Loser

Plot synopsis:
Paul Tannek (Jason Biggs), a small-town, intelligent kid from Upstate New York is accepted into NYU on an academic scholarship. Trying to follow the advice of his father (Dan Aykroyd) he tries to gain friends by trying to be polite and interested in others. His attempts are noticed by his new roommates Chris (Thomas Sadoski), Adam (Zak Orth) and Noah (Jimmi Simpson), three rich, spoiled, obnoxious city boys who consider his polite behavior, working class background and determination for education lame and brand him a loser. To salvage their reputation, the trio concoct a false story to the housing administration about Paul's attitude and have him thrown out of the dorm. Paul takes residence in a veterinary hospital. Chris meets Paul and again concocts another story about how they were trying to help him as a ploy for Paul to let them use the hospital to throw parties since a resident at the dorm fell into sickness due to excessive alcohol, forbidding them to hold any parties thereon.
Paul meets classmate Dora Diamond (Mena Suvari) and develops an attraction to her, unaware that she is having an affair with their decorated but highly pretentious English professor Edward Alcott (Greg Kinnear). Dora is equally as intelligent as Paul but doesn't have a scholarship and works shifts as a waitress in a strip club to pay for her tuition until she is unceremoniously fired. To avoid a long daily commute which she can no longer afford, Dora asks Alcott to let her live with him for a while to which he selfishly declines for fear of losing his tenure at the university if their relationship is found out. Paul and Dora bump into each other one night and Paul invites her to an Everclear concert after discovering when they met that she is a fan. Dora agrees to the date, but first goes to a job interview for a night shift in a convenience store, but is denied the position because she's a woman. Adam is at the same store buying beer and pretends to be sympathetic as a ploy to invite her to a party which she accepts, but says she will be there only for a short time so she can meet Paul. At the party, one of the boys slips a roofie into Dora's drink and she passes out. Paul returns dejected from the concert to a huge mess and an unresponsive Dora and immediately rushes her to the hospital. At the hospital, Paul pretends to be her boyfriend since neither he or Dora can afford to keep her there overnight. He also learns that Dora listed Alcott as her case of emergency contact which he tells Chris the next morning without thinking.
Paul bonds with Dora as she recovers and they start to develop feelings for one-another, he also learns that Dora can't see past her blind infatuation with Alcott even when she says even though he loves her, he doesn't want a relationship. While Paul continues with his studies, Dora searches for a new job. She pulls Paul out of class and invites him out to celebrate receiving a spot in a medical experiment. They steal a loaf of bread from a bakery, coffee from a dispenser in the park and sneak into a Broadway show. Paul goes out to grab a pizza and a movie for both of them hoping it may lead to something further between them only to return to find Alcott with Dora and learning that Alcott has changed his mind about Dora living with him. Alcott reveals to Dora that Chris, Noah and Adam are blackmailing him with the knowledge of their relationship in return for a passing grade on their transcript and also tells her that he believes Paul is in on it. After discovering roofies were involved at the party, he steals Noah's supply and replaces them with placebos. Paul then pays a visit to Alcott's office to ask how Dora is doing and is instead given his final exam as a take-home test by Alcott to buy his silence, Paul takes the moral high ground and refuses the test, jeopardizing his scholarship and place in the university.
Dora, since living with Alcott, has become his errand-girl and overhears Paul on the phone with his father talking about how much he misses her, Alcott then admits he learned that Paul had nothing to do with the blackmail, but still intends to fail him. Dora then realizes that Paul is the one who really loves her and terminates her affair with Alcott, beginning a relationship with Paul. Afterwards, Adam, Noah and Chris' behavior get the better of them and their lives plummet into failure, Alcott is found out and sent to prison for having an affair with a different student and Paul and Dora remain happy in their relationship.

Tags: romantic

Review:
Amy Heckerling's latest teen comedy, 'Loser', is an old-fashioned charmer where nice guys finish first, sweet girls end up making the right choices, and pushy 'users' get their just desserts!
Perhaps nobility is passe in films today, but 'Loser' makes a great case for working class heroes who succeed by 'doing the right thing'.Paul Tannek (Jason Biggs) is a farm boy who wins a scholarship to a college in New York City.
Paul is lonely and frustrated, which makes a simple act of kindness by fellow student Dora Diamond (Mena Suvari, in her best performance, to date) take on special significance to him.
Diamond is a kindred spirit, although she has been manipulated into believing Professor Alcott loves her, and has become his clandestine lover.As both of their lives take downward turns (he gets thrown out of his dorm, she loses her waitress job), they develop a platonic friendship (he is far too much a gentleman to attempt to break up a relationship!), and the film becomes a game of guessing when these two terrific people will realize they belong together!'Loser' features a lot of very funny cameos, by Andy Dick, David Spade, Andrea Martin, Colleen Camp, many others, and, to Heckerling's credit, these 'guests' never detract from the positive message of the film.This makes a great date movie (particularly if your date loves kittens!), and is a 'feel-good' flick you can enjoy again and again!
Granted, being better than most teen romantic comedies isn't much of an accomplishment, but Loser is a good movie, even though I knew what was going to happen.I thought Jason Biggs played his part as Paul very well.
Obviously, it's not extremely deep, and it won't change your life or anything, but it's still good, and it makes the movie very worthwhile.I think that lots of people didn't like this movie because they were expecting something along the lines of American Pie, given that both Biggs and Suvari were in that.
If, however, you want to see a good romantic film, that's funny at times, but serious at other, just like real life, then I think you will enjoy Loser.
It relies on little sex and profanity, but instead has its success rooted firmly in the acting and charisma of young stars Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari.The film centers around Paul Tannek (Jason Biggs), an all-around nice guy from a small town who is now going to college in a big city due to a scholarship he's received.
After some mishaps involving a party, Paul begins to develop a strong friendship with Dora and his feelings for her begin to go even farther as he wonders if he even has a chance to have a relationship with her.A warning before watching this film: if you're expecting similar antics from Biggs in American Pie, prepared to be disappointed.
True, there aren't exactly a huge amount of belly laughs in the proceedings, but it's always entertaining, fast, witty, and charming.As I said before, the movie's success lies squarely on the shoulders of Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari, and they're as good as ever.
Biggs nice-guy performance is his best to date and he creates one of the most genuinely likeable and true characters I've seen in movies for a while.
There are also appearances from well-known comics like Andy Dick and David Spade, and their brief cameos bring a few good laughs.Amy Heckerling wrote and directed this film, and while her script may be rather predictable, her direction is still good and she shows the same talent she had in the 80's.
With standout performances, excellent chemistry between the two leads, Loser is a great date movie and one you certainly cannot pass up if you're a fan of both Biggs and Suvari.
I don't know why people like to bash this movie, it is a nice little remake of the 1960 classic "the apartment" where in a businessman sells out to his bosses so they can use his apartments to have affairs with other women, but when one attempts suicide in his house, it happens to be the one he falls in love with, the same story is evident here, Biggs plays the role well, and Suvari could play Shirley MacLaine in future remakes, the same with Kinnear and MacMurray, this could become one of those films that could get young people involved into the classics..
another teen/young adult college comedy coming your way, spiced up with a little romance, the usual boy-meets-girl-falls-in-love-but-she's-already-with-someone storyline, and that's really all there is to tell, aside from a few notable college pranks that kinda make you wonder what _you_ did with your time back then...The acting is alright, teen-movie poster child Jason Biggs as the "Loser" delivers well, Greg Kinnear does a great job in his role as the slick, uppity, self-important, boneheaded college professor with a dirty little secret....
As for the rest of the movie, it's more like "same old, same old..." - if you like Mena Suvari, you're bound to love it, but otherwise, not that I'd tell you not to bother, but just don't expect to be too thrilled because it's really all been done before (and some of it actually by none other than Jason Biggs in some of his better-known flicks)..
Because the main heroine (Mena Suvari) knows who is the right one in her life (her choices are the teen Jason Biggs and a married professor Greg Kinnear) and takes too long to find out who the right one is (I am not revealing who that is).
Mena Suvari plays 'the girl' and as usual for Suvari she comes across as annoying and not nearly as smart as her character is supposed to be.If you are looking for the next "Clueless" check out "I Could Never Be Your Woman" (2007) it better matches Heckerling's potential.
Many films you watch once and never watch again, but for me i can watch this film many times and still get that same fuzzy feeling from when i first watched it.The acting is pretty good, I think pairing Mena Suvari and Jason Briggs was perfect as they'd already worked together in American Pie. The film is also more plot to it than most teen-comedy movies.
Jason Briggs does really well and you end up really liking his Character, He does a really good job at playing Mr Nice and really charming you.Give this film a watch.
Although Amy Heckerling (director of "Clueless", "Fast Times at Ridgemont High") tries to create another teen pop film, "Loser" is shallow and boring.
Greg Kinnear ("As Good As It Gets") does a fair job, which seems god-like in comparison to Biggs, Suvari, and the rest of the cast.
I liked this movie alot I found it to be very funny Jason Biggs in a role better than the one he had in American Pie and his American Pie Mena Suvari also has a great part and the roommates are pretty funny i was lucky enough too catch this movie on a sneak preview and it is on my list as a summer favorite.Grade:AIt's also a great date movie..
Dora (Suvari) on the other hand has a mess of bad things happen to her, and then she changes her opinion about her relationship with her professor (Kinnear), which means she's the only character who evolves throughout the film.
Although not hilariously funny it's good to watch the relationship between Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari.
I've watched this film because of Wheatus music video Dirtbag Baby (this song is a theme of Loser) expecting to see something like that in a movie but a movie was different than music video and still I wasn't disappointed.
But it just goes to show that now we're going to have to start STUDYING the trailers -- looking for tricks like this.If you're a big fan of romance comedies, then this movie might not leave that feeling of pulsing anger when you leave halfway through.
No dice.To sum the movie up, the producers figured out that it would be profitable to hire the hottest stars (Suvari and Biggs) of the movie that is the reigning king of teen comedies(American Pie - great movie, btw), throw them together (while they're still relatively cheap) along with some advertising and a bare bones movie with something akin to a plot (geek gets out) and script (character types that don't exist in the real world).The resulting pile of ass is just a drain on our patience and our wallets..
Loser is a comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling and starring Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari.
Loser is a American,cheesy 2000 comedy film starring Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari.
The film centers on two people Paul and Dora,Paul is an awkward nerd trying to make friends after just getting into a college with his sex,party freaked maniac roommates while Dora is a girl who dates her professor and desperately needs money.
Frankly, i think this is a pretty good movie, this is my favorite movie too, all the actors did their part, i'm amazed by Jason Biggs on how he portrayed his character.Unlike his other movies such as American pie, American reunion, etc.
the story line of this movie could also happen in real life for people who "just received a scholarship and moves to another place for collage and gets a crush on a girl" type of thing, this is a really good movie, i recommend this movie for a lot of people but this is not like American pie though, so i'll give it 10/10..
Biggs and Suvari, while sweet and a hell of a lot better than a lot of their teen compatriots, are no Lemmon and McLaine, Greg Kinnear just doesn't have the oily charm of Fred MacMurray's original, and the ending doesn't have anything like the understated impact of the Wilder original.Not surprised it bombed, because it's too flacid (the transposition to college life doesn't work) it doesn't work as an original, it doesn't work as a tribute (due to no new insight) and it doesn't work as a remake (class always wins out over youth).
with a really good cast of unkowns and a  good main character played by american pies Jason Biggs, who holds the part of good hearted and kind LOSER  who ain't used to the life in a city.good thing bout this film is that it ain't a stupid slapstick film, its good comedy that manages to be pulled out of serious situations that are probly undergone by a rather large population of the college student era, i'm getting at drugs,parties and relations etc.
Jason Biggs, who you normally think of as getting it on with a pie, actually does a real good job in this movie i think.
plus, mena suvari...her own character has issues in the movie, and i'm glad her character finally released how much jason biggs' cared about her, and how much better they were for each other.
Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari are both great in whatever they do and they were sooo adorable in this movie.
Basically, Biggs chases Suvari around for 120 minutes trying to convince her to go for him because he's such a nice guy (which is true, but you'd think the girl would catch on quicker).Add to the mix three moronic dorm buddies who don't even resemble real people (or real college kids, for that matter; all three look to be around 25-30).
I found very little of it actually funny, but I thought the onscreen chemistry between Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari was absolutely excellent.
Led by a strong cast, which includes two American Pie alumni (Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari), a veteran director in the field of teen angst/comedy/romance movies, and New York City, the movie has potential.
Therefore, for those fans of Mr. Biggs and Ms. Suvari, like myself, I would highly recommend this movie because you will love them as much as you loved them in American Pie. For everyone else, Loser will seem very generic and predictable, unless you have never seen a movie in your life!.
I had seen previous Amy Heckerling movies (Clueless, Fast Times at Ridgemont High) and enjoyed them greatly, and appreciated the teenage characters and situations.
The comedy is really a romantic comedy focusing on "Loser" Paul (Jason Biggs) who falls for a classmate Dora (Mena Suvari) who is head-over-heels in love with their professor (Greg Kinner) who is not very nice to her or many other people.
Mena Suvari and Jason Biggs had the on-screen chemistry and both were great in their roles, but the lack of plot, needless to say, made me lose my interest in the movie.
I would have much rather watched the Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari in American Pie again..
I thought this film, coming from Amy Heckerling (Clueless, Fast Times at Ridgemont High) was going to be another cute, charming comedy.
I really liked the characters played by Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari, and they had great chemistry together.
What stood out about this movie was the great chemistry between Mena Suvari and Jason Biggs.
However, in all of these cases the movie was touted as a remake, and not sneakily re-written in some kind of hope that no savvy viewers would realize what they were watching.I have a secret love for stupid teen comedies, so I watched Loser expecting a brainless fiesta.
Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari have great chemistry together and I would give Loser 7/10..
This film would have been better if its flash-in-the-pan stars, Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari, were even half as funny as the supporting cast.
Jason Biggs plays Paul, the 'nice guy who comes last' who initially gets taken advantage of by his room mates and hides his crush on another student called Dora (Mena Suvari).Dora is sleeping with one of their lecturers (Greg Kinnear)...
'Loser' has exactly 2 things going for it- the good (but by no means great) performances of Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari as a matched set of lovable college kids who are no respectable human being's idea of 'losers'.
One likeable character has bad luck or is dealt a bad hand in life, goes from one wacky mishap to another, and ends up at the end of the movie with the girl, the better outlook on life, and his tormentors get their comeuppance.Loser, however, does so with genuine heart and emotion for the titular character, Paul Tannek, played by Jason Biggs of "American Pie" fame.He is abused by his college roommates, even kicked out of the house they share because he studies instead of parties.
Along the way, Paul gets to know Dora Diamond (Mena Suvari, from "American Beauty", and also of "American Pie"), a quite girl whom is having an affair with their mutual college professor.
But Biggs and Suvari inject a reality into both of their roles that is refreshing, charming, and end up making this movie lean a little into "teen romantic comedy" territory.
Most seemed to expect the high-school hijinks of Amy Heckerling's previous "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Clueless," but as it follows its characters in a college environment, "Loser" is a more mature work that is more focused on the relationship between its lead characters than on providing laughs (which it does have).The "loser" of the title is Jason Biggs's Paul Tannek, a nice but naive small-town boy who experiences a rude awakening upon arriving as a freshman at a big-city New York college.
Things brighten when Paul ends up falling for Mena Suvari's equally sweet Dora Diamond, a homeless classmate who is involved in a relationship with her smug professor, Greg Kinnear's Edward Alcott.The plot which follows is basically "Will Paul and Dora end up together?" Although this is a standard scenario that has played itself to its inevitable conclusion in many a similar film, "Loser" is fresh in its lack of pretentiousness and melodrama in getting there.
shame on those who thought every time they saw Mena Suvari, they'd have rose petals flying all over the multiplex...The best thing about Loser is that there is no goal at the beginning of the movie.
Jason Biggs is funny but I think he could've done better than this, and one of my fav new actresses Mena Suvari was ok in this but I expected so much more.
Paul Tannek is a small-town boy who is accepted into New York University.But for someone like Paul it's really hard to fit in.But he meets this girl, Dora Diamond, he really likes.The only problem is she's involved with her professor.Loser (2000) is directed by Amy Heckerling.Jason Biggs, who had one big hit under his belt at that time (American Pie) is the right guy to play Paul.The chemistry thing works between him and Mena Suvari, who's also known from American Pie franchise.Greg Kinnear is great as Professor Edward Alcott.Dan Aykroyd is terrific as Mr. Tannek.There are also lots of cameos by some pretty known names in this movie.Colleen Camp plays Homeless woman.Andy Dick is Another City Worker.Steven Wright is Panty Hose Customer.Brian Backer plays Doctor.Alan Cumming is himself/Emcee.David Spade plays Video Store Clerk.Then the band Everclear is seen there.You can hear them on the soundtrack department.And there's also Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus, which was a pretty big hit at the time.Then there's a song by The Offspring.The song is Pretty Fly (For A White Guy).Remember?
And Jason Biggs does actually go through the whole movie playing a character different than the one in AMERICAN PIE.
No one liked Jason Biggs in "American Pie" more than I did, but here he is wasted in a unbearably stupid movie.
Both actors performed perfectly in American pie JASON BIGGS and MENA SUVARI portray a good on screen chemistry, the film shows behind the scene to life in both an American college and NYC ie, the difficulties of working learning and socialising..