"College" Just Another Teenage Rip-Off

There are two things very wrong with College, the latest teenage raunch fest. The first is that damn title. It could win an award for Most Generic Title of the Year. The second is that it doesn't have a single original bone in it's poorly constructed body. It's just a collage of pale imitations and bad clones. If you've seen as many college-based movies as I have, you'll see it too.

The story is about three friends, the cute but meek Kevin (Drake Bell), geeky Morris (Kevin Covais), and horn-dog tubby Carter (Carter Scott). These high school seniors have planned for a weekend at a college, where they plan to take tours and meet with teachers. Then they hear of the awesome time another classmate had there. When they get there, they end up having to bunk at a run-down frat house, filled with juvenile guys who stop at nothing to torture these pre-frosh. But still, they get a chance to party and Kevin gets a chance to loosen up, which is why his girlfriend broke up with him. While there, they each meet a member of the opposite sex. Kevin falls for Kendall (Haley Bennett), Morris for Heather (Camilla Mana), and Carter with Amy (Nathalie Walker). The three girls are led to believe they're all freshman, which would lead to an completely predictable point where they find out that they're not, then they try and win their hearts back. Yawn.

First thing, right off the bat, I noticed that the three main characters looked an awful lot like Evan, Seth, and McLovin from Superbad. Then the movie rolls forward, unleashing everything in its unoriginal storyline. They even rip-off the king of college comedies, Animal House. For shame! Bell and Bennett are the only assets here. Both are charming and almost make it worth stomaching this film. Bell, like his Drake & Josh co-star Josh Peck, is attempting to shed his teenage status. This won't get him anywhere. The big surprise of this film is Covais. No, not his acting (which is okay). No, it's the fact that I remember him from American Idol. That's right! For all you Idol fans, Covais was on there, and was better known as "Chicken Little." So...he goes from participating in the biggest reality show of all time (and finishing in the Top 20) to starring in a lame-ass raunch-fest? Nice. He should stick to singing. The tagline simply says: Best. Weekend. Ever. Actally, it's: Biggest. Rip-Off. Ever.

1 star