Dead Man's Curve (1998)

With today's fast evolution of the video market, DVDs are becoming so cheap, destocking, competition from Blue-ray, and all kinds of pirating, that we can get DVDs for less than five euros, if not less that five dollars, if not even less than just plain nothing. So when I got into that one, I thought I was entering some kind of college comedy for teeny boppers looking for some soft sexual kicks. But that impression vanished within fifteen minutes and was replaced by the new question whether this film was one more psycho serial killer, and that did not last even a second quarter of an hour and we moved into an absolutely fascinating variation on the eternal crime story in which we cannot know who is killing who and who is going to be killed next and who is the real serial killer and who is the real designated final victim and how that absolutely foolish but so intricate conspiration is going to be sold to the police, the FBI and all kinds of authorities as a legitimate suicide or natural death. And it became quite enjoyable after a while and even a little bit more with the elapsing minutes and dozens of minutes to a final punch-line I will not reveal because it is too funny and it proves that anyone can lead anyone else into believing anything they want because the others want to believe anything they are told provided it is slightly bleak, slightly sad and slightly reassuring in its disquieting nature. Enjoy that piece of foolery.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines

Some universities and colleges would grant a 4.0 average to the roommates of students that commit suicide. That said, there is always someone who figures out a way to get rid of an obnoxious student if it would mean grades one didn't earn. Leave it to some college kids to figure out a way to get into prestigious schools with little intelligence to justify the artificially inflated grades given to them in order to appease the ordeals they've been through.This is the premise of Dan Rosen's thriller "Dead Man's Curve". Mr. Rosen trying to capitalize on other movies directed to younger audiences, created a story with many twists and turns. Some of the plot devices work, while the viewer is left to ponder some of the logic behind what is presented on the screen. The film, as some of the comments do suggest, will resonate more with American audiences because they might be more aware of this curious fact that some of our higher institutions of learning reward students that come close to tragedy.There are four people that can gain admittance to Harvard, one of the elite centers for learning in the country. Tim and Chris conspire to get rid of the boorish and obnoxious Rand and by doing so, they will be admitted to the place of their dreams, almost by osmosis, since they don't have the grades to prove their intelligence. But Rand's body is never found, so can it be considered a true suicide? When the police appears to interrogate them, Tim suddenly switches his story and Chris' account of what happened is questioned by the detectives.The second plot involves Emma, who is Chris' girlfriend. She also has her own agenda. When Natalie, her roommate, who had been going with Rand, tests positive as being pregnant, puts the Canadian co-ed into a suicidal mood. Emma will stand to receive the good grades and has an assured future, or so it seems. It is at this point when another twist that comes out of nowhere occurs. Rand, who didn't die, resurfaces. His explanation doesn't convince, but here is where one gets to the real point in the film. Chris, it turns out has done some planning on his own, really wants to get rid of Tim.The intense Matthew Lillard gives an over the top performance as Tim, the man at the center of the story. Michael Vartan plays Chris and Randall Baliskoff is seen as Rand. Keri Russell, a gorgeous creature, appears as the sweet Emma, an ambitious girl, herself. Dana Delaney's role is not justified as the psychiatrist that acts as a sort of a Catholic priest, knowing the students' secrets, but not coming forward to denounce what really is going on.

SPOILERSIn 1998, Hollywood did yet another of it's legendary double releases. In a day when it's been announced that Pink & Renee Zellwenger will both play Janis Joplin in two seperate films (5th April 2004), it feels almost fitting that british television would show one part of another double act of movies.In "The Curve" (or "Dead Man's Curve" as it was known in the United Kingdom) two roommates (Matthew Lillard & Michael Vartan) decide to murder their third roommate (Randall Batinkoff). By setting the murder to look like a suicide, the two believe they'll be given the College's sympathies and given a 4.0 Grade Average for the Semester. Events sadly don't turn out as they seem."The Curve" was released in the same year (although I'm not sure about exact timing) as "Dead Man On Campus", and truthfully I don't think it's as good. Whilst the latter of the two stars Tom Everett-Scott & Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zack from "Saved By The Bell") in a laid back simple comedy, the former attempts to take the same topic and create a darker more surreal story. The problem however is I question how well such an obscure topic stands up to a more serious intent. In "Dead Man On Campus" the creators have intended to make us laugh a lot and see the lighter side of things. In "The Curve", with the exception of one or two moments, it is much more of a gruelling, torrid performance. Matthew Lillard appears to come into a lot of praise for this movie off people, but personally I question his ability in it. Forever to be known more for his role in the "Scooby Doo" movies, Lillard doesn't help his cause by demonstrating in this earlier effort just how irritating he can be.To be fair to Lillard, his character isn't helped by such a slow moving plot. For a movie which advertises itself as a dark comedy, "The Curve" appears at times to portray an almost psychological drama element to itself. It feels as if the writer of this piece was unsure what it was he wanted to create. This movie takes a long time to progress, so much so that a friend of mine actually got up half way through and went to hoover her bedroom, a sure sign of boredom.All in all, "The Curve" is a nice idea. It has regular characters, an average twist at the end (which seems to be condemned a lot), a novel soundtrack (personally I don't find The Cure that depressing) and one or two good jokes. Ultimately though, compared with it's comrade "Dead Man On Campus", "The Curve" is inherently dull, and takes itself far too seriously. One to watch on the television perhaps, but only if you are unable to get a copy of it's rival.

This film was written well and had a twisting plot. Matthew Lillard was absolutely adorable as the jerk! For a film with a warmed-over premise, I think it was done very well. I would watch it a second time and would recommend.