“It’s a mix of The Outsiders and City Of God,” jests Billy Bob Thornton. No, it’s not. And neither is it a heaven-made splice of Napoleon Dynamite and Bad Santa. Yes, School For Scoundrels casts Jon Heder as a slack-jawed sadsack. Yes, Thornton plays a snarling sleazebag. But this flabby remake of the 1960 Terry-Thomas laugher is outshone by its own Making Of. In 20 sarky, fib-filled minutes, the DVD extra cracks the funny bone more times than the joyless game of one-upmanship that brews between Heder’s woman-shy weed and Thornton’s self-help tyrant. Old School writer-director Todd Phillips fudges the blend of sweet and unsavoury, twisting the knife further by wasting Ben Stiller and Sarah Silverman in piddling side-roles.
DVD Extras: Audio Commentary, Inside The World Of School For Scoundrels, Gag Reel, Alternate Ending, Theatrical Trailer.
