''High School'' (also known as ''HIGH school'') is a 2010 American

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the old ...

starring

Adrien Brody Adrien Nicholas Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring as Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's '' The Pianist'' (2002), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Acto ...

. It is the feature-length directorial debut of John Stalberg, Jr. The

film premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its fir ...

d at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

and was theatrically distributed by Anchor Bay Films on June 1, 2012.

Plot

High school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

valedictorian-to-be Henry Burke ( Matt Bush) takes his first hit of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternativel ...

with his ex-best friend Travis (

Sean Marquette Sean Marquette is an American actor, who is best known for his portrayal as Johnny Atkins in '' The Goldbergs'' and '' Schooled'', and for voicing Mac in the Cartoon Network show ''Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'' (2004–2009). Life and ca ...

), only to learn that, due to a

spelling bee A spelling bee is a competition in which contestants are asked to spell a broad selection of words, usually with a varying degree of difficulty. To compete, contestants must memorize the spellings of words as written in dictionaries, and recite ...

champion's recent use of marijuana, their high school is conducting a

drug test A drug test is a technical analysis of a biological specimen, for example urine, hair, blood, breath, sweat, or oral fluid/saliva—to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites. Major applications of dru ...

where anyone caught under the influence of anything will be expelled. Travis knows of a psychotic

drug dealer A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

, known as Psycho Ed (

), who carries an exclusive kind of cannabis called "kief", and the two boys steal the stash and intend on getting the whole school high, to invalidate the drug test and save Henry's future. But Psycho Ed is right on their trail and so is Dr. Gordon, the school dean.

Cast

;Students * Matt Bush as Henry Burke, Morgan High School's top student who has a bright future ahead of him. *

as Travis Breaux, Morgan High School's stoner and all around trouble maker. * Adhir Kalyan as Sebastian Saleem, Henry's academic rival who will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. * Alicia Sixtos as Sharky Ovante, Henry's childhood friend and love interest. * Robert Bailey, Jr. as Jeffery, Henry's friend. * Brett Kelly as Martin Gordon, Principal Gordon's son. *Luis Chavez and Max Van Ville as Big Dave and Little Dave, resident stoners and Travis' friends. * Cody Longo as Chad, a jock who spends most of the film searching for the administration offices. * Camille Mana as Dana, another of Henry's honor roll pals. * Julia Ling as Charlyne Phuc (pronounced like the profanity), a spelling bee champion who gets high before a competition and has everything taken from her. ;Staff *

Michael Chiklis Michael Charles Chiklis ( born August 30, 1963) is an American actor, television director, television producer and musician. He is best known for his role as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Detective Vic Mackey on the FX police drama ''The ...

as Dr. Leslie Gordon, the Principal of Morgan High School. *

Colin Hanks Colin Lewes Hanks (born November 24, 1977) is an American actor. He has starred in films including '' Orange County'', ''King Kong'', '' The House Bunny'', '' The Great Buck Howard'', and the '' Jumanji'' film series. His television credits inclu ...

as Brandon Ellis, the Assistant Dean. *Erica Vittana Phillips as Tameka, Dr. Gordon's receptionist and a victim of his sexual harassment. *

Mary Birdsong Mary Evans Birdsong (born April 18, 1968) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and singer. She has worked in the theater and voiceover work and is a regular cast member on ''Reno 911!'' Early life Birdsong was born in Florida and grew up ...

as Mrs. Gordon, Dr. Gordon's

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere ...

wife. *

Yeardley Smith Martha Maria Yeardley Smith ( ; born July 3, 1964) is an American actress, artist and writer. She currently stars as the voice of Lisa Simpson on the long-running animated television series ''The Simpsons''. Smith became an actress in 1982 aft ...

as Miss Unger, Morgan High School's Computer Skills Teacher who has a sexual fantasy for Bryan Adams. *

Curtis Armstrong Curtis Armstrong (born November 27, 1953) is an American actor and singer best known for playing the role of Booger in the '' Revenge of the Nerds'' movies, Herbert Viola on the TV series '' Moonlighting'', Miles Dalby in the film ''Risky Busine ...

as Mr. Armstrong, Morgan High School's History Teacher. *

Michael Vartan Michael S. Vartan (born November 27, 1968) is a French-American actor, known for his role as Michael Vaughn on the ABC television action drama ''Alias'', his role on the TNT medical drama '' Hawthorne'', and his role on the '' E!'' drama '' The ...

as Calculus Teacher, Morgan High School's Calculus Teacher. ;Other characters *

as Edward "Psycho Ed" Highbaugh, Playa Este's resident drug dealer. *

Mykelti Williamson Mykelti Williamson (born March 4, 1957) is an American actor best known for his roles in the films ''Forrest Gump'', ''Con Air'' and '' Ali'', and the television shows ''Boomtown'', '' 24'', and '' Justified''. In 2016, he portrayed Gabriel Maxs ...

as Paranoid, Psycho Ed's right-hand man. * Andrew Wilson as Hippie Dude, Psycho Ed's friend.

Production

In 2008, principal photography began at the now named Parker Middle School in

Howell, Michigan Howell is the largest city and county seat of Livingston County, Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 9,489. The city is mostly surrounded by Howell Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Howell is part o ...

Reception

''High School'' received almost exclusively positive reviews on its film festival circuit, including the

and

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all t ...

but was delayed by producers for over two years in spite of numerous studio offers to distribute the film. After making changes to the film, music and composed score, the producers finally agreed to release the film through Anchor Bay Films in 2010, garnering mixed reviews with their altered version. , it holds a 28% approval rating on review site

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, based on 54 reviews with an average rating of 4.26/10.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:High School (2010 film) 2010 films 2010 comedy films 2010 directorial debut films 2010 independent films 2010s high school films 2010s teen comedy films American films about cannabis American high school films American independent films American teen comedy films Films shot in Detroit Films scored by the Newton Brothers Films with screenplays by Stephen Susco Stoner films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films