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Assassination of a High School President
Russian language poster
Directed by	Brett Simon
Produced by	Roy Lee Doug Davison
Written by	Tim Calpin Kevin Jakubowski
Starring	Reece Thompson Bruce Willis Mischa Barton Michael Rapaport Kathryn Morris Josh Pais
Music by	Daniele Luppi
Cinematography	M. David Mullen
Editing by	William M. Anderson Thomas J. Nordberg
Studio	Vertigo Entertainment
Distributed by	Yari Film Group
Release date(s)	6 October 2009 (DVD release)
Country	United States
Language	English

Assassination of a High School President, previously known as The Sophomore, is a 2009 American film noir-comedy film, directed by Brett Simon, written by Tim Calpin and Kevin Jakubowski, and starring Reece Thompson, Bruce Willis, Mischa Barton and Michael Rapaport. It premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and garnered rave reviews.^[1] The film had been scheduled for limited theatrical release on February 27, 2009, but that release was postponed indefinitely following the bankruptcy of its distributor, Yari Film Group's releasing division.^[2] It was released on DVD in the United States on 6 October 2009.

Plot

When senior Francesca Facchini (Mischa Barton) solicits Bobby Funke's (Reece Thompson) help tracking down a set of stolen SATs^[3], Funke uncovers a story. After he suspects the school president for the crime, Funke becomes one of the most popular kids at St. Donovan's High. Funke wins the respect of everyone from Principal Kirkpatrick (Bruce Willis) to the kid that farts on him in Spanish class and Francesca takes Funke to homecoming. As Funke's popularity grows so do his suspicions. He begins to wonder if the president really stole the SATs or if he's just a pawn in a conspiracy.

Inspiration

The fictional St. Donovan's High School was inspired by the high schools of writers Tim Calpin and Kevin Jakubowski. Calpin attended Scranton Preparatory School in Scranton Pennsylvania while Jakubowski attended Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois. The look of the school and style of dress were drawn from these high schools with a backdrop of the 1980s. The school mascot (Friar) was inspired from Fenwick. However, this movie was shot on location at Bayonne High School in Bayonne, New Jersey.

Release

The film was scheduled for a February 17 limited theatrical release, followed by a wide relase on March 27. The release date was not met as its distributor Yari Film Group's releasing division filed for bankruptcy. This has attracted a response in the media urging a theatrical release, and avoiding a direct-to-dvd release by Sony who own the home video distribution rights. Several journalists have advised that the film should at least receive a limited theatrical release and have encouraged fans to support the film on social networking sites such as Facebook.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]}

In May 2009, Barton spoke to reporters about the future of the film: "They just can't get the funding to distribute it. The movie is complete and ready to go but there is no release date set and it is not looking likely there will be one."^[14]

In Russia, the film was not released to theaters but announced for a May 14 premiere on the Russian TNT TV.^[15][16]

In August 2009, it was reported that the film would not receive a theatrical release, and would instead be released straight-to-DVD on October 6, 2009.^[17][18]

Reception

The film holds a 56% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating a mixed critical reaction. The film was highly praised by MTV, favourably comparing it to Rushmore, The Usual Suspects, Chinatown, Sixteen Candles and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The network added that "The film's central mystery keeps you guessing intelligently, but brilliantly balances every reference to Nietzsche with a joke about a chocolate swirly." The casting choices were also praised, Willis is "hillariously intense" and Barton "brings the femme fatale back for a new generation."^[19]

The Hollywood Reporter cited the film's lack of "novel insights" but praised the performance of two of its actors, Thompson is "completely convincing" and Barton is "captivating" and that "these two actors make the movie worth seeing".^[20]

Cast

References

External links

• Official website
• Assassination of a High School President at the Internet Movie Database
• Assassination of a High School President at Rotten Tomatoes
• Video clips from /Film