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Wonderful Movie

Good movie but grossly overrated

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Malcontent and sardonic teenage misfit Casey Noland (a solid and likable performance by Justin Urich) aspires to be a notorious serial killer. Fellow suicidal kook Sasha Fitzgerald (a nice and appealing portrayal by adorable singer/songwriter Lisa Loeb) wants to be Noland's first victim. Meanwhile, a real serial killer is terrorizing the neighborhood. Writer/director Trace Slobotkin relates the hilariously wacky story at a constant brisk pace, maintains an appropriately amusing tongue-in-cheek tone throughout, and populates the movie with a colorful array of spot-on enjoyable broad stereotypes. This movie further benefits from lively acting from an enthusiastic cast: Urich and Loeb do super work in the lead roles (the romance that develops between these two endearing oddballs is genuinely sweet and charming), Thomas Haden Church almost steals the whole show with his marvelously obnoxious turn as ruthless ramrod gym coach Vince Grimaldi, Corey Feldman has a neat bit as a dorky, buck-toothed hardware store clerk, plus there are fine contributions by Rick Overton as geeky wannabe hip guidance counselor Mr. Korn, George Murdock as crusty, rumpled homicide Detective Ray Berro, Barbara Niven as Casey's concerned mother Donna Noland, Raymond O'Connor as creepy sleazeball voyeur janitor Frank, Stuart Stone as Casey's screwball nerd buddy Emil, and Esther Scott as cheery, earnest school psychiatrist Sally Lindon. The wickedly sidesplitting sense of inspired playfully sick humor elicits plenty of laughs; Casey's deranged daydreams are positively hysterical and the dialogue is often priceless (favorite line: "I have the skill - to kill!"). The final confrontation between Casey and the killer is a total gut-buster. John P. Tarver's slick cinematography, Jeffrey Alan Jones' funky score, and the groovy alt-rock soundtrack all further enhance the infectiously loopy fun to be relished in this absolute hoot.

*SPOILERS For Dummies* 17-year-old Casey Noland (Justin Urich), who has lost his father, a cop, a year before, claims that he's going to be a serial killer to impress his classmate Sasha (Lisa Loeb), who seems to be fascinated by the subject.But there is a killer on the loose on campus, and he has to find him before someone he loves could meet a grisly end. Suspect N° 1 is the gym teacher (Thomas Hayden Church)...'Serial Killing 4 Dummys' is a nice movie which tries to blend dark comedy with thriller, and does a fair job of it, even if some characters and side plots are pretty annoying.Urich works as a leading man, and though there is quite the age difference between her and her character (she's in her 30s and plays a high school student) so does Lisa Loeb, and Thomas Hayden Church gives another top-notch performance.Serial Killing 4 Dummys: 6/10.

I bought the dvd very cheap, had never heard of this movie before, knew none of the actors by name and just went for the title (which incidentally on my copy just read: "Serial Killer"), the summary on the backside ("teen has an obsession to become a serial killer and looks for persons to test his skills on") and the genre-indication "horror". So I figured that I was in for some highschool slashing and akward acting (which can actually be quite amusing when you've nothing better to watch). Surprise!! This is no horror at all, not even scary, and I didn't even sense any pretension to be a parody for a horror-movie. It's just a very funny movie, based on a horror-like theme, which is of course totally unrealistic (a highschool teen who tells everyone that his career-prospective is to be a serial killer) but treated so consistently that you kind of get along with it. It's not hilarious, but has a dry, tongue-in-cheek kind of humour. There's some good acting (Justin Urich, who's very cute by the way, and the mother), and Thomas Haden Church's acting goes in a convincing and funny way totally over the top! I really had a great time watching it. So if anyone can get his hands on it: don't hesitate but buy it!!

This movie has Lisa Loeb casted in it for, as far as I know, her only movie part ever. There are several interesting death scenes and gratuitous comedy. Thomas Hayden Church, aka Loel from "Wings," plays a janitor with a dark side. See it, if you can find it.