Merolliv
I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.
Jemima
It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.
Beulah Bram
A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.
Laurence Bacud
Great B-movie. The unique approach to the underlying message paired with the attention to small details made this movie for me. I was expecting a cliché college movie, but was pleasantly surprised. If you're in the mood to think about how technology is affecting society, I would highly recommend this title.Pay attention to all the off-screen dialog as well as the random commentary made by extras. Not only does it enhance the experience, it also adds a little more comedic flair to the movie. I found myself getting quite a kick out of all the side conversations.Funny. Thoughtful. Entertaining.
Paul Magne Haakonsen
While "Dean Slater: Resident Adviser" is not amongst the worst of teen comedies, then it is neither amongst the best of them."Dean Slater: Resident Adviser" is a fairly adequate movie. It has some good and bright moments here and there, but this is hardly the type of comedy that will have you in tears from laughing. Sure, there were moments from time to time that proved funny and broke laughs. But in overall, then the movie wasn't riding high on laughs and comedy.The story is straight forward, easy to follow and basically what you would expect from a movie such as this.However, what carried the movie was the gallery of characters. The characters in the movie were well-portrayed and fleshed out on the screen. But characters are, of course, almost nothing without talented actors to bring the characters to life on the screen. And I will say that the people on the cast list in "Dean Slater: Resident Adviser" were doing good jobs with their given roles.While not a movie that will leave a lasting impression, then "Dean Slater: Resident Adviser" is good entertainment for a single watching.
chomptown
Hearkening back to the 80's college comedy aesthetic this movie tackles the modern dilemma of social media vs. real world interaction. Set at the fictitious Southern California State University the movie follows three freshmen boys who, struggling to overcome their high school identities, find guidance from a long-lost alum standing in as their resident adviser. On screen you see a lot of pretty young faces and bodies (a couple of the actors are of Disney and Nickelodean pedigree) and a surprisingly diverse assortment of locations from desert to campus to beach to an elaborate data-network center.Things begin with the usual college antics...partying and partying then paying the price. This all comes with some laughs. A lot of the gags are of the gross out variety and I have to say that despite myself I was laughing out loud at some of the absurd potty humor (particularly a case of drunken toilet bowl mix-up).There is a love story or two for the hopeless romantics but the emotions seem to take back seat to silliness as the story moves forward towards it's internet defying climax.The acting is all good enough with the one stand out being Mitchel Jarvis of "Keith Stone" infamy who plays the pseudo-lead Dean Slater. Jarvis brings some real gusto to his scenes with a mix of Gene Wilder Willy Wonka and Johny Depp Jack Sparrow making for a strangely transfixing character.With their coincidentally freshman effort, Colin Sander (writer, director) and Christian Sander (writer, producer) have made a movie with all the signs of a young and enthusiastic cast and crew having fun and learning as they go along. There are plenty of little things to criticize with the story and structure, but with this kind of movie it's really not worth getting worked up over. Delivering a good dose of laughs and surprises this is worth the rental fee.P.S. The credit sequence (though perhaps coming in a little late) is fantastic. I hope to see more of that creativity in the next Sander Bro's collaboration.
gpknopp
Movies about the American college experience are silly, and this raises the bar. The reality of the American college environment is unreal, and so any comedy flick on the subject is by nature exploitative. Which reminds me to write that screenplay on my very real college experience that laid the groundwork for the next 20 years of my life.The bottom line: this is an incredibly silly movie specific to California college life. It is not particularly awful and has some poignant and well thought out comedic moments. It has, as a major theme, the abuse of social media, which, given the sorry state of American culture these days - with people sharing a meal paying more attention to their cell phones than their company - is a real concern. This B-Grade flick makes the unpopular argument that the pervasiveness of social media is excessive, and that we we need to find a balance."Are you Amish?"
