A good soundtrack, excellent acting, and a pleasing enough plot to keep you from growing bored are the strong points of this movie. Unfortunately, underplayed characters, clichés, and lack of subject knowledge held it back from its full potential.
The trio of idiotic genius' are helmed masterfully by their actors, with Johnny Galecki stealing the show when his character starts slipping into the world of easy money. Unfortunately, none of the characters are new or fresh.
Casey, a shy nerd whom we rarely get to see anything of, joins the crew when another character decides to "adopt" him because he was lost his first day on campus - despite unwittingly setting the plans in motion, his character does little besides provide a contrasting personality to the other two leads.
Jude is a womanizing party boy who is the main schemer of the group. He is also addicted to everything, making him very, very attached the money and the thrill of gaining it. He tends to be the more spirited of the three, getting himself into the most trouble. He also provides comedy relief.
Finally, the main "hero", Tobey, is excited about the plan, but is more focused on the attractive Hunter, played by Rachel Leigh Cook. He is the child prodigy who smooths over some of the bumpier problems, and tries to keep Jude from blowing things over the top.
These three put their plans into action, only to have a problem getting word out. After a conman's maneuver, our three characters are rolling in money, and the trouble begins.
Really, the movie tries hard to be a jack of all trades, and in trying to do so fails at being fully delightful at anything. The romance is unbelievable between Hunter and Tobey, and highly forgotten until it becomes convenient. The supposed brotherly feelings between Jude and Tobey is also lost to the wind, as the chemistry between actors just isn't there. The plot calls for the suspension of disbelief in every scene involving the mafia, who are tame and uncreative. It also has, in my opinion, a cheesy cop-out ending.
By the time the credits roll, you really couldn't care less what happens to the characters. In fact, in the case of Jude, you might even be wishing things had turned disastrous for them.
However, it was a fun film, and one I'd recommend to my friends for a lazy afternoon viewing.
The trio of idiotic genius' are helmed masterfully by their actors, with Johnny Galecki stealing the show when his character starts slipping into the world of easy money. Unfortunately, none of the characters are new or fresh.
Casey, a shy nerd whom we rarely get to see anything of, joins the crew when another character decides to "adopt" him because he was lost his first day on campus - despite unwittingly setting the plans in motion, his character does little besides provide a contrasting personality to the other two leads.
Jude is a womanizing party boy who is the main schemer of the group. He is also addicted to everything, making him very, very attached the money and the thrill of gaining it. He tends to be the more spirited of the three, getting himself into the most trouble. He also provides comedy relief.
Finally, the main "hero", Tobey, is excited about the plan, but is more focused on the attractive Hunter, played by Rachel Leigh Cook. He is the child prodigy who smooths over some of the bumpier problems, and tries to keep Jude from blowing things over the top.
These three put their plans into action, only to have a problem getting word out. After a conman's maneuver, our three characters are rolling in money, and the trouble begins.
Really, the movie tries hard to be a jack of all trades, and in trying to do so fails at being fully delightful at anything. The romance is unbelievable between Hunter and Tobey, and highly forgotten until it becomes convenient. The supposed brotherly feelings between Jude and Tobey is also lost to the wind, as the chemistry between actors just isn't there. The plot calls for the suspension of disbelief in every scene involving the mafia, who are tame and uncreative. It also has, in my opinion, a cheesy cop-out ending.
By the time the credits roll, you really couldn't care less what happens to the characters. In fact, in the case of Jude, you might even be wishing things had turned disastrous for them.
However, it was a fun film, and one I'd recommend to my friends for a lazy afternoon viewing.