Art School Confidential
Comedy
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“Art School Confidential” is better than Zwigoff’s “Bad Santa” but it is still no where as good as Zwigoff’s and Clowes adaptation of “Ghost World.”
Jerome (Max Minghella) has dreamed of becoming an artist ever since he was a little boy. In an attempt to follow his dreams, Jerome enrolls in an art school called the Strathmore Institute which is a small art institute on the east coast. Jerome is determined to be the best artist of the 21st century. At Strathmore, Jerome meets the girl of his dreams Audrey (Sophia Myles) who seems to be interested in Jerome but is also interested in Jonah (Matt Keeslar). The only way for Jerome to win Audrey’s heart for sure is for him to be voted the best new artist at Strathmore. Throw in a little subplot about a murderer on campus and you have “Art School Confidential.”
I can’t really say I loved “Art School Confidential” but I can’t say I hated it either. Zwigoff’s “Ghost World” was one of my favorite films in 2001 and is probably still one of my favorite films of all time. So with that being said and after seeing the mainstream disaster that was “Bad Santa” I have been waiting for years for “Art School Confidential” to hit theaters. Unfortunately, “Art School Confidential” was not worth the wait.
The main problem with the film is the little side characters. They are all a little too much and they don’t really add much to the plot of the film. I am not even sure if there is a reason for the gay roommate to be part of the film at all. The movie just introduces all these characters and acts like they serve a purpose but when all is said and done about 5 characters in the entire film really matter.
Also the whole murder on campus thing was never fully explained which is bad since it was a big part of the film. Zwigoff leaves that plot kind of open in the end and the film itself seems to ends abruptly. There are several moments of “Art School Confidential” that remind me of “Ghost World” however the movie as a whole is no where as good. The characters in general aren’t very well developed. The main character is neither likable nor interesting at least to me. The screenplay always makes him out to be a boring character. At times you may feel a bit bad for him but I never felt like I wanted to root him on.
Don’t get me wrong because “Art School Confidential” is very funny at times because being a person who appreciates art, I did find a lot of this movie amusing. The scenes in which the art class judged Jerome’s paintings were hilarious. The whole thing with the Strathmore alumni coming back to do an interview was also very humorous.
I feel bad because I think Zwigoff really tried with this film however it just wasn’t a grand slam like I originally hoped for. I really think this film just had too many characters and didn’t focus on making the audience like or relate to any of the characters on screen. Zwigoff did a good job creating scenes where the students critiqued each others work and also scenes in the art gallery which if you notice are kind of similar to those in “Ghost World.” However, Zwigoff fails at capturing the emotions of the characters and allowing the audience to connect with the characters. This was a big part of “Ghost World” and I stunned that Zwigoff didn’t make a better attempt to get the audience to relate to the main character. I also think maybe the overall tone of the film was too silly, I think it needed some more drama added to it in order to make it more successful.
In the end, “Art School Confidential” isn’t as good as I hoped for. While it is rather funny at times, it isn’t very balanced in the end. The movie reels its audience in for a while but at the end the film is just anti-climatic and leaves the audience confused and wanting more. It’s a decent film that is quite funny especially to people who appreciate art and independent film however this movie is going to be a film that is going to flop and will not be seen by many. Zwigoff is a decent director however he needs to work a little more with the script and developing the characters. “Art School Confidential” is a lot better than “Bad Santa” but its no where as good as “Ghost World.” I would say it’s the middle ground between those two films.
MovieManMenzel’s final rating for “Art School Confidential” is a 3/5. A decent attempt but did not live up to its true potential.
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