Movie Review for Stealing Harvard

Summary: Duff and Jason are best friends, but couldn't be more different. Duff is a confirmed under-achiever and a lifelong bad influence on John. John is a practical, hard working guy who only wants to marry his longtime girlfriend Elaine. Elaine and John have vowed to marry once they save $30,000 for their dream house. After years of struggle, John and Elaine can finally afford to walk down the aisle and into their dream house--until John's sister Patty calls with the unbelievable news that his niece Noreen has been accepted into Harvard University. Wedding bells are silenced as Patty reminds John of his promise to pay for his niece's tuition, which costs $29,879 and is due in two weeks! Unable to tell his girlfriend, John turns to his friend Duff to help him raise the money. Duff, who is no friend of Elaine's, convinces John to make a short-term commitment to petty crime. John's life quickly unravels as each of Duff's schemes spin out of control.

                         Reviews of Stealing Harvard
By Mike McGranaghan of Aisle Seat (7/0)
            I found Stealing Harvard to be a lot like skim milk: it's too watered down to be very go...

By Chris Kaynes of Apollo Guide (6/1)
            Any movie unafraid to wilfully throw around the term 'bastards' can’t be too bad.

By Kimberly Jones of Austin Chronicle (7/0)
            The result is a corps of good actors stuck with feeble, unfunny material that could easily pass a...

By Mark Stevens of BBC (7/0)
            It's no-win stuff. It's not offensive enough to appeal to Green's (ever-decreasing) fan-base, nor...

By Bill Stamets of Chicago Reader (7/0)
            Among the squandered supporting cast are Dennis Farina, Chris Penn, Megan Mullally, and Seymour C...

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (7/0)
            This is as lax and limp a comedy as I've seen in a while, a meander through worn-out material.

                         Reviews of Stealing Harvard
By Mark Caro of Chicago Tribune (7/0)
            Some actors steal scenes. Tom Green just gives them a bad odor. This self-infatuated goofball is ...

By Glenn Whipp of Cincinnati Enquirer (7/0)
            The only thing that kept me interested...came from wondering how the movie is going to use its MP...

By David Keyes of Cinemaphile.org (7/0)
            ...not even amusing enough to at least stimulate our negative response beyond dozing off.

By Karina Montgomery of Cinerina (7/0)
            Green distracted from what could have been a pretty mediocre film.

By Mark Palermo of Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) (7/0)
            There's a little energy early in the picture, especially when we meet John's very unkempt relativ...

By Larry Carroll of Countingdown.com (7/0)
            Quite frankly, I can't see why any actor of talent would ever work in a McCulloch production agai...

                         Reviews of Stealing Harvard
By David Levine of E! Online (7/0)
            ...rarely engaging and the childish humor entertains for just a few sporadic scenes.

By Scott Weinberg of eFilmCritic.com (7/0)
            Stealing Harvard is a limp and lazy affair, and a flick that positively reeks of contractual obli...

By Danny Graydon of Empire Magazine (7/0)
            This is just lazy.

By Bruce Fretts of Entertainment Weekly (7/0)
            The timing in nearly every scene seems a half beat off.

By Eric D. Snider of EricDSnider.com (7/0)
            Green ruins what might have otherwise been a reasonably mediocre movie.

By Eugene Novikov of Film Blather (7/0)
            It even survives the usually damning presence of Tom Green, who is only mildly annoying rather th...

                         Reviews of Stealing Harvard
By Walter Chaw of Film Freak Central (7/0)
            A shame that Stealing Harvard is too busy getting in its own way to be anything but frustrating, ...

By Doris Toumarkine of Film Journal International (7/0)
            To paraphrase the film's tagline: Their intentions were honorable. The results were criminal.

By John R. McEwen of Film Quips Online (7/0)
            I suppose as long as there are teenage boys to shell out money for movie tickets, there will be m...

By Jimmy O of Film Snobs (7/0)
            I may be the only person to say it, but Tom Green should have directed this film

By David Grove of Film Threat (7/0)
            The film is like a series of beginnings and middles that never take off.

By David Levine of filmcritic.com (7/0)
            Stealing Harvard is rarely engaging and the childish humor entertains for just a few sporadic sce...

                         Reviews of Stealing Harvard
By Rick Groen of Globe and Mail (7/0)
            Stealing Harvard will dip into your wallet, swipe 90 minutes of your time, and offer you precisel...

By Peter Bradshaw of Guardian [UK] (7/0)
            Nothing can survive the toxic unfunniness of Green.

By Ross Anthony of Hollywood Report Card (7/0)
            As for the antics themselves, the early ones lack, sometimes loudly lacking. But like John's dumb...

By David Hunter of Hollywood Reporter (7/0)
            ...destined to flop...

By Eric Harrison of Houston Chronicle (7/0)
            It's all pretty tame. The most offensive thing about the movie is that Hollywood expects people t...

By Gary Brown of Houston Community Newspapers (7/0)
            The film desperately sinks further and further into comedy futility.

                         Reviews of Stealing Harvard
By Steve Rhodes of Internet Reviews (7/0)
            The movie isn't easy to endure. Save yourself the pain by never starting to watch it in the firs...

By Jim Slotek of Jam! Movies (7/0)
            A film that takes a couple of decent jabs at bent, non-cliched humour but too often simply hands ...

By JoBlo of JoBlo's Movie Emporium (7/0)
            The film basically plays like a sketch piece ... some of which work (but most don't)...

By John Larsen of Light Views (4/3)
            Being a film critic means taking the good with the bad, or more precisely, suffering through "Ste...

By Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times (7/0)
            Stealing Harvard is an act of grand theft -- the way it wastes your time is a crime.

By Kevin N. Laforest of Montreal Film Journal (7/0)
            If you can’t stand Tom Green, avoid the film like the plague, but if you enjoy his bizarro sense ...

                         Reviews of Stealing Harvard
By Ken Hanke of Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (7/0)
            The nicest thing that can be said about Stealing Harvard (which might have been called Freddy Get...

By Marty Mapes of Movie Habit (7/0)
            Harvard and neices have nothing to do with this movie, it's just an excuse for 90 minutes of joke...

By Frank Swietek of One Guy's Opinion (7/0)
            Not as painful as you might expect, but it is flat, shapeless and largely devoid of laughs...even...

By Jim Shelby of Palo Alto Weekly (7/0)
            There is no real reason to see this unless you are related to someone involved in the project, an...

By Dawn Taylor of Portland Tribune (7/0)
            Tom Green is a black hole of anti-tainment who absorbs anything enjoyable from the screen into hi...

By Linda Cook of Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) (7/0)
            It's not the worst comedy of the year, but it certainly won't win any honors.

                         Reviews of Stealing Harvard
By Tor Thorsen of Reel.com (7/0)
            To get to the comic gold in Stealing Harvard, you have to sift through a lot of gravel.

By Betty Jo Tucker of ReelTalk Movie Reviews (6/1)
            'Stealing Harvard' robbed me of 82 valuable minutes I'll never get back.

By Harry Guerin of RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland) (7/0)
            You'll just have your head in your hands wondering why Lee's character didn't just go to a bank m...

By Mick LaSalle of San Francisco Chronicle (7/0)
            ...a movie with a straight man (Jason Lee) who really is funny, but with a comic (Tom Green) who ...

By Jim Judy of Screen It! (7/0)
            Although it offers a few amusing moments here and there, for the most part this comedy isn't smar...

By William Arnold of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (7/0)
            ...painfully mediocre...

                         Reviews of Stealing Harvard
By Rich Cline of Shadows on the Wall (7/0)
            This film tries so hard to be both charming and disgusting that it's almost painful to watch.

By Rob Blackwelder of SPLICEDWire (7/0)
            Another boorish movie from the I-heard-a-joke- at-a-frat-party school of screenwriting.

By Paul Salfen of Supercala.com (7/0)
            In what promises to be a top contender for worst movie of the year, Stealing Harvard proves that ...

By Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone of TheMovieChicks.com (7/0)
            If you recognize Zeus (the dog from Snatch) it will make you wish you were at home watching that ...

By Frank Ochieng of TheWorldJournal.com (7/0)
            Somehow you know the odds are stacked against you when you knowingly take on the reality of seein...

By Derek Adams of Time Out (7/0)
            Weird, then, how the cast play as if holding their breath for the pay cheque.

                         Reviews of Stealing Harvard
By Audrey Rock-Richardson of Tooele Transcript-Bulletin (Utah) (7/0)
            While Stealing Harvard is far from a great movie, it’s Tom Green’s best so far.

By Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide's Movie Guide (7/0)
            Two idiots embark on a life of crime to help a deserving teenager attend Harvard in this lowbrow....

By Urban Cinefile Critics of Urban Cinefile (7/0)
            There’s just enough to Stealing Harvard to prevent it from being the worst movie of the year. But...

By Mike Clark of USA Today (7/0)
            ...fails to keep 80 minutes from seeming like 800.

By Scott Foundas of Variety (7/0)
            Depressingly thin and exhaustingly contrived. Only masochistic moviegoers need apply.

By Susan Granger of www.susangranger.com (7/0)
            There are films that try the patience of even the most cinema-besotted critic -- and this was one...

                         Reviews of Stealing Harvard
By A. O. Scott of New York Times (3/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            A shambling, incoherent story ... manages to abuse both Mr. Lee's good nature and his comic gift.

By Phil Villarreal of Arizona Daily Star (3/4) No reference
            If McCulloch keeps cranking out mediocre comedies like this, fans will start to give up on him.

By Bill Muller of Arizona Republic (3/4) No reference
            It's difficult to imagine the process that produced such a script, but here's guessing that spray...

By Chris Hewitt of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (3/4) No reference
            What matters is Harvard's strong cast and its clever script, which keeps coming up with ways ...

By Christopher Smith of Bangor Daily News (Maine) (3/4) No reference
            “Stealing Harvard,” from a one-joke premise by Peter Tolan, is about as fun as the current workin...

By Tim Cogshell of Boxoffice Magazine (3/4) No reference
            Instead of building to a laugh riot we are left with a handful of disparate funny moments of no r...

                         Reviews of Stealing Harvard
By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (3/4) No reference
            This is as lax and limp a comedy as I've seen in a while...

By Mark Caro of Chicago Tribune (3/4) No reference
            ...lurches from gag to gag...

By Justin Hartung of Citysearch (3/4) No reference
            Green might want to hang onto that ski mask, as robbery may be the only way to pay for his next p...

By Garth Franklin of Dark Horizons (3/4) No reference
            Just another generic studio dud.

By Robert Denerstein of Denver Rocky Mountain News (3/4) No reference
            Stealing Harvard aspires to comedic grand larceny but stands convicted of nothing more than petty...

By Jeff Vice of Deseret News, Salt Lake City (6/1) No reference
            The minute Green's character appears on the screen, you can practically feel the energy and creat...

                         Reviews of Stealing Harvard
By Geoffrey Kleinman of DVDTalk.com (6/1) No reference
            Can you imagine a dull comedy staring Tom Green? Unfortunately Stealing Harvard is that movie.

By Scott Von Doviak of Fort Worth Star-Telegram (3/4) No reference
            There's a funny movie trapped somewhere inside Stealing Harvard, but the finished product offers ...

By John Patterson of L.A. Weekly (3/4) No reference
            Whenever Green shows up to do his semi-improvised, non-acting shtick ... this otherwise sprightly...

By Geoff Carter of Las Vegas Weekly (3/4) No reference
            McCulloch stages his action as if he were still working on the two-walled sets he knew from Canad...

By Kevin Thomas of Los Angeles Times (3/4) No reference
            ...an act of grand theft--the way it wastes your time is a crime.

By Matt Easterbrook of Matt's Movie Reviews (3/4) No reference
            The most memorable moment was when Green threw medical equipment at a window; not because it was ...

                         Reviews of Stealing Harvard
By Anita Schmaltz of Metro Times (Detroit, MI) (3/4) No reference
            'Stealing Harvard is a weird "funny" that works...transmogrifying the film into a charming, moron...

By Sue Pierman of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (6/1) No reference
            A film with some decent talent but few laughs.

By Jonathan Foreman of New York Post (3/4) No reference
            ...it stinks even by the standards of late summer movie garbage...

By Kim Morgan of Oregonian (3/4) No reference
            Working with a weak script and too lightweight for its freakier moments with Green, the picture n...

By Roger Moore of Orlando Sentinel (3/4) No reference
            Put Tom Green in enough movies, and eventually something funny will happen. Stealing Harvard offe...

By Carrie Rickey of Philadelphia Inquirer (3/4) No reference
            [Jason Lee] is the one good reason to watch this farce. Green is one of many good reasons to avoi...

                         Reviews of Stealing Harvard
By Joe Baltake of Sacramento Bee (3/4) No reference
            Stealing Harvard is evidence that the Farrelly Bros. -- Peter and Bobby -- and their brand of scr...

By Sean Means of Salt Lake Tribune (3/4) No reference
            Tom Green in character turns out to be even less funny than Green being Green.

By David Elliott of San Diego Union-Tribune (3/4) No reference
            Watching junk like this induces a kind of abstract guilt, as if you were paying dues for good boo...

By Jeffrey M. Anderson of San Francisco Examiner (3/4) No reference
            Some movies can get by without being funny simply by structuring the scenes as if they were jokes...

By Ted Fry of Seattle Times (3/4) No reference
            Stealing Harvard doesn't care about cleverness, wit or any other kind of intelligent humor.

By John Venable of Supercala.com (3/4) No reference
            ...all we want out of our comedies at times are just a few good laughs, and this one delivers mor...

                         Reviews of Stealing Harvard
By Dustin Putman of TheMovieBoy.com (3/4) No reference
            Go see Stealing Harvard, and the only things sure to be stolen are your wallet and a worthwhile t...

By Susan Walker of Toronto Star (3/4) No reference
            Director Bruce McCulloch packs every scene with visual gags and his Kids in the Hall satiric touc...

By Jonathan R. Perry of Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas) (3/4) No reference
            Whether the film 'works' is a question in direct correlation to willingness to set aside preconce...

By Josef Braun of Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada) (3/4) No reference
            It isn’t that Stealing Harvard is a horrible movie—if only it were that grand a failure! It’s jus...

By Glenn Whipp of Los Angeles Daily News (3/4) Not Reachable
            Here, Tolan and McCulloch manage the impossible -- they turn two eccentric performers (Lee and To...

By Chris Hewitt (St. Paul) of St. Paul Pioneer Press (3/4) Not Reachable
            Stick around for all of Stealing Harvard. It gets better.

Movie Distributors

Production Companies
Imagine Entertainment
Brancato/Salke Productions

Movie Studios
Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group
Revolution Studios