Loved the irony of this movie. And the main actor has enough gaucherie to carry the whole thing off. The comedy of the class characters is really funny. Jim Broadbent's character has the cynicism to balance the movie. Perhaps the murder theme and all those involved in it goes overboard but what the heck?! I stayed with it to the end not knowing where it would lead. Unpredictable. Be prepared for surprises in this movie, that's all I can say! And Beethoven's Emperor Concerto is used to perfection.

I watched this movie at the recommendation of a friend. Honestly, I feel like I've more or less wasted my time with it. I'm an art student, so I'm not talking from outside of this world. Now, I understand that this movie is intended as a bit of a parody, but it fails to deliver that. It's filled with clichés and just disappointed me. From the very start, I didn't like Jerome. Badly written character. He lacks depth, personality, and is weak. He so easily changed his mind about life after talking to Mr. Serial Killer that I almost laughed. Suddenly, everything is dark and brooding, while the movie didn't set the pacing or the atmosphere for this kind of mystery flick. Besides, the ending being left unexplained doesn't "make me think" as I imagine was intended, it just leaves me dry and uninterested. The only reason I'm giving this a 6 is some of the secondary role actors who were good in their place, and some scenes that sparked my interest. Maybe my expectations of this were too high.

For the first half hour, I thought this was going to be a slightly artistic version of "American Pie", "Back to School" or the standard freshman college romp. But slowly, strangely the story deepens, darkens and widens until by the end it has completely transformed itself into a stunning commentary about the human condition.Most of the laughs are up front, and even so, they're not real zingers so much as they are low-key situational humour (like in a John Cusack film). As the outer layers of this film are peeled away, we see that it becomes more of a macabre mystery, and ultimately it becomes a psychological/social drama about how we deal with self-expression.I think if you're an artist, musician, filmmaker, chef, or any type of creative person who respects individual expression, you'll get a lot out of this film. Even if you're just a casual patron of the arts, you'll find it interesting because it asks some pointed questions about the nature of art. Should art be treated separately from the artist (do we have the right to glorify the art of a scumbag)? And to what degree should people be allowed to express themselves? How about the very nature of art--does it always have to be new & shocking? Where does actual talent fit in? These are all themes that weave in & out of the story while the story itself is about something completely different. There's definitely a lot going on here.The movie is rated R, but really it's rather tame. There's not much profanity, no gratuitous sex, no blood & guts. However we do get a lengthy shot of a man's crankshaft. Oh yeah, we also see about 50 pictures of a man's scrotum on a wall. It's all in funny, artistic context... if you can believe that.The key to enjoying this film to its fullest is to realize that it's a deadpan satire, much like "Catch-22", where the humour is based on outrageous stereotypes and preposterous (though believable) situations. The mood, particularly toward the end, reminded me of "Death at a Funeral" (original version), the way it takes such an irreverent approach to serious matters. And the humour itself is, like I said, a lot like a John Cusack movie ("Say Anything", "Better Off Dead") though somewhat toned down. Though predictable at times (deliberately?), I felt the ultimate payoff was very satisfying, and I highly recommend this to anyone who likes dark comedy ("Heathers", "Grand Theft Parsons").

Max Minghella stars in another Terry Zwigoff(Ghost world) comedic masterpiece, Art school confidential. I never saw his first,Crumb, loved his second, Ghost world, never saw Bad Santa, and his last movie, Art school confidential, almost tops Ghost world, which is one of my favorite films.Minghella plays Jerome, a artsy virgin who goes to Art school to achieve his dream and be like his idol,Picasso. He has the potential of being an artist. He is excellent,but the morons at the school prefer something more simple and stupid. Kind of like the portion of "Ghost world" which involves Enid at the art class.Jerome falls for a model(Sophia Myles) named Audrey, who poses at the school. But she soon falls for Jonah(played by Matt Keasler), who's crappy amateur art work draws everyone's interest for some reason. Amidst all of this, there is a serial killer loose on campus who is strangling everyone.This isn't quite as good as Ghost world. The ending isn't really resolved as much as it should, and though funny, the class is annoying. But Art school confidential is very interesting and funny. And fun.Some of it is a little too familiar on the Zwigoff side. The cast is excellent. It also includes John Malkovich, Jim Broadbent, Angelica Huston, and Steve Buscemi. Art school confidential isn't perfect. Ghost world is. But Art school confidential is still a good movie. See it.3.5/4