You know that college rule that states a student can get straight A's for the semester if his or her roommate dies during the term? Well, it doesn't exist except as an urban legend, and in this sporadically amusing MTV production. Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Tom Everett Scott star as roommates whose academic struggles threaten them both with expulsion, unless they can take advantage of the aforementioned loophole. Thus they set out on a quest for a third roommate with sufficiently self-destructive tendencies, hoping to push the poor sap over the edge before finals. It's a neat concept for a dark comedy, but Dead Man on Campus really has no interest in darkness. This is a goofy teen comedy with all the requisite goofy teen comedy elements, including likable and attractive actors, beer and sex. The film only catches fire when Lochlyn Munro is onscreen as one of the protagonists' prospective targets, a thoroughly demented fraternity member whose world is divided into "things you can destroy" and "things you can have sex with" (though the division is pretty blurry). Unfortunately, Munro isn't around nearly long enough to keep things lively, and predictable set-ups like the two roommates getting caught in compromising homoerotic situations are beaten into the ground. It's not nearly as unrelentingly stupid as most films aimed at young audiences, but its pleasures are too fleeting and few. Not recommended. (S. Renshaw)
Dead Man on Campus
(Paramount, 96 min., R) Vol. 14, Issue 2
Dead Man on Campus
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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