Dean Slater: Resident Advisor

While "Dean Slater: Resident Adviser" is not amongst the worst of teen comedies, then it is neither amongst the best of them.

"Dean Slater: Resident Adviser" is a fairly adequate movie. It has some good and bright moments here and there, but this is hardly the type of comedy that will have you in tears from laughing. Sure, there were moments from time to time that proved funny and broke laughs. But in overall, then the movie wasn't riding high on laughs and comedy.

The story is straight forward, easy to follow and basically what you would expect from a movie such as this.

However, what carried the movie was the gallery of characters. The characters in the movie were well-portrayed and fleshed out on the screen. But characters are, of course, almost nothing without talented actors to bring the characters to life on the screen. And I will say that the people on the cast list in "Dean Slater: Resident Adviser" were doing good jobs with their given roles.

While not a movie that will leave a lasting impression, then "Dean Slater: Resident Adviser" is good entertainment for a single watching.

I have been a fan of Nathalia Ramos' for a few years now and when I heard her new movie, Dean Slater, was being released I thought I would at least look it up and see what it was. I then found that it was a direct-to-video release and I had my doubts. Regardless I paid the $3.99 on iTunes and rented it. Like my title suggests, it was not what I expected. I half-expected a cheap budget, weak acting, and a horrendous, stupid plot. I was actually surprised to find that I enjoyed the movie. True it is not Citizen Kane by any stretch nor a Mel Brooks or Monty Python comedy. It seems to be a take on the eighties movies that I grew up. The humor is basically sophomoric (of course there's farting and a guy who likes to urinate), but hey I enjoy that style sometimes. The story itself centers around three college freshmen and their replacement RA, the mysterious and banished former SCSU student Dean Slater. Dean is to them, their guru who teaches them to experience college and life in general. Being one who doesn't actually own a cell phone I agreed with most of what they had to say. Yes, the plot actually had something to say. Not always well, but it did have a moral. The acting was for the most part pretty good, and the scenes didn't looked slapped together. The writing was okay, some of it seemed forced, and I will admit some dialogue just seemed stupid to me. Not funny stupid, just not needed. That and it seemed the three writers tried a little too hard to fit in too many things plot-wise in the allotted 83 minutes. Plus there were a few things missing that could have been explained. Overall, though I still found myself enjoying the movie. Something I find not that often with today's movies. If you're looking for something intelligent with a deep message, don't bother. If you're looking for something silly, to entertain you for a short time I would suggest this. Heck, you could do worse.

Movies about the American college experience are silly, and this raises the bar. The reality of the American college environment is unreal, and so any comedy flick on the subject is by nature exploitative. Which reminds me to write that screenplay on my very real college experience that laid the groundwork for the next 20 years of my life.

The bottom line: this is an incredibly silly movie specific to California college life. It is not particularly awful and has some poignant and well thought out comedic moments. It has, as a major theme, the abuse of social media, which, given the sorry state of American culture these days - with people sharing a meal paying more attention to their cell phones than their company - is a real concern. This B-Grade flick makes the unpopular argument that the pervasiveness of social media is excessive, and that we we need to find a balance.

"Are you Amish?"

Hearkening back to the 80's college comedy aesthetic this movie tackles the modern dilemma of social media vs. real world interaction. Set at the fictitious Southern California State University the movie follows three freshmen boys who, struggling to overcome their high school identities, find guidance from a long-lost alum standing in as their resident adviser.

On screen you see a lot of pretty young faces and bodies (a couple of the actors are of Disney and Nickelodean pedigree) and a surprisingly diverse assortment of locations from desert to campus to beach to an elaborate data-network center.

Things begin with the usual college antics...partying and partying then paying the price. This all comes with some laughs. A lot of the gags are of the gross out variety and I have to say that despite myself I was laughing out loud at some of the absurd potty humor (particularly a case of drunken toilet bowl mix-up).

There is a love story or two for the hopeless romantics but the emotions seem to take back seat to silliness as the story moves forward towards it's internet defying climax.

The acting is all good enough with the one stand out being Mitchel Jarvis of "Keith Stone" infamy who plays the pseudo-lead Dean Slater. Jarvis brings some real gusto to his scenes with a mix of Gene Wilder Willy Wonka and Johny Depp Jack Sparrow making for a strangely transfixing character.

With their coincidentally freshman effort, Colin Sander (writer, director) and Christian Sander (writer, producer) have made a movie with all the signs of a young and enthusiastic cast and crew having fun and learning as they go along. There are plenty of little things to criticize with the story and structure, but with this kind of movie it's really not worth getting worked up over. Delivering a good dose of laughs and surprises this is worth the rental fee.

P.S. The credit sequence (though perhaps coming in a little late) is fantastic. I hope to see more of that creativity in the next Sander Bro's collaboration.

To start off,

this movie was both entertaining and philosophical. The film offers aspects of humor I have never seen used in film. The film makers used many different techniques to amuse and entertain the audience. Each scene was not only quite amusing and often made me laugh out loud, but provided a look into the human mind. A lighthearted moral guide. Many lessons to be learned from this unbelievable film.

I can't say enough about the hysterical humor presented in this movie.

There can only be great things and better films to come in the future from this ultra- talented group of cinematographers. This is a true masterpiece if studied and observed with an open mind. I recommend this film to anyone who wants a brief look into mind of the American adolescent.

Be warned that you may never feel the same after watching this film.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this film. I enjoyed every second.