Paul (Christopher Gorham) is a doctoral student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Naturally, this is admirable as the school's reputation is very fine. Unfortunately, Paul has big shoes to fill, for his father is one of the most beloved professors on campus. But, Paul is having great difficulty finishing his dissertation, probably because of his need to "measure up". To blow off steam, Paul makes the rounds of trivia contests held at local bars with his friend, James (Nelson Franklin), a college test adviser. Since this activity is far more than a passing interest, it pushes his academic goals even farther away. Then, another complication arrives. Paul's world is shaken when a beautiful freshman student, Naomi (Arielle Kebbel) is a pupil in Paul's study lab. Bright and unconventional, she opens up a world that Paul hasn't experienced, one beyond the outskirts of Ann Arbor. But, as pressure mounts for Paul to finish his degree, be a local trivia champion, and win Naomi's heart, something's gotta give. What? This is a fine film, with an unusual story of academia most viewers won't know. It has many solid discussion points, from religion to family ties to cloistered environments. Gorham, Franklin, and Kebbel are wonderful in their respective roles, as are the lesser cast members. Then, too, Ann Arbor is tailor-made for a nice setting while the challenging script and direction are quite fine as well. Will it play beyond Ann Arbor? I hope so, for it has many genuine assets in the art of film-making.

This is the academic equivalent of a movie where a big time college football coach raises his son to be a quarterback. The son thinks that this is what he wants, but it doesn't make him happy; so he looks to find something to make him happy -- in this case trivia contests and a disturbingly underage girl.The football coach equivalent dad is a wonderful character, who is a non-actor, real college professor, who basically plays his real life self. His performance alone is worth the price of admission. The movie portrays something which I haven't seen on the screen before, but which is something which goes on a lot in real world university campuses. Borderline sexual predation by a very mature graduate student, teaching assistant, and an incoming college freshman, straight out of high school. The movie raises just the right amount of discomfiture, but avoids overt creepiness by showing that the girl is much more mature and worldly-wise than is the older man. Ultimately, she controls their relationship, not he.Along the way, there is gorgeous cinematography of a real Midwestern college town in autumn and several legitimate laugh out loud moments. The most formulaic moment is the ending -- directly inspired by Good Will Hunting, it would appear.I'd give it 3 stars out of 4 -- since it's a movie about academia, a solid B+.Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach CA

This movie is impossibly clichéd and stupid. Ridiculous storyline involves an English literature graduate student who is, the audience is repeatedly, ham-handedly bludgeoned into understanding, repressed and constrained by the life-long influence of his father, who is also, impossibly, an English literature professor in the same department. Add water to the standard elements of a wanna-be movie narrative: Young romantic interest helps protagonist break out of his rut and find his own identity; developing sense of self helps protagonist relate more genuinely to the students he teaches (the protagonist's "break-out" teaching assistant class toward the end of the movie being one of the most unwatchable segments of film I've seen in my life); evil rival European comparative literature student nemesis (seriously). The "mad-cap," "zany" trivia contest happening in the background providing painfully predictable comic relief. This movie does more than waste your time; it makes you long for your own death.

"Answer This! is a modern comedy with a great cast. The acting is uniformly good. I've never heard of this Director before, but I'm sure we're going to hear and see a lot more work from him. The quality of the editing and photography is excellent. Having not heard anything about this film, I walked in not knowing what to expect. Someone should think about changing the Film's Poster because it doesn't project what this film is about. Some clever person will figure this out and "package" this film, and then, a studio will make a lot of money. I'm looking forward to see the next film this director makes. I'm sure we will see much more of the cast. Take my advice and see this film.