To confess, I normally would not go and see a film like 'I love you, Beth Cooper' but given the choice between Larry David's 'Whatever Works', 'The Taking of Pelham 1, 2,3, or 'Cooper', I chose the latter on a recent Jet Blue flight. While not as juvenile as 'Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian' or unimaginative like the recent 'Get Smart' retread, 'Cooper' wins hands down as perhaps the least charming comedy in the last decade.
'Cooper' begins as we're introduced to the film's protagonist, Denis Cooverman, who, as the high school valedictorian, is called upon to present the valedictory speech to his fellow graduates and friends and family at the high school commencement. Cooverman manages to insult most of the student body, including his best friend who he accuses of being gay as well as admitting that he is a complete loser. He also pathetically expresses his obsession with the film's love interest, Beth Cooper, a sexy blonde whose I.Q. is probably close to Paris Hilton.
The story has nothing to do with Cooverman getting out into the world after high school but rather follows his misadventures (along with his best friend, Jack T. Carpenter, who has a penchant for quoting favorite movie lines) in the hours after their graduation. Surprisingly, Beth and her two buddies show up at Denis's parents' house after he invites them to a 'party' where he and Jack are the two lone hosts. Beth is trying to get away from her coked-up boyfriend, Kevin, who apparently is a member of the Armed Forces.
Denis and Jack do everything they can to convince the girls that they are complete losers and one keeps wondering when they are going to turn things around. Denis loses his first attempt to prove he isn't a wuss when resident psychopath Kevin trashes his parents' home and almost decapitates the valedictorian with a sword. Kevin, by the way, appears to be a crude, unfunny combination of a 'roid induced military brat and frat boy gone wild. There is little character development for any of these non-entities, especially Kevin, who attempts to beat Denis up at every turn since he is basically your classic stalker who cannot stand the thought of anyone hanging out with his beautiful girlfriend.
Our hapless nerds flee Kevin and his thugs in a car driven by Beth and the action turns to some lame escapades in the woods including Denis and Beth being chased by a raccoon and Beth ramming Denis' parents' car while his parents are in the middle of making love inside the vehicle. At one point Jack points a rifle at Beth's friends and we wonder if we're about to witness the inappropriate spectacle of someone getting shot in the middle of a film that's supposed to be a comedy.
After Jack somehow fends off Kevin and company by hitting them in the testicles with a wet towel, the boys somehow convince Beth and her friends that they're not the complete losers the girls at first perceived them to be. Jack manages to bed Beth's friends to prove he's not gay but the lame joke is that the best he could accomplish was a premature ejaculation. Denis gets 'serious' with Beth at dockside blurting out that he no longer perceives her as a bimbo but rather a 'real person'. Beth of course falls for the crap and plants a sensual kiss on Denis' lips. Somehow the film's scenarists tout this as a big victory for their nerdy protagonist who is quite content to go no further with the sexy Beth. Speaking of Beth, she loses points for driving drunk all over town but the eyes of the creators of 'Cooper', the Paris Hilton wannabe, is beyond reproach.
There's nothing wrong with writing a comedy about a teenager-protagonist who is socially awkward. But when that protagonist exhibits the same unpleasant traits (such as acting as a stalker) which are attributed to the film's antagonist, little entertainment can ensue.
For all those you disliked this film as intensely as I did, take heart that according to Boxofficemojo.com, 'I love you, Beth Cooper' had a production cost of $18 million and a total worldwide gross of $15 million. For once, the film-going public trusted their good instincts!
'Cooper' begins as we're introduced to the film's protagonist, Denis Cooverman, who, as the high school valedictorian, is called upon to present the valedictory speech to his fellow graduates and friends and family at the high school commencement. Cooverman manages to insult most of the student body, including his best friend who he accuses of being gay as well as admitting that he is a complete loser. He also pathetically expresses his obsession with the film's love interest, Beth Cooper, a sexy blonde whose I.Q. is probably close to Paris Hilton.
The story has nothing to do with Cooverman getting out into the world after high school but rather follows his misadventures (along with his best friend, Jack T. Carpenter, who has a penchant for quoting favorite movie lines) in the hours after their graduation. Surprisingly, Beth and her two buddies show up at Denis's parents' house after he invites them to a 'party' where he and Jack are the two lone hosts. Beth is trying to get away from her coked-up boyfriend, Kevin, who apparently is a member of the Armed Forces.
Denis and Jack do everything they can to convince the girls that they are complete losers and one keeps wondering when they are going to turn things around. Denis loses his first attempt to prove he isn't a wuss when resident psychopath Kevin trashes his parents' home and almost decapitates the valedictorian with a sword. Kevin, by the way, appears to be a crude, unfunny combination of a 'roid induced military brat and frat boy gone wild. There is little character development for any of these non-entities, especially Kevin, who attempts to beat Denis up at every turn since he is basically your classic stalker who cannot stand the thought of anyone hanging out with his beautiful girlfriend.
Our hapless nerds flee Kevin and his thugs in a car driven by Beth and the action turns to some lame escapades in the woods including Denis and Beth being chased by a raccoon and Beth ramming Denis' parents' car while his parents are in the middle of making love inside the vehicle. At one point Jack points a rifle at Beth's friends and we wonder if we're about to witness the inappropriate spectacle of someone getting shot in the middle of a film that's supposed to be a comedy.
After Jack somehow fends off Kevin and company by hitting them in the testicles with a wet towel, the boys somehow convince Beth and her friends that they're not the complete losers the girls at first perceived them to be. Jack manages to bed Beth's friends to prove he's not gay but the lame joke is that the best he could accomplish was a premature ejaculation. Denis gets 'serious' with Beth at dockside blurting out that he no longer perceives her as a bimbo but rather a 'real person'. Beth of course falls for the crap and plants a sensual kiss on Denis' lips. Somehow the film's scenarists tout this as a big victory for their nerdy protagonist who is quite content to go no further with the sexy Beth. Speaking of Beth, she loses points for driving drunk all over town but the eyes of the creators of 'Cooper', the Paris Hilton wannabe, is beyond reproach.
There's nothing wrong with writing a comedy about a teenager-protagonist who is socially awkward. But when that protagonist exhibits the same unpleasant traits (such as acting as a stalker) which are attributed to the film's antagonist, little entertainment can ensue.
For all those you disliked this film as intensely as I did, take heart that according to Boxofficemojo.com, 'I love you, Beth Cooper' had a production cost of $18 million and a total worldwide gross of $15 million. For once, the film-going public trusted their good instincts!