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Art School Confidential

Art School Confidential

2006
Comedy, Drama
1h 42m
Art School Confidential follows talented young artist Jerome Platz (Minghella) as he escapes from high school to a tiny East Coast art school. Here the boyish freshman's ambition is to become the world's greatest artist. (Sony Pictures Classics)
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Art School Confidential

2006
Comedy, Drama
1h 42m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 37.37% from 797 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(796)
Compact view
Compact view
Rated 14 Mar 2008
80
96th
Bleakest of black comedies, Art School Confidential offers a film noir storyline with scattered commentary on the devoloution of modern art into an esoteric mess. On the surface there's a lot of appearances by now familiar comedic actors like Nick Swardson and Ethan Suplee doing their best satire of art school archetypes. The comedic approach isn't any different from most college comedies, but it tiptoes around an abysmally dark plot of cynicism, murder and the atrophy of artistic ambition.
Rated 30 Sep 2013
55
52nd
For a broad, unsubtle satire it actually manages to say some pretty truthful (painful and funny) stuff about the art scene. That said, it's probably just best seen as a better-than-average, somewhat intelligent teen comedy (which it is). Lacking the strange, aching pathos of Ghost World but retaining Zwigoff's penchant for grotesque, condescending caricatures. He's like a slightly cuddlier Solondz. Jim Broadbent as an obvious Charles Crumb stand-in was an interesting idea.
Rated 23 Mar 2023
33
5th
I did not care about any of this.
Rated 03 Jan 2007
74
70th
I suspect that the closer you are to the art world, especially as it exists within the educational system, the more you will be able to relate to the subtle spoofing employed by Zwigoff and Clowes in toying with stereotypes.
Rated 14 Jul 2007
35
37th
This was one rickety-ass ride. I thought the protagonist was a complete putz and I did not identify with him at all. I was really hoping for this to satirize the art world in the way that the original comic did, but it disappointed in every area.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
78
64th
A very funny film with plenty of minor characters that it seems I personally knew in my college years. While the story did leave some to be desired, there were enough scenes to make this movie very enjoyable, even if some of those scenes were not necessary to drive the plot.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
75
50th
Hysterically funny all the way through - but the parts are greater than the whole. (The ending is less than satisfactory, for example.) Based on this film, the adorable Max Minghella has a real future in movies. He's charismatic in a disarmingly innocent way. Jim Broadbent, John Malkovich & Anjelica Huston are all excellent in supporting roles.
Rated 15 Aug 2007
53
34th
Zwigoff's reunion with comic book creator Daniel Clowes doesn't have the same bleak blast as their previous collaboration, the film adaptation of Clowes' graphic novel Ghost World. It is an underdeveloped film, a premise with no compelling plot, just a few pointed shots at the pretentious realms of art school and all of academia. It's essentially what was accomplished in a few scenes with Illeana Douglas in Ghost World brought to a larger canvas.
Rated 20 Mar 2008
58
40th
I had hopes this would be a misbegotten gem swept under the rug by bad marketing and a studio of little faith in the product. It isn't. Zwigoff's direction is clumsy and the script is all over the place. The satire is superb -- on art schools, and all of academia, but loses its focus in the second half, as an awkward and obvious subplot takes over the movie. Retrospectively, the final twist is rather genius, and perhaps the best comment made on the art world, but it sours the overall experience.
Rated 28 Apr 2008
80
56th
Another cynical and pessimistic view of the world, from Zwigoff and Dan Clowes. It portrays everyone as a deluded douche bag or a psycho. It's funny, but not as good as Ghost World or Bad Santa, because everyone is so selfish and phony that there's no emotional center. Clowes really hates these people.
Rated 12 Jan 2009
55
17th
Such a staggering disappointment after Clowes and Zwigoff's masterpiece Ghost World. Why they chose to make a film based off of a 4-page comic strip and fleshed it out with a tacked-on murder mystery at the end is beyond me. Surely there are more potent, angsty tales in Clowes canon that could have made more use of a big-screen adaptation.
Rated 16 Jun 2010
78
36th
If you can, imagine Divine, jumping on a trampoline in front of a lecture hall filled with art students. She stops and waves a pistol, snarling, "Who wants to be famous? Who wants to die for art?" With her response to the first hapless idiot to cry "I do!" John Waters captures, in mere seconds, the entire point of the clumsy but amusing _Art School Confidential_.
Rated 29 Nov 2006
30
21st
A big heap of boring
Rated 13 Jan 2007
25
13th
Oh god why did I watch this
Rated 01 Apr 2007
69
23rd
A whole movie of art school clichés. It's funny for a while, but frankly it's not enough to carry a movie and the dramatic plot is retarded.
Rated 09 Jul 2007
2
33rd
Disappointing considering it came from the same director as Ghostworld. Some amusing moments don't save this film from being horribly cynical.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
35
1st
What a horrible, horrible movie. The onslaught of cliches starts from the very first shot and continues throughout the entire film. It would be ok if the movie made fun of the cliches, but instead it just becomes one. An awful incredibly predicatble plot completely bogs down the movie and it just becomes really annoying and painful to watch. 35 for the few funny jokes in the beginning of the film.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
45
14th
I don't care if the abrupt mood-shift was deliberate: this movie is retarded.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
10
10th
horrible
Rated 14 Aug 2007
80
56th
I enjoy it more in memory than I did at the time.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
56
18th
I love Terry Zwigoff but he doesn't sustain the right tone here, partly because his lead, Max Minghella, son of Anthony, is too young to carry the movie, and has no chemistry with his leading lady. He's where Jack Gyllenhaal was a few years ago, before his beard grew in. John Malkovich is terrific.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
97
96th
An amusing look at education and art, which features great characters and moments holding together a thin plot.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
58
34th
Very long, and it's another of the movies where I thought they could've cut out a decent amount and it wouldn't suffer. The sub-plot takes the center stage after about half the movie, and that's a shame. The Dark part of dark comedy takes over, and the movie just loses a lot of luster. This is a shame because I really thought they were on to something with the first half of the movie.
Rated 16 Sep 2007
60
39th
Works best when it has smaller goals. The more complex it got, the less I cared.
Rated 24 Oct 2007
10
7th
Pretentious, slow and pointless.
Rated 13 Nov 2007
70
16th
A decent satire ruined by a plot. The first half-hour -- perfect aim and long-overdue target -- is essential: the rest is a diluted, clumsy detour.
Rated 24 Apr 2008
55
26th
This was one of the most confusing films I have seen. It was in its way as ridiculous as Die Hard 4, the plot was preposterous, there were no characters, only overblown actors acting in that annoying way actors do. I still liked small parts of it, like Sophia Myles is good, and Steve Biscemi, and maybe Ethan Suplee (but he was doing his Kevin Smith thing). Overall very bad but bad in a totally unexpected way.
Rated 15 May 2008
7
0th
Offensive as a movie fan and a former art student. Everyone's hostile in this garbage film.
Rated 04 Aug 2008
75
74th
Ressam olmak isteyen ancak kendine has bir tarz yaratmakta sikinti ceken bir gencin verdigi tavizler ve hayatina ilkAskin yansimasi filmin konusudur.Bu filmi izlerken bende su kani olustu;hernekadar birseyleri kendimiz icin yapiyoruz desekte birsure sonra yaptigimiz herseyin aslinda esiri oldugumuzu anliyoruz.Cevresindekiler bu gencin resimlerini surekli elestirmektedir,hatta egitmeni 'baska kisinin ses tellerini kullanan bir sarkicisin'' demesi bu gencin kendi tarzini sorgulamasina neden olur.
Rated 06 Aug 2008
65
44th
in the shadow of The Ghost World... Looks and feels incomplete.
Rated 26 Nov 2008
73
61st
Sarcastic, in a way unconventional, definetly not a love story. Propably ows a lot to the comic but not having read it I enjoyed the movie as it self.
Rated 12 Jan 2009
85
20th
Would have been better had it not had a plot.
Rated 16 Jan 2009
6
35th
A satyr on the art world, refreshing, and in ways very honest, while still being upbeat and entertaining. A real knock-out.
Rated 01 Feb 2009
70
20th
A gimmick that wears thin after about the first 20 minutes.
Rated 23 Mar 2009
72
46th
Great satire on art snobs and the world that encompasses them.
Rated 19 Aug 2009
85
52nd
Definitely better than average. Quirky storyline, good characters (though slim on development), and a well-disguised Hollywood ending.
Rated 05 Nov 2009
50
36th
The movie has some good jokes, but want to be so many things and genres that ends up getting lost, just that.
Rated 30 Nov 2009
51
15th
Deeply morbid and upliftingly spiritual at the same time. Too slow to be of any real enjoyment, but a good try none-the-less.
Rated 18 Feb 2010
33
3rd
Zwigoff takes his misanthropy to the art school, with predictable results. It's all fish in a barrel, and one could walk away with the feeling that Zwigoff/Clowes think that art is just a scam.
Rated 26 Jun 2010
82
57th
this film made me realize art schools probably function the same way worldwide. this is a fun, witty, caricature!
Rated 31 Aug 2010
40
5th
@Vince Leo - No, I go to CCA, the art school the director of the movie attended. The references are far less than subtle, and the whole thing seems thrown together. I was disappointed with the movie as a whole, but the end song was pleasant.
Rated 01 Dec 2010
30
78th
"The matter-of-fact filmmaking style is made up for by the vitality of the all-around fantastic performances, the striking use of color, and dialogue that's as tasty as an Ernest Lehman/Clifford Odets cookie full of arsenic." - Jeremiah Kipp
Rated 13 Dec 2010
54
6th
Didn't know what it wanted to be.
Rated 24 Apr 2011
5
30th
mhm.
Rated 27 May 2011
26
12th
The model drawing scene that stereotyped all different art kids was the only amusing/entertaining scene in the film.
Rated 26 Aug 2011
62
22nd
Really didn't grab me. Some of the satire was good, but it got a little repetitive. Could have done with some more likeable characters, as well.
Rated 28 Aug 2011
53
7th
Wow, what a mess. This does not not know what it wants to be, and it fails miserably as a satire - it's just too heavy handed. Minghella is too clean cut, and he has absolutely no chemistry with Myles. The great cast of bit parts is mostly wasted, although I enjoyed Broadbent. Very disappointing.
Rated 04 Feb 2014
3
73rd
50% Clowsian drama/satire, but, 50% is padded out with some same-old teen movie stereotypes and bullshit. Wish they'd either cut it down or stuck to their less-commercial strengths.
Rated 02 Mar 2014
65
45th
The trailer gave me high hopes that the movie did not meet.
Rated 06 May 2014
75
28th
zwigoff can do better
Rated 13 Jul 2016
20
22nd
I watched this when I had a fever, so I gave it a second chance. It was better when I was having fever dreams.
Rated 24 Jun 2017
88
83rd
With its "meh" humor & string of clichés (the loudmouth whose boorishness is meant to be funny; the jaded student still somehow devoted to advising the protagonist), it's hard not to imagine Hollywood ruined whatever Zigoff had in mind. But as the film focuses more on the awful pretentiousness of post-modern art & how what defines greatness is utterly arbitrary, it gets better & better. It ends by turning a storyline that seemed pointless into the kind of condemnation only an insider could make
Rated 19 Feb 2018
62
28th
While the satire is great in the bleakest of ways, the rest of the story is kind of meandering mess. Zwigoff's adaptation has a lot of moving pieces, but only a few of them really seem to matter in the end.
Rated 20 Mar 2022
40
25th
The main character was overwhelmingly obnoxious & unsympathetic, though the art direction & narrative style was splendid.
Rated 28 May 2023
76
50th
Zwigoff goes relatively conventional here, putting his spin on an enjoyable (if overly familiar) tour through a higher education setting; Minghella makes for a convincingly awkward and gawky hero, and a surprisingly subdued Malkovich effectively fills the role of mentor. Some amusing moments, but the film never really catches fire as you’d hope – best scene is Broadbent’s, who enters briefly and tears the movie down to its foundations (and should have scored some awards love).

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