Answer This!

This is the academic equivalent of a movie where a big time college football coach raises his son to be a quarterback. The son thinks that this is what he wants, but it doesn't make him happy; so he looks to find something to make him happy -- in this case trivia contests and a disturbingly underage girl.

The football coach equivalent dad is a wonderful character, who is a non-actor, real college professor, who basically plays his real life self. His performance alone is worth the price of admission.

The movie portrays something which I haven't seen on the screen before, but which is something which goes on a lot in real world university campuses. Borderline sexual predation by a very mature graduate student, teaching assistant, and an incoming college freshman, straight out of high school. The movie raises just the right amount of discomfiture, but avoids overt creepiness by showing that the girl is much more mature and worldly-wise than is the older man. Ultimately, she controls their relationship, not he.

Along the way, there is gorgeous cinematography of a real Midwestern college town in autumn and several legitimate laugh out loud moments. The most formulaic moment is the ending -- directly inspired by Good Will Hunting, it would appear.

I'd give it 3 stars out of 4 -- since it's a movie about academia, a solid B+.

• Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach CA