There was a decent but not outstanding British comedy (1960) by the same name as this film, starring that great comic actor Alastair Sim, who also was wonderful as Scrooge in 1951's Christmas Carol. It was based loosely (the books resemble self-improvement manuals) on Stephen Potter's well-worth reading "One Upmanship" and "Lifemanship" books. Those hilarious best-selling books provide the reader with a guide as to how to use guile to get even with someone you identify as worthy of getting even with, or as Potter put it, "creative intimidation." To some extent the 2006 "School for Scoundrels" could also be said to be based on those Potter books. While the original books and the 1960 film envisioned a small private college that taught the art of being one-up (if you are not one up, you're one down), the 2006 version is a single self-improvement course taught secretly by a masterful rogue (Billy Bob Thornton) who calls himself Dr. P, to a group of low self-esteem "losers." His course resembles extreme confidence building sink or swim exercises more than one-upmanship. But he also goes one-on-one to put down the best of his students. It is explained that Dr. P is very competitive and shoots down anyone who might approach his level of skill. When facially challenged Roger (Jon Heder) unexpectedly is standing out as the best of his class, a one-upmanship contest between the master and the student gets underway.This is a fun film to watch; not at all sophomoric and not leaning on the slapstick approach. In addition to the two leads, the rest of the cast includes, among others, well known comic Sarah Silverman and comic actor Ben Stiller. Stiller is about as good as he gets (he is usually in films that are not my taste in comedy, although I recently saw him in something I really enjoyed.) On the other hand, the lines given to Sarah Silverman just make her character brassy rather than funny and are not up to the caliber of her stand-up comedy that she writes for herself.

Jon Heder stars as a pathetic meter maid who enrolls in a confidence-building course under the tutelage of Billy Bob Thornton, who undertakes the role of turning him and the rest of his class into lions. As Heder's confidence grows, he begins to show his true interest in the girl across the hall from his own apartment, but things really take a turn for the worse as Thornton pretends to show an interest in the girl, too, in an effort to get Heder to the next level.I thought this film would be one of those teenager flicks that would be profanity every other word, but it wasn't. The premise of the movie was all right, but the plot probably could have used a little more work. Someone turned me onto this film, telling me that it would not be at all like I expected, and I rather enjoyed the time I spent watching it, but, looking back, it seemed like there's something missing to the film. The chemistry between Thornton and Heder was very good but it just lacked that "something" that would have made this a great film. Thornton has had those roles lately that just make you want to hate him (Mr. Woodcock, for example), and I feel that he has a range of much more than he's been trying to accomplish, lately. It just felt like the cast and crew just sat down, laid out the movie plot, then filmed it.7 out of 10 stars.

Imagine the poor nerd-like Roger, who is humiliated on a daily basis by his co-workers. He is such a pathetic individual that even the Big Brother group he mentors want to get rid of him. What to do? How about enrolling in a school that will give him the skills that will help him overcome his own shortcomings. For that, he goes to Dr. P's school where supposedly he will learn, among other things, how to overcome his inability to deal with the tormentors he faces everywhere and then get to have great sex that has been denied to him.The premise of this comedy must have sounded great to the people behind the project. Todd Phillips, after all, is a major talent that has done much better. Writing the screenplay together with Scot Armstrong, and loosely based on the original English film of the same title, one would have expected a laughter riot. After all, the casting seemed made in heaven.The pairing of Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Heder, should have yielded an edgier comedy, but alas, it was not meant to be. One cannot blame the actors involved because the material given for them to act, doesn't hold many surprises. There are isolated parts that are funny and work. Most of the time the gags feel flat.Even though the end product is not what one expected, "School of Scoundrels" has its moments and it could be a film to watch with friends if the group is into a party mood.

"School for Scoundrels" tells the well worn story of a pushover who learns to become more assertive so that he can take charge of his life and finally get the girl. I didn't realize that the film was a remake but the fact that I found it hackneyed to begin with gives an idea of the level of originality we're dealing with here.The cast contains a number of talented and funny individuals but they are unfortunately let down by the material. Looking at the cast list it's difficult to believe that the film is as mediocre as it is. The script just doesn't deliver the goods comedically and the story's too unoriginal to grab your attention. The technical aspect is no better than average either but I must admit that the soundtrack was pretty nifty.In the end, I can only recommend this flick if you're absolutely starved for some comedy. There's little to be had here though those who don't mind clichéd stories may appreciate it more than I have.