Assassination of a High School President (2008)

So, I've decided that I'm doing to try post regularly on Tuesdays and Fridays. This particular movie has been in my queue for awhile. It looked fun and corny, plus I'm a fan of Bruce Willis. The older he gets the more fun he has with roles. Assassination of a High School President according to IMDb:

At a Catholic high school, the popular girl teams up with a sophomore newspaper reporter to investigate a case of stolen SAT exams. Once the duo target their suspects, a larger conspiracy is unearthed.

I again will forego providing any spoiler alerts. The ending of this movie needs to be watched. There's a slight twist that I don't want to spoil. Also, if you enjoy quirky mysteries you'll probably end of enjoying this too.

Plot

Bobby (Reece Thompson), a sophomore and aspiring journalist starts by setting the scene for what his high school is like. He narrators his life as though he's Dick Tracy. He's a part of the school newspaper, just barely. He's never completed a story, but is trying to get into a Northwest University Journalism Program. He's assigned the task of writing a puff piece on the student council president, Paul Moore (Patrick Taylor), but changes his course when the SATs testing booklets go missing and the president's girlfriend, Francesca (Mischa Barton), asks him to look into it. Upon some light digging he finds Paul has been acting suspiciously and doesn't have an alibi. He writes a piece implicating him. This piece gets Paul removed from office, suspended and detention until the end, and kicked out Cornell for which he was already accepted. The piece has the opposite effect on Bobby. It helps him get rocketed in the popular circle, short listed for the Northwestern program and dating Francesca. 

However, Paul's cry of innocence still ring in Bobby's ears so he keeps chasing the story. After checking out the story's of all the "delinquent" students, he moves on to those who seem above suspicion. His new placement with the inner circle allows him greater access to the people Bobby believes is at the heart of this mystery, the rest of the student council.

By pursuing this story Bobby has made the decision to antagonize the most powerful group in his school, but aside from Paul's insistence that he's innocent, he also has to prove to Northwestern that he's a good journalist and will check his facts until the story is solid. 

Thoughts

So I enjoyed this movie and if I were the type of person to movies on repeat would. But I get why this movie wasn't received with open arms. Plus, I am very aware that my taste in movies isn't necessarily for everyone. There are a lot of adult themes that enter this movie about high school. Gambling, rape, drugs, alcohol, nudity, the sexualization of minors. This is definitely an adult movie that just happens to be set in high school.

The are a lot of red herrings in this movie, and I actually enjoyed them. Most of them were divergent story lines that served the purpose of world building. This also would terrify any parent. In this story lines we see Bobby:

• Visiting a public high school, where Paul had a secret black girlfriend
• Going to a fraternity house where game fixing and gambling help keep the brothers stocked in beer
• A high school party with lots of sex, drugs, and beer

Out of all of the cast I thought Bruce Willis really shined in this movie. As the only adult with a reoccurring presence it's hard not to notice him, but the earnestness he brings to his character is fantastic. He is the high school principle, a former marine, slightly racist and someone will NOT tolerate gum chewing in school. While this character is tough on the students I think Willis brought this kindness to the role that another actor may not have. Instead of being this truly hateful character through and through, he gave you something to like about Principal Kirkpatrick.