There are many surface details that tell you just how much HIGH School aims to be the new century’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. There’s Michael Chiklis, donning a bad hairpiece and mustache, doing his best Jeffrey Jones impression as the unctuous principal. There’s the Ferris-and-Cameron duo of the nerd (Matt Bush) and the rebel (Sean Marquette) brought together to execute a series of epic pranks. And there’s HIGH School’s attempts to replicate the listlessness and yearnings of adolescence, which don’t really work because the genius John Hughes isn’t behind them– but that doesn’t take away from HIGH School’s many, many stoner charms.

Set in world where people can be honestly named Charlene Phuc (you can guess how it’s pronounced) and some kids getting stoned become the biggest problem at a school, the movie gladly joins the ranks of high school comedies that assume every kid fits in a type and all it takes is one big dreamer to change the status quo. Henry (Bush) is the MIT-bound genius who has taken his first toke on a joint just a day before the school institutes mandatory drug tests, while Breaux (Marquette) is the different kind of genius stoner who comes up with a foolproof plan: ruin the test by getting the entire school stoned.

The plot requires stealing a canister of premium THC from the local crazed drug dealer (Adrien Brody, over the top but making it work), maneuvering past the salutatorian narc who wants to rat them out, and all kinds of ludicrous plot points that somehow work, probably doubly so when you’re stoned. And of course surrounding them is an entire high school full of stoned kids, home to some of the movie’s best running gags and as well as a few too many tired plays on stuffy looking teachers being totally baked.

What’s really a shame about HIGH School is that it’s such a crowdpleaser for a large crowd, but is probably best enjoyed with some sort of illegal substance in every audience member’s hand. The movie will inevitably get picked up by a studio looking for the next Harold and Kumar, and hopefully there’s an enterprising theater out there willing to risk the wrath of the cops to give a few hundred people the baked time of their lives. HIGH School isn’t exactly Harold and Kumar-level genius, but it is worth the legal risk.

by Katey Rich
January 30, 2010
www.cinemablend.com

You know how when you like a person, you’re often able to overlook their faults? That happens with movies sometimes, too. The pot comedy HIGH School, for example, takes off at a rapid clip, tossing funny quips and amusing ideas at the screen, introduces us to a bunch of colorfully diverting characters, and then … well, it sort of runs out of steam a little bit. But the flick spends a lot of time building up some good will in its first half, so it’s like I said: I kinda like the flick, so I’m willing to overlook a few slow spots, stupid jokes, and clunky plot holes.

The premise alone makes me chuckle, and I suppose that’s where the good will begins: Our hero is a high school senior who is just about to graduate as valedictorian before heading off to MIT. But during a nostalgic visit with his old buddy Travis (Sean Marquette), Henry Burke (the very likable Matt Bush) decides to take his very first toke off of a joint. Whoops. That’s some really bad timing on Henry’s part, because his officious stooge of a high school principal (Michael Chiklis) is planning a school-wide drug test for the next day. When Henry and Travis learn this horrific news, they set out to get the entire school wasted — by lacing the bake sale brownies with concentrated THC crystals.

The leads have a quick wit and strong chemistry, the concept is slight but clever, the supporting cast (particularly Chiklis, Colin Hanks as a goofy assistant dean, and Adrien Brody as the world’s scariest weed dealer) is strong, and the flick moves at a nice clip for a pot comedy. So what’s the problem? Little nags, really, like when the film opens with an allegedly hilarious gag about an Asian gal named Charlene Phuc. Littered around acts 2 and 3 are a few obvious plot holes, narrative distractions, and really strange changes of heart by key characters.

Still, these are relatively minor issues when you’re looking at a slight farce from a group of first-time filmmakers. What director John Stalberg does get right (the tone, the energy, the pace) is a lot better than most first-timers can offer. And judged on the scale of “weed comedies,” I’m pleased to note that HIGH School is considerably slyer, slicker, and funnier than most of its ilk. That’s not to say that HIGH School doesn’t wade into some basic “dumb, spaced, hungry stoner” material once in a while (it does), but that most of it is tossed out quickly to make way for something a bit funnier.

With faculty members like Michael Vartan, Yeardley Smith, and Curtis “Booger” Armstrong (and an outrageously over-the-top performance by Adrien Brody), HIGH School coasts over its missteps and succeeds on equal parts quick humor, likable characters, and pure energy. And weed.

Scott Weinberg
January 27, 2010
www.cinematical.com

“High School”, starring Adrien Brody, Michael Chiklis, Matt Bush, Sean Marquette, Colin Hanks and Mykelti Williamson premiered on Sundance on January 24, 2010. The official website for the movie is finally online and can be found here: www.deptofmoralhealth.org/. According to the official website, the screenings of the movie on Sundance are already sold out.

Become a fan of HIGH school on Facebook. In addition, there’s a Twitter page listed and a MySpace page is available, too.

As already reported the filming of “Code 58″ takes place in Dallas, Texas. Dallasnews.com released an article back in December about ABC’s “The Deep End” and “Code 58″ aka “Jack & Dan”.

Please read it in full here. Read more…

Fox published a press release telling that “Code 58″ is going to premiere Monday, June 7 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. The show will have special previews Wednesday, May 12 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) and Wednesday, May 19 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT).

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