In this low-rent remounting of Beverly Hills Cop, Nick Cannon plays the world's most inept cop, assigned to go undercover at a high school—shades of 21 Jump Street—where Something Very Bad is going on. All of the other students there, like varsity king Shawn Ashmore, look like they've been able to drink legally for years, so Cannon fits right in, even to the point of being able to hit on the impossibly hot Spanish teacher (Roselyn Sanchez) without her going, “Ewww, you're supposed to be, like, 17!” Marcos Siega's Underclassman deserves an even lower rating, but I'm taking pity on Ashmore, Sanchez, Colin Firth-alike Hugh Bonneville, as the high-school headmaster, and poor, poor Cheech Marin, who plays Cannon's police captain—all of whom deserve much, much better than this. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Marcos Siega and co-writers David T. Wagner and Brent Goldberg, 15 deleted scenes with optional commentary (21 min.), a seven-minute “making-of” featurette, cast auditions (5 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a bad teen comedy.] (M. Johanson)
Underclassman
Miramax, 93 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.99, Jan. 17 Volume 21, Issue 1
Underclassman
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