Loser Review

Paul (Jason Briggs) is a small town boy who wins a scholarship to a private university in New York. From the overemphasised closeness of family and friends to the alienation of the big apple is quite a leap, particularly with roommates like rich boy ferals Zak Orth, Tom Sadoski and Jimmi Simpson who regard the nerd in their midst with major disdain. The only person to make any connection with Paul is Dora - Mena Suvari - who`s from the `burbs and is secretly sleeping with their english lit. professor Greg Kinnear.... When Paul`s evicted to a room behind a veterniarian`s and Dora `s the victim of a Rohipnol-laced drink courtesy of his former flatmates it seems their relationship has a chance to blossom, but Dora believes she`s one of the lucky people who`s ended up with the person who`s absolutely right for her..Amy Heckerling has made a couple of definitive youth films - Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Clueless - Clueless you might remember was meant to have been based on Jane Austen`s Emma. And now with Loser David`s clue is important. Because this isn`t a teenage romantic comedy, it`s teenage romantic pain. The world is an ugly place and our potentially romantic duo experience major privation and frustration in their lives. It`s a pity that the roommates and the professor are so unsubtlely vile, because Jason Briggs and Mena Suvari are actually charming as the ill-fated couple. We really want them to be happy, although we know it`s not going to happen until Paul gets rid of his hideous hat. Just like The Apartment, there`s a mixture of pain and pleasure in Loser although I do think Billy Wilder has quite an edge on Heckerling...David`s Comments: Dreary teen pic which steals shamelessly, and without acknowledgment, from the plot of Billy Wilder`s wonderful The Apartment. Dull performances. A real disappointment from Amy Heckerling. The title, at least, is apt.