A fairly good Robin Williams vehicle if nothing else

Rating: 6/10 (5 August 2001)

Well-produced and well-acted, with Robin Williams as the standout (in one of his more consistently bearable performances). Essentially it's about some students who 'carpe diem' to varying degrees of success/failure. One overcomes shyness (well, sort of); one succumbs to parental pressure (in an eerie, overwrought, somewhat awkward scene); one gets his girl; one gets TWO girls; all participate in nocturnal cave meetings whose purpose I can't easily seem to relate to that of a poets' society (the dead ones would certainly turn in their graves methinks). Overall the story seems to have bitten off more than it can chew, and the final effect is one of dramatic indigestion. A better recommendation (and yet more Robin Williams) would be Good Will Hunting (1997). And if for some reason you're suddenly hooked on adolescents spouting poetry and wish to be punished, then go for Romeo+Juliet (1996). A weak 7/10.