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Harvard Man
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IMDb user comments for
Harvard Man (2001) More at IMDbPro »

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11 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
A very poor movie, 28 January 2003
2/10
Author: joepublic from the outer reaches of your mind

This is one of those movies that tries really hard to be quirky and off the wall but misses the point that off the wall is hard to construct. That is the feeling of this movie a construction that tries to pile in as many bizarre narrative threads as possible, lsd, tornados and the FBI. The narrative is feather light and at times scenes are so tenuously linked that it is almost laughable.

The camera work and editing style try and fit the "off the wall" strategy but just end up becoming distracting. Th acting is poor all round with the better actors in the cast looking as if they are going through the motions. This has t.v. movie written all over it !

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11 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Weird but good, 11 July 2002
8/10
Author: Spanner-2 from United States

This low budget offering from disturbed filmmaker James Toback ("Black and White") features Adrian Grenier as a Harvard University basketball player in money trouble who is conned by his shaddy girlfriend (Sarah Michelle Gellar (playing a rif on her "Cruel Intentions" role) to throw a basketball game for money. Add in subplots about the mob, a couple of shaddy FBI agents (including a weird performance by Eric Stoltz), a teacher he has an affair with (Joey Lauren Adams) and a bizare drug trip segment and you have.. a typical Toback picture.. Still, the performances, especialy by relative newcommer Grenier are excellent and the story is weird enough to keep you fascinated.. Not for all tastes due to its subject matter but a good film. GRADE: B

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10 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
horrible, 10 June 2006
1/10
Author: kschwar61 from United States

This movie had so many chances to be comedic, dramatic and even interesting, but just failed on so many levels. In some instances the actors were so "acting" that it was just unbelievable. Nothing good here. Joey Lauren Adams is just good to listen to because she is a bit sexy. Hell it is so bad that I just saw the end and I can't remember how it ended... I had to make this comment at least 10 lines for it to be posted. Now, you have to know that I am just writing to get it posted. This is how bad this movie was. If you get stoned or do some LSD, it just might be your cup of tea. If you have the brain power to dissect the movie. Even then, don't expect too much.

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9 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Great cast...not great film., 3 June 2003
Author: stephenhounslow from Hounslow England

I have seen " HARVARD MAN " for the first time on dvd and i think it is a notable failure with a great cast.

James Toback is a good director but this is not one of his best films simply it is poorly written and directed and it gives the cast nothing to do whatsoever.

Adam Greiner is ok if a little wooden but he gets completely out acted by the utterly gorgeous and totally wonderfull Sarah Michelle Gellar as the nasty and calculated Cindy.

The rest of the cast...Rebecca Gayheart,Ray Allen and,good to see him in a movie after all these years,Eric Stoltz are excellent but as i have said they are not given much to do.

So in short...notable failure that could have been good.

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5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
high pitched, 19 February 2004
4/10
Author: san_strik from nijmegen Holland

So...Joey Lauren Adams is this professor in philosphy......With that voice????

It somehow didn't seem right to me. At least we've learned about the dangers of drugs. Before you can say LSD, you're entangled in a web of deceit, with both the FBI and the mafia on your tail. No use to get philosophical about it, just say no. As Buffy would say: 'cos it's Wrong!!!

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Intense, 19 December 2002
7/10
Author: Iced Guardian from Linkoping, Sweden

I wouldn't say this movie is ordinary. There is something about it that makes it stick out of the crowd. Perhaps it is the exquisite camera work, perhaps the intensity and the tempo of it, or maybe merely the fact that the acting performance is excellent. It might be a bit intense at the start, but once you pass the threshold, you get sucked into the story. Anyway it is a good movie, and even if the story is not unique itself, the movie truly is. Watch it, it's worth the money renting.

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6 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Average, 12 July 2003
6/10
Author: conace21 from Buffalo

The beginning of this movie is weak, and overly simplistic, especially the early scenes with the Cindy's father. The most amusing part is the fling in the forest, where Sarah Michelle Gellar's sexiness is notable. However, it gets better. You feel the guy's confusion in his head, his mindset, and the overall suspense picks up. The biggest disappointment is it ends abruptly. The plot could have been carried on even further, I believe.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
You'll never look at the FBI the same way again, 15 June 2006
3/10
Author: TruthSpeaks from United States

The movie has an unintentionally ridiculous plot involving tri-sexual FBI agents, mobsters, a hot blonde philosophy professor, high stakes gambling, a natural disaster, and a cameo appearance by Al Franken. Interspersed with these things are characters tripping on drugs or philosophizing as college freshmen do, at great length.

Leading man Adrian Grenier has gotten handsomer since he made this movie; he grew into his looks. He did a good job acting, especially considering how young he appears to be here and the oddness of the material.

I was expecting the movie to be more offensive because the director has a reputation for doing unspeakable things to females in life, and given his other movies. This movie just appears to be a drug-fueled, delusional, freshman fantasy, but not as enjoyable as that sounds.

The fact that this director was given several movies to direct after this, each more offensive than the next, is disturbing.

Notes for the sensitive: The movie opens with footage from a sex scene and there are several more throughout. Plenty of drug usage too.

Some people have commented on the oddness of the colors in the movie but I just saw it on Showtime and found those to be normal, except for the brown river water in Boston. Maybe the colors were corrected or maybe there are colors only some people can see, like dog whistles.

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4 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
The apocalypse, 26 January 2007
Author: NIKITIN-1 from Russian Federation

If I were to express my true views of this film, it would not be allowed on the internet. Totally egregious, a travesty, a cinematic endeavour that has successfully set humanity back at least 30 years. I just can't understand what possibly possessed this guy to make this film, let alone for Buffy to star in it. Not to mention its racism. Evidently, black people don't go to harvard, but if they do, rest assured that they play basketball and carry guns!Besides the only two blacks in the film were a gun toting roommate and a nymphomaniac neighbourwith designs on the two white protagonists, all that was missing was to have them eat some fried chicken and have grills. I am lost for words. Let me use some pseudo-deep philosophy to ponder it, similarly to Kirkegaard, as would be said in the film. I really hope that as many people as possible watch this film and consider how its release was ever made possible. Honestly, why did his black Harvard roommate attack him with a gun???

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Teen black comedy with an edge., 4 August 2008
7/10
Author: insomniac_rod from Noctropolis

Meh, this is an okay time filler that won't stick in your mind for too long. It's the typical American comedy that uses black humor to criticize some aspects of America's politics and culture/society.

On the positive side, it's not a typical teen comedy with "toilet humor" or campy situations; it has some decent dialogs and interesting ideas towards drug addiction and mafias.

The plot surrounds a sports guy who is obviously the most popular thing in college. He has a sexy hot and kinky girlfriend who happens to be the daughter of a powerful Italian mob man. You know the rest... drugs, basketball, mafia, FBI, a sexy and smart teacher, etc.

This movie is not a mess but not a masterpiece. I still recommend it for those who are into teen movies with an edge.

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