New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

Bruce Hall: True fact: this movie reportedly cost $13 million to make. Also true: it opened soft, but it stands a solid chance of earning that money back by this time next week. There will be an international return, BluRay, VOD...everything is going to be just fine here. On the other hand, find me a trailer for this movie that doesn't trumpet "FROM THE WRITERS OF THE HANGOVER." Do you really think this is the opening they were going for?

"It only cost $13 million" is what you say when a low budget slasher flick starring the Tween of the Week opens to $8.7 million. When the film in question is "FROM THE WRITERS OF THE HANGOVER," it just sounds like spin.

Matthew Huntley: Good point, Bruce, and you also have to figure the studio was hoping for an opening larger than $8.7 million considering the success of last year's Project X. I think you can call this a failure not in the sense that it's going to cost the studio money (or anyone their job), but that it didn't live up to expectations given its creative and marketing resources.

Edwin Davies: I wonder if trumpeting that it was from the writers of The Hangover might have actually hurt the film a little bit, since all the trailers said to me was, "Oh, so these guys have exactly one idea." Kind of like how everyone lost interest in Devil the very instant M. Night Shyamalan's name appeared in the ads. We've seen a lot of these sort of films in the wake of The Hangover and I think a teeny bit of fatigue might be setting in, especially in a case like this where there wasn't the found footage gimmick of Project X, which could at least lay claim to an attention-grabbing, borderline-apocalyptic trailer. 21 and Over didn't look like anything special, and whilst you could argue that having "pedigree" behind it should have propelled it to a higher level, all that pedigree really did was remind people of one film they liked which was in turn followed by a load of imitators - and a sequel - that they didn't. Given the low budget, this result is nothing short of acceptable.

David Mumpower: Suffice to say that 21 and Over will not be this generation's Ferris Bueller...or even its Porky's. Touching on Matthew's point, any sex romp that is looking up at Project X has failed to clear the lowest possible hurdle. I mean, we're not asking for Old School 2 or anything. I am grateful for one aspect of 21 and Over, though. It did enable Sean Collier to write his best 400 word review to date. I get the vibe that he feels the same about this film that I do Uwe Boll.

Continued:       1       2       3