Zooey Deschanel Movie:

Editorial Review:
Aimed at teens with numb senses of humor, The New Guy earns its chuckles mostly by accident. Most of the comedy is DOA, although the cast--especially DJ Qualls in the title role--possesses a modicum of scrappy charm. DJ plays a "blip" on his high school’s social radar, briefly jailed for chronic misbehavior and mentored in coolness by a fellow inmate (Eddie Griffin), who becomes the funky "new guy" at a new school, where he’s worshipped as a mysterious hipster and attracts the hottest cheerleader (Eliza Dushku). Directed without a shred of inspiration (by a cowriter of There’s Something About Mary) and looking like a drab 16-millimeter industrial film, the movie would be a waste of time were it not for its abiding cheerfulness, rock-star cameos (Henry Rollins, Gene Simmons, Tommy Lee), Lyle Lovett as DJ’s dad, and a fresh cast that almost makes this lowbrow mess worthwhile. --Jeff Shannon

The New Guy Reviews:
Very Funny!!!
2008-10-11 - I thought this was really good! It has a really awesome plot and message! Dizzy is a nerd who so desperately wants to be cool. After he's expelled from school, he seeks help from a prisoner named Luther. Luther helps him to become cool. He transfers to a new school and gets people to like him. He beats up the bully. he gets the geeks and cool people to like each other, he helps the football players win the big game, and gets the girl. The bully is sick of it, so he teams up with the bully from Dizzy's old school and sets a trap for him. If you love comedy, you'll love THE NEW GUY!!!

Don't laugh ... we all remember your first day as the new guy!
2007-08-18 - I remember my first time I changed schools when I was young. It was hard, it was emotional, and by George, I never quite think I ever turned back into the boy I once was. Changing schools is hard when you are young - or at any age - but was the film "The New Guy", cliché ridden from the beginning throughout the end, needed to help those under-privileged tweens prepare themselves for a choice they probably had no decision in? Why I am rambling instead of immediately jumping in why so many others denounced this film? To be honest, and this will probably shock you, I felt a soft spot for this film. It could have been the multitude of cameos. Maybe it was the shockingly impassioned DJ Qualls, or maybe it was the fact that this reminded me of a different time in cinema where movies were made to just be funny. "The New Guy" felt like one part "Can't Hardly Wait", one part "Empire Records", with one part actually feeling like a dud Pauley Shore movie. You probably hate me already, but these elements clicked with me. Now, this wasn't Oscar-caliber in any way shape or form, but it did hold my attention, made me chuckle, and made me appreciate classic 90s (early 00s) tween comedy.

The plot surrounding this film could be found anywhere. Qualls plays Dizzy Harrison, a nobody determined to be someone this year in school. A debacle - of which will not be mentioned - sends him screaming to the nurses office and eventually into jail. It is during his moments of detention that he meets with Luther (the low-point of the film Eddie Griffin), who teaches him to act like he is a different person. It sticks, Dizzy goes to another school under the pseudonym of Gil Harris - wins the hearts of the students, a hot cheerleader named Danielle (Eliza Dushku), and nearly looses all of his friends. Will he be able to live the high life he has created, or will his past catch up to him? If you cannot answer this question, it is obvious you need to start watching more movies. Like I said when I started this, the plot isn't something you want to spend your Sunday writing to Grandma about - it is the passion of the characters, the enthusiasm of the creators, and the easy-going spirit of the film that actually hooked me more than I anticipated. I liked the jokes. I liked laughing at Lyle Lovett getting hit in the eye with a flaming marshmallow, I liked the fact that Vanilla Ice was playing a FYE-esque employee with a mean streak, and I loved whenever those O'Connell boys were on the screen. Something about these moments took me back when comedies prided themselves on weak plots and cameos galore. One could almost say this was a precursor to the "Scary Movie" franchise, except better executed.

The plot is feeble. That has been established already. The plot wasn't bad, it was just cliché ridden to the point where you could care less what was going to happen (because it was predictable prior to it happening), but wanted to see our characters - Qualls, Dushku, Deschanel, Lovett, O'Connell, and more (Gene Simmons as a Reverend?) - were headed. I can't say that I loved the characters, but they kept my attention on screen more than I thought. I think what impressed me about this film was that it didn't rely on crass body humor to progress the plot, the jokes (while weak) did have some moments of creativity to them. Someone tried to give this film a cult standing, but failed - but not without going out fighting. I applaud this attempt. The characters worked well together. Whether you were waiting for another priceless cameo or just watching Qualls bumble around Dushku, I was following it. This combination was perfect with a cool beverage, a warm evening, and a desire to laugh. There wasn't any high level of expectation - and I think that is where "The New Guy" succeeded. It knew where it wanted to be, and it didn't strive to go further. I have been hesitant to see "Borat" because of the hype that everyone applauds to it, so in this instance the bar has been set too high. For "The New Guy", I knew very little about it outside of the previews that I had seen in other films for this one. I didn't want to see this movie, but when it arrived, I wasn't scared to put it in my DVD player. I was happy. This was a chuckle filled film.

Another element that I really enjoyed was the parody connection. "The New Guy" parodied other films of that year (or older/younger) and you just don't see that anymore. Outside of the obvious parody films that have been released lately (shall we never speak of "Epic Movie" again), Hollywood tends to avoid this in modern cinema, but for this critic is has always made me laugh. Why do you think I own "The Critic" series? I thought this really enforced this film's standard - again - without going over the preset bar, it brought a new level of comedy to the surface and writer David Kendall coupled with the direction of Ed Decter did a great job of keeping performances low, cameos high, and intelligence mediocre. There was a level of understanding that this was a decent film, but it didn't want the general public to know it.

Overall, I could complain about the bad parts of this film all day, I could also speak highly of other parts that I just seemed to cobble up like leftover cake, but I am not. I will suggest this film to friends and family, let them be grumpy with me for a bit, but I liked this movie. It is not one that will be added to my collection, but for the time and place that I am currently at "The New Guy" hit the spot. Qualls isn't the greatest comedian, but his comic timing is genuine. His matching with Dushku was preposterous and we all knew, but we went along anyway because it was a comfortable cliché. I like the comfortable clichés.

Don't skip it, but don't knock it till you see it. Surprise yourself.

Grade: *** out of *****

Funny Movie
2007-05-02 - It is really funny, especially if your looking for something mindless....some popcorn for the brain....when you need to unwind and don't want something too serious etc.

A guilty Pleasure
2007-01-11 - I like the New Guy. It has everything in it to be a dud and it kind of was at the box office. It is however a funny and predictable movie but enjoyable.

Dizzy Harrison(Qualls)is a loser and having a terrible senior year. He gets himself expelled by doing some crazy and fairly entertaining acts. He gets trained by his prsion inmated(led by Eddie Griffin)and sets off to his new high school to rule it. He quickly does and falls for the lead cheerleader Danielle(Dushku). She has a thing for "Gil Harris" as he's known at his new school. The movie then becomes the cliche teen movie it is as Dizzy is faced with the moral problem of being who he really is or losing everything he's worked so hard for. Geesh I wonder how it ends.

I like DJ Qualls. He's such a weird looking guy you can't help but like him. His best movie is still Roadtrip, but he does alright in his leading role here. His dancing is pretty hilarious. He's a funny guy and doesn't disappoint.

Eliza Dushku is gorgeous. Her dancing for her two minutes makes the movie for me. She's likeable as well. She's kind of a stiff in this flick, but that can be blamed on the poor writing.

It's a fun predictable movie. It's not as raunchy as alot of the teen movies so younger crowds can watch it. It's a good movie I'm not embarrased to say I own it. Check it out and enjoy yourself.

Absolutely hilarous!
2006-03-26 - My family and I accidentally found this on regular cable tv, and loved it so much, we came to amazon to buy it. I was shocked that none of us remembered any trailers or ads for this movie. It is incredibly funny, for anyone above age of 12.