The school kids here are stoners and bitches, and the authority figures predictable brutes, authoritarian martinets or ineffectual do-gooders. Except since this is a, ya know, modern movie, this nerd savior has his weird side, namely stalking Rosanne and taking surreptitious pictures of her. Kartheiser, staring out from under his artfully placed bangs, pops up throughout the movie, offering his philosophical slacker maxims. Handler isn't fooled by anybody's bull. Schmidt and Gross are infatuated with their own.
Deliverance is just below the exit sign.
Charles Taylor is a Salon contributing writer. Cover up with a Salon T-shirt this summer.