Loser

Directed by Amy Heckerling, Loser follows Jason Biggs’ small-town Paul Tannek as he arrives in New York City to attend college and is subsequently mistreated by virtually everyone around him – with the only real exception a kind fellow student named Dora Diamond (Mena Suvari). It’s a reasonable (albeit overly familiar) premise that’s employed to consistently (and increasingly) tedious effect by Heckerling, as the writer/director delivers a sluggish, aggressively quirky endeavor that boasts few elements designed to capture and sustain the viewer’s attention – with the movie’s arms-length atmosphere perpetuated by an emphasis on unreasonably broad (and mostly obnoxious) supporting characters. (This is certainly never more true than in the case of Paul’s exceedingly obnoxious roommates, Zak Orth’s Adam, Thomas Sadoski’s Chris, and Jimmi Simpson’s Noah.) There is, as a result, never a point at which one is able to muster even the slightest bit of interest in or enthusiasm for the protagonist’s by-the-numbers exploits, which is certainly a problem in a second half dominated by the will-they-or-won’t-they bent of Paul and Dora’s friendship/relationship (ie who cares?). Loser is, in the end, a fairly massive misfire from a decidedly erratic filmmaker, with the movie’s failure especially disappointing given the proliferation of charismatic performers within the cast.

*1/2 out of ****