Film Roar

The New Guy (2002)

The barrage of TV trailers for The New Guy (2002) made it look like a not funny, sophomoric, cliché-driven, stereotype-ridden stupid teen comedy. If you get a chance to see it though you will find it actually is a sometimes funny, sophomoric, cliché-driven, stereotype-ridden stupid teen comedy with some charm. Probably the greatest thing The New Guy has going for it is that the movie never takes itself too seriously. The movie takes a clue from the classic National Lampoon comedies or the new teen-movie parodies and decides to just have fun and let the actors ham it up in ridiculous scenes. Lead actor DJ Qualls lends a gentle charm and charisma that makes it easy to root for the lonely geek trying to gain peer recognition. He is helped by the ever so sexy Eliza Dushku (you may know her as Faith in the Buffyverse) who does not have much to do other than convince us that The New Guy has enough mojo to attract the most attractive girl in school. A lack of writing and screen chemistry makes it impossible to believe that Dushku is actually interested in our unlikely hero, instead her screen presence seems to serve only for the exploitation of her sexuality. That being said she does have the charisma to make even her inane scenes fun to watch. There is very little in The New Guy that could be considered to be of high quality, but as cheesy as the movie is, it is surprisingly entertaining.