Loser (film)
Encyclopedia
Loser is a 2000 American romantic comedy film
starring Jason Biggs
, Mena Suvari
and Greg Kinnear
. It is about a small town teenager who is accepted into New York University
and must cope with the pressures of college life and the big city. It has many similar themes to The Apartment
.
) is a fish out of water kid from the Midwest who arrives in New York City
.
Attending college at NYU, Paul runs into repeated complications and mishaps, usually brought on by his roommates, three spoiled, obnoxious party animals.
When Paul is branded a loser and kicked out by his roommates, he settles in a room at a veterinary clinic where, by accident, he meets and falls in love with Dora Diamond (Mena Suvari
), a fellow coed who is dating her unscrupulous literature professor (Greg Kinnear
).
Cameos
n box office making US$6,008,611 in its opening weekend. The film was met with mixed to negative reviews, with Roger Ebert
giving the film two stars out of four. It scored 4.3/10 at Rotten Tomatoes
, with a "Rotten" rating of only 25%. However, online film critic James Berardinelli
gave the film 3.0/4.0 stars, stating that the film was one of the "pleasant surprises" of the 2000 film season.
The film generated a total of US$15.6 million in the US. It failed further when released worldwide, grossing a total of just US$2.7 million. The film was therefore unable to break even on its production costs.
Romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...
starring Jason Biggs
Jason Biggs
Jason Matthew Biggs is an American actor who is best known for his role as Jim Levenstein in the American Pie series of teen comedy films.-Personal life:...
, Mena Suvari
Mena Suvari
Mena Alexandra Suvari is an American actress, fashion designer, and model. Shortly after beginning her career as a model, she appeared in guest roles on 1990's television shows such as Boy Meets World and High Incident...
and Greg Kinnear
Greg Kinnear
Gregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
. It is about a small town teenager who is accepted into New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and must cope with the pressures of college life and the big city. It has many similar themes to The Apartment
The Apartment
The Apartment is a 1960 American comedy-drama film produced and directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray. It was Wilder's follow-up to the enormously popular Some Like It Hot and, like its predecessor, was a commercial and critical hit, grossing $25...
.
Plot
On an academic scholarship, Paul Tannek (Jason BiggsJason Biggs
Jason Matthew Biggs is an American actor who is best known for his role as Jim Levenstein in the American Pie series of teen comedy films.-Personal life:...
) is a fish out of water kid from the Midwest who arrives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Attending college at NYU, Paul runs into repeated complications and mishaps, usually brought on by his roommates, three spoiled, obnoxious party animals.
When Paul is branded a loser and kicked out by his roommates, he settles in a room at a veterinary clinic where, by accident, he meets and falls in love with Dora Diamond (Mena Suvari
Mena Suvari
Mena Alexandra Suvari is an American actress, fashion designer, and model. Shortly after beginning her career as a model, she appeared in guest roles on 1990's television shows such as Boy Meets World and High Incident...
), a fellow coed who is dating her unscrupulous literature professor (Greg Kinnear
Greg Kinnear
Gregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
).
Cast
- Jason BiggsJason BiggsJason Matthew Biggs is an American actor who is best known for his role as Jim Levenstein in the American Pie series of teen comedy films.-Personal life:...
as Paul Tannek - Mena SuvariMena SuvariMena Alexandra Suvari is an American actress, fashion designer, and model. Shortly after beginning her career as a model, she appeared in guest roles on 1990's television shows such as Boy Meets World and High Incident...
as Dora Diamond - Greg KinnearGreg KinnearGregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
as Professor Edward Alcott - Zak OrthZak OrthZak Orth is an American comedic actor known for his roles in Wet Hot American Summer, The Baxter, Melinda and Melinda, In and Out, and Music and Lyrics...
as Adam - Tom SadoskiThomas SadoskiThomas Sadoski is an American actor. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play and the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance...
as Chris - Jimmi SimpsonJimmi SimpsonJames Raymond "Jimmi" Simpson is an American actor. He has had recurring roles on the television shows 24, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Psych, My Name Is Earl, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and The Late Show with David Letterman...
as Noah - Bobby SlaytonBobby SlaytonBobby Slayton is an American stand-up comedian known as "The Pit Bull of Comedy" and Yid Vicious. Slayton, a native of Scarsdale, New York, is probably best known for a supporting role in the 2001 film Bandits, and as a frequent guest on The Adam Carolla Show.He played Joey Bishop in the 1998...
as Sal - Dan AykroydDan AykroydDaniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
as Mr. Tannek - Twink CaplanTwink CaplanTwink Caplan is an American actress, comedian and producer. She is probably best known for her roles in Amy Heckerling's box office hits Clueless and the Look Who's Talking series.-Biography:...
as Gena - Andrea MartinAndrea MartinAndrea Louise Martin is an American and Canadian actress and comedienne. She has appeared in films such as My Big Fat Greek Wedding, on stage in productions such as My Favorite Year, Fiddler on the Roof and Candide, and in the television series, SCTV.-Personal life:Martin, the oldest of three...
as Professor - Robert MianoRobert Miano-Early life:Robert Miano was born in New York City and raised in the Southeast Bronx area.At the age of 15, he started a fledgling singing career when a talent agent heard him singing with a doo-wop group on a Bronx street corner...
as Victor - Meredith Scott LynnMeredith Scott LynnMeredith Scott Lynn is an American actress, producer, and director. She attended the High School of Performing Arts in New York City.-Filmography:-Television:-Producer:* Designing Blind TV series...
as Dog-loving girl - Stuart CornfeldStuart CornfeldStuart Cornfeld is a film producer, business partner with Ben Stiller in the company, Red Hour Productions, and an actor. His hometown is Tarzana, California, and he attended the University of California at Berkeley in the early 1970s...
as Foreman - Taylor NegronTaylor NegronBrad Taylor Negron is an American writer, actor, and stand-up comedian.-Personal life:Negron was born in Glendale, California to Conrad Negron, Sr., former mayor of Indian Wells, California. He grew up in Pasadena, California. His cousin is singer Chuck Negron...
as Photographer - Martin RoachMartin RoachMartin Jamie Roach is a Canadian actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles on Aaron Stone as T. Abner Hall and in the films Cube Zero, Diary of the Dead, and The Lookout.-Filmography:* Producing Parker as Dr...
as Veterinarian - Catherine BlackCatherine Black (actress)Catherine Black is a Canadian film, TV and stage actress. Black is best known for starring opposite Peter Weller in one episode of the science fiction Showtime series, Odyssey 5, playing Vanden, opposite Christian Bale, in the 2000 cult thriller classic, American Psycho directed by Mary Harron,...
as Military jacket girl
Cameos
- Steven WrightSteven WrightSteven Alexander Wright is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is known for his distinctly lethargic voice and slow, deadpan delivery of ironic, philosophical and sometimes nonsensical jokes and one-liners with contrived situations.-Early life and career:Wright was born in Mount Auburn...
as Bar dude - Andy DickAndy DickAndrew R. "Andy" Dick is an American comedian, actor, musician and television/film producer. His first regular television role was on the short-lived but highly influential Ben Stiller Show. In the mid-1990s, he had a long-running stint on NBC's NewsRadio...
as Office clerk - Colleen CampColleen CampColleen Celeste Camp is an American actress and film producer, known for her performances in two installments of the Police Academy series and as Yvette the Maid in the 1985 black comedy Clue. She was also the first actress to play Kristin Shepard in U.S. prime time soap opera Dallas in 1979.Camp...
as Homeless woman - David SpadeDavid SpadeDavid Wayne Spade is an American actor, comedian and television personality who first became famous in the 1990s as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and from 1997 until 2003 when he starred as Dennis Finch on Just Shoot Me!. He also starred as C.J...
as Video store clerk - Alan CummingAlan CummingAlan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
as Himself / Emcee - Greg EklundGreg EklundGreg Eklund was the American drummer for the rock band, Everclear, until 2003.Eklund attended high school at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia, graduating in 1988...
as Himself - Craig MontoyaCraig MontoyaCraig Montoya is the American bassist of Castella and Tri-Polar and former bassist of Everclear.-Early life:...
as Himself - Brian BackerBrian BackerBrian Backer is an American actor who has starred in film and on television. He is best known for his role in the 1982 hit comedy film Fast Times at Ridgemont High as shy teenager Mark "Rat" Ratner...
as Doctor - EverclearEverclear (band)Everclear is a rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1992 best known for their radio hits spanning more than a decade. For most of its existence, Everclear has consisted of Art Alexakis , Craig Montoya , and Greg Eklund . Eklund replaced original drummer Scott Cuthbert in 1994...
as Themselves
Reception
The film opened at #8 at the North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n box office making US$6,008,611 in its opening weekend. The film was met with mixed to negative reviews, with Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
giving the film two stars out of four. It scored 4.3/10 at Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, with a "Rotten" rating of only 25%. However, online film critic James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Personal life:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. At the age of nine years, he relocated to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
gave the film 3.0/4.0 stars, stating that the film was one of the "pleasant surprises" of the 2000 film season.
The film generated a total of US$15.6 million in the US. It failed further when released worldwide, grossing a total of just US$2.7 million. The film was therefore unable to break even on its production costs.