So, here's a thoughtful review of a film I had no intention to watch it since I haven't heard of it up until now that it got a new life and a
new momentum thanks to the wave of radicalism that infested our current politics in recent years. Maybe this opening sentence is far too serious for
a dumb film that doesn't deserve such introduction but hear me out. Back in 2017 when this was released it didn't cause any impact except getting some
viewers attention and lots of negative criticism. But now, in 2022, somehow this movie was ressurected from the ashes of idealogical right-wingers
who found objectionable things in its content and thanks to their outcry and pressue during the week I'm writing this review, well, the debate about
censorship is the talk of the town and this movie is all to blame. "Como se Tornar o Pior Aluno da Escola" is now target of the Ministry of Justice
after supporters of president Bolsonaro made denounces against the film arguing that the movie encourages cases of pedophilia, due to a controversial
scene I'll discuss later on; and a while ago it was denounced by the Justice Department that the movie should be removed from all media platforms who
makes it available. Therefore, a severe case of censorship.
But let's talk about the movie and then we'll return to the current affairs. "Como se Tornar o Pior Aluno da Escola" ("How to Become the Worst Student
of School") tells the story of two teenagers (Daniel Pimentel and Bruno Munhoz) who have a rough time at school and decide to follow the footsteps of a
veteran former student (Danilo Gentili), who left behind a notebook that teaches in how to become the worst student possible and also manages to get an
A+ as scores in order to graduate. Both kids are good students but one of them starts to fall behind thanks to a personal tragedy that left without any
motivation to keep studying, so he finds the notebook and tracks down the student, now a late 30's guy who lives an incredible life of parties, women,
cigars and living on a fancy hotel - even though we find out he uses of tricks and schemes to provide for such a life.
The unnamed worst student works as a lousy mentor to the kids, teaching them how to vandalize the school, play pranks on teachers and colleagues, to
use of nicknames to bully other students and other crazy stuff. As for the plan of making one of the kids get the desired high score on a math test,
well, it's all secondary to the pranks the guy does on the kids. In one idiotic moment, the duo tries to rob the lunch from younger kids and end up
being beaten and peed on by smaller kids. And that's the routine of the movie except when we have moments involving the school principal (brilliantly
played by the eternal Quico from "El Chavo del Ocho", Carlos Villagrán) where he tries to make of this school the most exemplary place ever. But when
he's off-screen we depend on the charisma of the two main stars, both great kids, and the nasty, debauched appeal of Gentili - who wrote the book in
which this was based on.
But let's get real: is the movie funny? Sort of, funny in a chaotic way as similar projects tend to go. However, most of the time it tries to be
funny at other people's expense. For example: when Gentili humiliates the fat kid by using plenty of slurs about how the kid should identify himself
with his new nicknames, it's just stupid or whenever they are called "Cabaço" ("pinhead") time and again, it's like the writers are only using of
targeting and offending people a way to be funny. Sometimes that device works but most of the time it's just repetitive and gets on the nerves. It also
encourages bullying, specially coming from an older man against a pair of kids - they get a lot of mistreatment under the hands of their new "teacher".
He's very abusive but at least he gets beaten by one of the kids towards the ending.
Is this movie good? No way, it almost got there thanks to the use of some fun ideas and sequences but overall it's just a minor waste of time that
now it's getting all the attention it didn't deserved (and for the wrong reasons as well). But it all depends on higher minds to observe and understand
that the reasons the movie is getting all the hate lately is totally uncalled for. Here's a movie that depends on cheap jokes, uninteligent moments,
escatological and disgusting bits, and two or three sequences worthy of view (such as the kids stealing the school van filled with young kids, later on
they are followed by the school principal in a hilarious chase sequence).
Does the movie deserves all the backlash is getting in 2022? Absolutely not. The debated scene involving a pedophile interacting with the kids
asking for a handjob is certainly questionable and unnecessary (and completely unfunny, if one similar scene could ever be funny but this is a comedy
so one would expect some kind of humor but there isn't). The way people are deconstructing the movie by telling that the scene encourages pedophilia
is just as absurd of the criticism of violent movies creating and celebrating violent people in real life. As for what the Justice Minister did was at
first to recommend a new viewers classification so kids won't be able to watch and parents will have more control than it escalated to the film's censorship five years
after its release. And why now this is happening you may ask. Simply because creator and leading man Danilo Gentili isn't a supporter of the current
government, which he helped to elected and he was praised by all its main figures; now he's a pariah and someone decided to take action against his film.
Now both sides are playing fire with fire on Twitter about their ideologies and this film.
Gotta love this whole debate about censorship in Brazil since we suffered a long way with this when it comes to the arts, before and after the
dictatorship. But in the 21st Century, along with "A Serbian Film" back of its release in Rio, this movie is getting a lot of buzz, wanted and unwanted
attention. It's just a pity that this is the kind of film that didn't deserve anything but bad reviews after another simply because it isn't good, it
isn't funny, it isn't thoughtful and the only thing it encourages actually is telling kids that they don't need to be good students after all, they can
allow themselves to fail and repeat another year as long as they have the time of their lives while partying, doing wrong things and messing people's lives.
As for the other accusations the film is getting, it's all ludicrous things coming from small-minded people who haven't got time to chill out and think
this is just a movie...and a weak one. 5/10.
