The Curve (1998)

You might have heard people say they'd kill to get into Harvard. Well, here's a film that takes it literally. There's a legendary rule at many universities, so the film posits, that if your roommate commits suicide you can take a 4.0 GPA for the semester. Tim (Matthew Lillard of Scream fame, in yet another of his patented psycho roles) plans with his roommate Chris (Michael Vartan) to kill a third roommate Rand (Randall Batinkoff) so they can collect their 4.0s and get Chris a Harvard M.B.A. As Chris says, "Either it's a Harvard M.B.A. or you're flipping burgers." No elevated thinker, Chris. Rand is a cruel jerk to his Sandy Dennis-like girlfriend, Natalie (Tamara Craig Thomas), so it's hard to miss him when he's gone. But that sentiment applies equally to nearly every other character in the picture, including Chris's girlfriend Emma (Keri Russell), who seems to be the most sympathetic of the group. That's the movie's strength; you think you know everyone but you don't. And that's also its greatest weakness; you need to know and like these people for the film to work. If you can stomach these people (in which case counseling might be in order), the exceedingly twisty-turny plot will keep you entertained to the last amazing revelation. Otherwise, you might want to keep searching for a thriller that gives its people an inner life worth viewing. The Curve was snatched from Sundance for a distribution deal by Trimark, but wound up in this direct-to-video release instead. --Jim Gay Amazon.com

More lethal than I you die

With today's fast evolution of the video market, DVDs are becoming so cheap, destocking, competition from Blue-ray, and all kinds of pirating, that we can get DVDs for less than five euros, if not less that five dollars, if not even less than just plain nothing. So when I got into that one, I thought I was entering some kind of college comedy for teeny boppers looking for some soft sexual kicks. But that impression vanished within fifteen minutes and was replaced by the new question whether this film was one more psycho serial killer, and that did not last even a second quarter of an hour and we moved into an absolutely fascinating variation on the eternal crime story in which we cannot know who is killing who and who is going to be killed next and who is the real serial killer and who is the real designated final victim and how that absolutely foolish but so intricate conspiration is going to be sold to the police, the FBI and all kinds of authorities as a legitimate suicide or natural death. And it became quite enjoyable after a while and even a little bit more with the elapsing minutes and dozens of minutes to a final punch-line I will not reveal because it is too funny and it proves that anyone can lead anyone else into believing anything they want because the others want to believe anything they are told provided it is slightly bleak, slightly sad and slightly reassuring in its disquieting nature. Enjoy that piece of foolery.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
November 16, 2008

Still Confused....

I only watched this movie because of Michael Vartan - and he was great in it. I am still utterly confused by the plot twists at the end.... can someone please email me and explain it??? September 17, 2008

The best film noir in the last 50 years

Sadly, probably one of the only. What defines a film noir is where the main character essentially digs their own grave and the twists are unpredictable. I grew up on many of the old film noirs and had never even heard of this movie. Even though I'm currently only in my early-mid 20s right now (2008), I felt a little weird with how some of the references dated the movie. However, Matthew Lillard's performance made me laugh uncontrollably in some parts. Where is he now anyway? Back to the movie - I thought it was wonderful. I suggest, if you like film noirs, check it out. If your movie diet only consists of movies that have been made in the last 10 years, you should probably pass because you may not appreciate it. June 27, 2008

DEAD MAN ON CAMPUS meets SCREAM... I'm serious

As my title might suggest, I rented THE CURVE because its plot was similar to DEAD MAN ON CAMPUS, a film I enjoyed much more than most of the population, so seeing the same material handled in a much more dark, serious way seemed intriguing. Well, after having viewed THE CURVE, I can say one thing: the title is quite appropriate, as the plot has more twists and turns than a crazy straw.
Meet Tim (Matthew Lillard, in SCREAM mode) and Chris (Michael 'OMG, he was on ALIAS' Vartan), two roommates who aren't very close but trust each other enough to decide to kill their third roommate Rand (Randall Batinkoff) and make it look like a suicide, thus getting 4.0s (both want into Harvard and have done poorly the current semester). The deed is done, and everything seems okay. Then Rand's body cannot be found, the two are questioned by police, and Rand's apparently pregnant girlfriend Natalie (Tamara Craig Thomas) kills herself out of grief. From there we encounter a series of convoluted double crosses and overacting (mostly through Mr. Lillard), all ending up like a TALES FROM THE CRYPT episode written by Kevin Williamson (you know, the guy who wrote SCREAM 1 & 2 and I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER).
So yes, the film is quite clever at times and had me guessing throughout (though I occasionally guessed what was about to happen), but all of the characters are either bland or just plain unlikable. It's hard to make two guys who want to kill someone for good grades likable (though DEAD MAN ON CAMPUS succeeded), and therein lies the rub: if they're likable, why would they be so heartless as to want to kill someone? And if they're so cruel and unlikable, why should we want to watch a movie about them (especially one where they're supposed to get away with it)? DEAD MAN ON CAMPUS worked more for me because I at least laughed and cared about the people I was watching. I can only pray for a film with this material that has characters you can actually care about and believe that they might be driven to such extremities (though this idea may need to be buried... no pun intended). January 14, 2008

Almost passed on this one !

When I first started watching this movie (I'm over 70) I thought "oh,just another kid's movie. I don't need this". Well, fortunately I didn't switch the dial and continued to watch. Further and further I was drawn into this, could be real, senerio.

What a mystery, twists and turns...not to mention the great acting. This is a lost leader. Pick up a copy and enjoy the suspense and good acting! January 1, 2007

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