Perfect Score, The

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Entertainment: +1 1/2

Content: -2 1/2

The Standard Aptitude Test (SAT), bane of many a high-school senior, becomes an unassailable barrier to the college dreams of four aspiring young people in this comedy. A poor score on Kyles (Chris Evans) SAT halts his plan to study architecture at Cornell. Talented enough to play pro basketball straight out of high school, Desmond (Darius Miles) wants to get an education first, but sadly his SAT score is too low. Matty (Bryan Greenberg) wishes to go to Maryland and win back his girlfriend, but he cant score high enough on the SAT to be admitted. And Anna (Erika Christensen) cannot concentrate during the test, so, despite her high GPA, she is not headed to Brown University. The four conclude that the SAT is unfair and resolve to steal the answers. They recruit Roy (Leonardo Nam) the druggie and Francesca (Scarlett Johansson) the punker to help them pull it off.

In this story, characters grow to understand themselves better as they consider the consequences of cheating on the SAT and learn that people often must adjust their plans to obtain their dreams. They discover that being different can be good. But the movie has a number of unfavorable portrayals of life. One character, for example, spends most of his time smoking marijuana, not studying, and yet he achieves the best score on the SAT. Another character, who had made a habit of studying hard and obeying her parents, really begins to enjoy life when she starts breaking rules and staying out all night. The students indulge in illegal behavior, yet they suffer no ill consequences; one student is arrested but gets off easily while winning the heart of a beautiful girl. The Perfect Score turns in a poor moral effort and therefore gets low marks from Preview. Its not recommended.

Preview Reviewer: Blaine Butcher
Distributor: Paramount

Summary
The following categories contain objective listings of film content which contribute to the subjective numeric Content ratings posted to the left and on the Home page.

Crude Language: Many (33) times mild (hell 13, damn 3); moderate (slut 2); strong (ass 12, bitch 3)

Obscene Language: Many (73) times moderate (frickin 3, screw 17, suck 14); strong (f-word 2, s-word 34, other 3)

Profanity: Many (17) times moderate (OG 3); strong (GD 2, J 2, C-sake 2, other 7)

Violence: Few times mild (shoving and struggling, boy pulls another boy off of a bar, boys pull another person back into a seat)

Sex: Several times mild (implied activity, boy imagines kissing a girl, girl and boy kissing); moderate (boy imagines wrestling around in the backseat with girl)

Nudity: Several times mild (woman in swimsuit, man looking at Victorias Secret, womans upper thighs shown)

Sexual Dialogue/Gesture: Several times mild (girl tells boy she may not be wearing underwear); moderate (teen makes sexually suggestive faces to a woman, teen stares up womans skirt, girl tells boy she wants it now)

Drugs: Several times mild (people drink at a party); moderate (boy seen smoking a joint, drug paraphernalia in several scenes, one teen often appears to be under the influence of marijuana)

Other: Appropriate use of thank the Lord, a mom cares enough about her son that she knows where he is all of the time and makes a point of knowing his friends, mom tells son to get an education before going to play pro basketball, woman encourages orphaned teen to get his life together, girls father brings home woman who appears to be a prostitute, teens often tells lies

Running Time: 93 minutes
Intended Audience: Teens

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