Plot
A high school senior branded uncool in the ninth grade gets himself expelled so he changes his image to cool kid at the town's other high school.

Release Year: 2002

Rating: 5.5/10 (17,937 voted)

Critic's Score: 24/100

Director: Ed Decter

Stars: DJ Qualls, Lyle Lovett, Eliza Dushku

Storyline
Dizzy Harrison is an unpopular, high school geek going through a hellish senior year. In an attempt to make a new identity for himself, Dizzy gets himself expelled from his high school, learns the technics of being cool from a prison inmate, and enrolls at a new high school under the alias Gil Harris, to make new friends where he soon gains respect from the jocks and geeks alike. Dizzy then gets noticed by the head cheerleader, Danielle, and helps the school football team gain self-respect to win games. But things unknowingly begin to turn sour when Danielle's disgruntled boyfriend begins investigating into "Gil Harris'" past to uncover any dirt on him.

Cast:
DJ Qualls - Dizzy
Eliza Dushku - Danielle
Zooey Deschanel - Nora
Jerod Mixon - Kirk
Parry Shen - Glen
Lyle Lovett - Bear
Eddie Griffin - Luther
Sunny Mabrey - Courtney
Ross Patterson - Conner
Matt Gogin - Ed Ligget
Horatio Sanz - Dance Instructor
Tony Hawk - Himself
Geoffrey Lewis - Principal Zaylor
Charlie O'Connell - Charlie
Gene Simmons - Reverend

Taglines: Popularity isn't a contest... It's a War!

Release Date: 10 May 2002

Filming Locations: Austin Studios - 1901 E. 51st Street, Austin, Texas, USA

Box Office Details

Budget: $13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend: $9,007,833 (USA) (12 May 2002) (2687 Screens)

Gross: $28,972,187 (USA) (30 June 2002)

Runtime: 88 min  | 92 min (director's cut)

Trivia:
When 'Dizzy/Gil' goes to the County Jail, and is talking to Luther, you can see a black flag symbol on the wall behind him. The Warden is played by former black flag front man, Henry Rollins.

Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: A cameraman is visible in the overhead shot during the "Braveheart" sequence.

Quotes:
Dizzy/Gil: Don't make me do crazy eyes...

Crazy Eyes!

Rating: 7/10

So back when I was in high school The New Guy was released and my best friend and I saw it together, all I could say was that I wanted to pull a Dizzy, re-vamp my whole act for the school, we can all dream, right? But anyways onto the movie, The New Guy is actually a really funny high school comedy that is sure to deliver a few good laughs. I think the reason why is because of the cast, it looked like they just had a blast making this movie and made it completely entertaining. While it's definitely not the best acted or stands out against all other high school comedies, this formula worked and DJ Qualls truly made the movie into something special. He and Eddie Griffin were great for The New Guy, a new twist on the typical high school tale of freaks, geeks and beautiful people.

Prison inmate, Luther tells us the story of Dizzy Gillespie Harrison, a 18-year-old high school senior and nerd. Dizzy is friends with Nora, Kirk and Glen, and attends Rocky Creek High School, where he is picked on by star football player Barclay. This occurs before and after Tina Osgood causes him to have an erection, which the school librarian accidentally breaks. Dizzy is misdiagnosed with Tourette syndrome; he is then illegally placed on medication by the school counselor. While at the mall's food court, Dizzy makes a fool of himself and gets arrested. In prison, Dizzy meets Luther, who turns out to be a sympathetic ex-victim who makes it his goal to teach him how to be cool. In an attempt to wipe the slate clean, Dizzy gets himself expelled from his old high school, then undergoes a makeover with the help of the prison inmates. Changing his name to 'Gil Harris', he enrolls at East Highland High and makes an impression by being dropped off in a prison van and beating up the school bully, Connor. The action has an intended effect, and head cheerleader, Danielle, welcomes the newcomer to school. Everything goes to plan, he's cool, popular, and everyone looks up to him… little does the school know what Diz actually was at one point.

I really did enjoy The New Guy, I still love watching it today. There are a lot of great bits, but I think what my friend and I always have a great time watching is when the prisoners are teaching Dizzy how to be tough, especially when Luther teaches Diz "the crazy eyes". This movie has a lot of memorable moments in it, I don't know if it's enough though for The New Guy to stand out as a classic high school comedy. But I do recommend it if you get the chance, it has a great soundtrack, a cool story and fun characters. Diz definitely made Madonna run for her money with his new re-invention of himself.

7/10

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