann from "George of the Jungle" and "The Cable Guy") have managed to scrape up $30,000 to buy a new house. But when his scholarly niece actually manages to get into a college, an old promise that John comes back to bite him in the ass.

How to get a butt-load of money really, really fast? John's comes to his longtime buddy, Walter "Duff" Duffy who suggests... a robbery.

The kind of movie you round up your weekend buddies, go to a bar and have a few and go to see during the late-showing.

TV shock-Meister turned day-actor Tom Green plays his best friend Walter Duffy, a landscaper who has his own business. with an angry, obnoxious personality and a single digit IQ. He's basically just Tom Green if he went into landscaping. His style as a landscaper is to rip up fresh green, colorful and replace them with old, dead, ugly-looking tacky ones. Well, it's a look, I guess.

The film has all the energy of a 70-year old snail o.d.'ing on sedatives. Jason Lee, an actor I have the utmost respect for ("Chasing Amy," "Almost Famous" and "Vanilla Sky") who combines the best of Jimmy Stewart and Adam Sandler, so cheerful and likable--boring here.

Jason Lee plays John, bland, ordinary "John Everyman" who works at a home health-care corporation called "Homespital," not unlike the hospital founded by Patch Adams. He's engaged to a sweet, cheerful woman named Elaine (played by Leslie Mann) This is the third movie directed by former "Kid In The Hall" Bruce McCulloch ("Dog Park" and "Superstar") and it's his third misfire. His films are always dull, flat, incapable of generating any energy. Or maybe he just refuses to let them. He always has one really flamboyant character to generate some energy into an otherwise lifeless slog. Here, it's Tom Green.

Now you can say all you want that Tom Green is a bad actor. Let's face it, he is. His Golden Raspberry Award for "Worst Supporting Actor" of 2001 speaks for itself (he won many other "worsts" that year), but his performance gives the film the lion's share of what little energy it actually has. If it wasn't for Green's obnoxious Duff character, we'd all be going to sleep.

The worst part, I'm afraid, is that despite Mr. Green's inability to act, he does not give the worst performance in this movie. That comes from director McCulloch himself as an attorney near the end of the film. Rest assured, he's not there for very long, but his acting is so bad, I was amazed at how much worse he made the film simply by entering it.

Megan Mulally appears in a supporting role as Lee's sister, who's trailer-trash through and through. She has different sex partners every night... er, hour of the week. She and John have never really been close. They have a moment together. It's more deep and interesting than any other part of the movie.

Chris Penn pops up in a brief bit as a thug who is recruited by John and Duff to pull off a robbery, which leads to a scene that could have been funny, but just plain isn't. Like the rest of movie, it's so dead and flat-lined, you wish there was some doctor to put electrical pads over the chest of the film and go "Clear!" to bring it to life.

Here's a movie that could have been just big-fun disposable Saturday Night weekend entertainment like "Meet the Parents" or "Stuck on You." But this film needed a team of script doctors straight from the ER.

The brief gags from the supporting performers aren't much either. Big names with nothing to work with. John C. McGinley (TV's "Scrubs") is particularly embarrassing as a hard-nosed detective who's hot on their trail and trying to find out who's responsible for that mini-mart stick-up and is not above breaking the law.

He plays an almost completely unfunny version of his hard-ass cop role from "Point Break." I won't even get into the scene involving Richard Jenkins as the man of one of the houses they break into looking for money, suffice to say it didn't make me laugh and it hurt to watch. So does a scene which made me feel bad that John has had sex with Elaine--she cries during cotis. Good Lord.

Boring, when not irritating. It could have been so much better. So much funnier. With a script doctor, a director with some sight and some energy... well, Que se ra.

"There is nothing sadder than wasted talent" ---Robert De Niro as Lorenzo Anello in "A Bronx Tale."

--Disappointed... and Bored, Dane Youssef

The problem with this movie is not that it's unbelievably awful, but it's just plain dull. I got a few laughs here and there, mostly from Tom Green's mindless rantings, but overall the movie suffers from below-average writing and Bruce McCullouch's poor direction, hampered by limp pacing. My main reason for seeing this movie was Tom Green, and though he receives star billing, he basically plays a supporting role. After being disappointed from the horrible "Freddy Got Fingered," I was hoping Tommy could redeem himself. Well, as far his performance goes, he put his best foot forward. And maybe he should stick to supporting roles like this. His performance in this movie reminds me of his equally funny performance in "Road Trip," and in both movies he plays supporting roles, as opposed to "Freddy Got Fingered," in which his mindless ranting and cheap shock humor got stretched over a tedious hour and 30 minutes. This is really Jason Lee's movie...unfortunately. Now, I loved Jason in all of Kevin Smith's films and I also liked him in his supporting roles in "Mumford" and "Vanilla Sky." But for the most part, he seems bored with every role he's given in a mainstream film. Of course, you can't completely blame him with some of these scripts he's given ("Stealing Harvard" being one good example), but his lack of enthusiasm certainly doesn't help. But it seems like, with the exception of his amazingly different role in "Mumford," he doesn't feel comfortable with any role where he doesn't get to play the hopeless neurotic. The great Dennis Farina tries to add some spice, also putting his best foot forward, but he couldn't breathe much life into this mediocre fluff. When you get Dennis Farina in a dress (yes, Dennis in a dress, that's no misprint) and still can't make me laugh, there's obviously a problem. Most of the funny moments were given away in the trailers like when Tom and Jason are about to rob a convenience store, and they pick fake names with Tom whining, "I wanted to be Steve!" I didn't hate this film, but I surely wasn't too entertained either.

My score: 5 (out of 10)

If it wasn't for Tom Green this movie would really be embarrassing (especially when you consider that even with him it was slightly embarrassing). The acting was just really bad and made it hard to laugh even at the clever jokes. There was nothing original being introduced and the unoriginal material wasn't better than it's originals in any way at all. Tom Green gives this movie a little kick with his brilliance but even he can't save something this butchered. The court seen near the end could have had so much more done with it but it was as if they had only been granted enough time to shoot the scene.

Don't pay money to watch this movie. If it comes on TV and there is absolutely nothing else even half decent on watch it, but just for Tom Green.

This film was conceived to be stupid and it made it. It is... stupid! I don't mean by this it hasn't its moments of fun, it certainly does, but if we analyze them they are just... stupid humor! The entire film is based in this concept which is by the way the Tom Green's method to do comedy. He looks stupid, he behaves stupid, so he does stupid humor being basically...stupid! The film has a lot of stars, very well known actors with nice careers; all of them subjugated to the stupid methods of Tom Green to do comedy. As told I think the movie has a few funny scenes which made me laugh, but they aren't enough to compensate the rest which is pure stupidity! I score it 3/10 because of the few funny jokes.

I see here the seeds to 'My Name is Earl'. I've watched whatever Jason Lee flicks I can find. 'John' in this flick is closest to the Earl character in the TV series. IMHO, f you like 'Earl' you'll enjoy this.

Erstwhile John makes an innocent promise to his niece to comfort her from early elimination from an 8th grade spelling bee. Ten years later, that promise comes back to bite him. He is the father figure for this niece, who in spite of her 'white trailer trash' mother and upbringing, has managed to get herself accepted at Harvard.

He also made a commitment to his fiancé. Therein lies the conflict.

There's some good shtick in this flick. The shaved-headed cop plays it over the top, to good effect. The dog, the organs man, the judge, all made me laugh, or at least chuckle...maybe a groan or two.

Even as a rental movie, this was the worst piece of garbage I've ever seen, I kept watching amazed that anything so bad could get made. I figured it had to get better, but it never did. The people involved must be cowering in shame.

Stealing Harvard is such a feel good movie. I can't believe that this film hasn't got the recognition it deserves.

First off, I would like to comment on the amazing acting. Tom Green as "Duff" is absolutely fabulous. He completely sucks you in to the movie, and delivers a hilarious performance. For a normal man to play such a role shows how great of an acting performance that was.

While Jason Lee also did a great job as John Plummer, I have to give the real prize to John C. McGinley as Detective Charles. One minute he is calm like John Plummer, and the next minute he is crazy like Duff! He was incredible to watch, and delivered an astronomical performance, which is sadly very overlooked.

Overall, Stealing Harvard was just an amazing film. I love it, and watch it very often. Anyone who doesn't like this movie obviously couldn't recognize how great it really was.

First thing to note is that a lot of the laughs in this movie come from Tom Greene. If you're not a fan of Tom Green, you're less likely to find enjoyment in this movie. In fact, in 2002 he received a Golden Raspberry Award, a satirical award recognizing cinematic "failures".

While his acting performance may not have been top-notch, he does deliver some genuinely amusing moments from a comedic standpoint. Jason Lee is quite humorous as well, as are several other actors in this film.

The storyline also incorporates humor through certain characters' quirks and amusing situations. Nevertheless, the primary issue(s) with this movie arise when those character traits and scenarios start to appear overly unrealistic. This isn't to suggest that the movie includes outright impossibilities. Instead, some elements in the film seem highly improbable, as if the writer opted for a straightforward and hasty solution to a difficult problem.

Stealing Harvard was mistakenly labeled a comedy, people beware of this, it aint funny. Bruce McCulloch, why can't you make a funny movie? You're a funny guy. Or was it the other kids that made you look that way? And why were Jason Lee and Tom Green sucked into this? Ok... Why was Jason Lee in this? Those two are funny dudes, but I remained straight faced through 98% of this lousy assterpiece.

Ok, I'm going to say it, Freddy Got Fingered was funnier. And that movie is buried under all the other horrible films i've seen. And Peter Tolan, I hope to god you did this for the money, even then it's no excuse, you should be ashamed, but judging by your resume, you're pockets are full from... let me see.. yes, all horrible films. Wait, Analyze This is ok, but that had 2 other writers, one of them being the superb Kenneth Lonnergan, so where I stand you don't get points for that either. Maybe you're a genius or just a really swell guy who got lucky. But I don't know you I know your films, and they blow.

All in all people, don't waste your hard earned money, download it. Even then you're wasting your precious time and hard drive space.