Cheaters

This is a complicated movie, because you're not always sure you SHOULD be rooting for the main characters.

The film is about the apparently true story (I never heard about it) of how a teacher encouraged his students to cheat on an academic decathalon. The story was well told, but you're never really made to feel pity towards the characters. The story is told fairly and not just to be entertaining. I suppose it's a morality tale to a certain extent. But, be warned, there is a fair amount of foul language, more than I expected.

Still, a great and well done movie, and I feel will please those who are curious.

This movie presents a real moral dilemna... should students who have always been thought of as losers take the chance and cheat. The teacher has the toughest decision to make- whether to let his students cheat and what to do if they get caught. Jeff Daniels plays the part well- showing how he is torn- wanting his students to get recognition and wanting to teach them right from wrong. This movie is a very good look at the moral questions we all face in life.

I saw this film when it debuted on HBO earlier tonight. I was pretty impressed by the story (by director John Stockwell), about a group of inner city Chicago youths who decide to cheat on their Academic Decathlon exams. The element that drives the story, however, is its performances, especially Jena Malone as Steinmetz student Jolie Fitch and Jeff Daniels as Decathlon advisor Dr. Gerard Plecki.

These youths decide to cheat solely for ambition, to beat the rival Whitney Young Decathlon Team (who wins every year) at the State finals. Basically, they're desperate, being an inner city school whose funding is based mostly on athletics. Daniels goes along with the plan because of this: to make a statement on how much focus is more on athletics and less on academics.

The only reason I decided to watch this film was for Jena Malone, who's one of the more talented young actresses cropping up out of obscurity. She's only fifteen, yet she's a better actress than women twice her age. She's even being compared to a young Jodie Foster. Hopefully, she'll continue to accept performances that aren't from your latest American teen comedies.

I did manage, however, to find a good story out of this, somewhat reminiscent of "Stand and Deliver," which the students actually watch in one scene. Whether or not we agree on Dr. Plecki allowing the students to cheat, we'll always agree that it's the teacher's responsibility to teach, and teach morally. Make up your mind about cheating; this story focuses on cheating and its consequences, and will probably be one of those great films not too many people will see.

Had it been released to theaters, it would've done modestly in the theaters and been critically acclaimed, then fade away after a couple of weeks. But it's good enough to win a few hearts and minds. Watch it for Jena Malone, though. I did, and I wouldn't be surprised if she was nominated for an Emmy here.

I like movies that make me think, not just about contemporary issues, but about ourselves, as human beings. Cheaters is a great movie that does exactly that. The questions it raises are very good ones. Is cheating, even when the deck is stacked against you, wrong, or is it just against the rules? Or as the students in the movie discussed, do two wrongs make a right? Or do two wrongs make it even? Cheaters is a movie about the 1994-95 Steinmetz High School students entering the years academic decathlon, a mammoth competition featuring numerous tests, an interview, and a super quiz. The team that is fielded by their dedicated and respected teacher, Dr Plecki, immediately has three strikes against it: they have no experience, no support from most of the school staff and students, and they're up against the perennial powerhouse and cross-town rival: Whitney Young.

The Academic Decathlon, at least in Chicago and the State of Illinois, isn't really a competition, because Whitney Young has been winning for ten straight years. As Dr Plecki (played fabulously by Jeff Daniels) says "they live, breathe, and eat the decathlon...they recruit for it." So, right away, we know this is definitely a long shot because we know what they're up against. So the title is obviously self-explanatory, of course the only chance they have to win is to cheat.

Although we know this story would have never been told had they not gotten caught cheating, it's not about the destination, it's about the journey. In preparation for the regionals, we see the team really working hard. They fight tooth and nail, but just make it to the state finals, finishing in fifth place. "Jerry, keep it, you didn't know what you were up against" says the Whitney Young coach to Dr Plecki, after both bet money on their teams. We really know these words are heartbreakingly true, and we agree with Dr Plecki when he congratulates the team on a great effort ("I think you guys should be proud of yourselves"). Indeed, the team did very well, considering what they really were up against.

This is the point where things heat up, as one of the students manages to get a copy of the state test, and things really start heating up. Dr Plecki, when he gets the news, encourages the team to use the test to study, if they all agree. When they get to the State competition, using planned tricks, quick and private ways of getting signals, they win with a big improvement in their scores from their regional performance. Whitney Young believes, through suspicion, that they did indeed cheat. The logic being that it is statistically impossible for anyone to have their scores increase that dramatically in only three weeks. We, as an audience who can't help but root for the underdogs, find us hoping they don't get caught and those Whitney Young rich spoiled brats get a dose of their own medicine.

The performances by the teacher and students are fantastic. Jeff Daniels is a very underrated actor and it's refreshing to see him give such a great performance here. He gives the character of Dr Plecki an excellent illustration of anger, confusion, insight, and frustration. The students, especially the one played by Jena Malone (as Jolie Fitch, who, according to the film, helped assemble the team) are just as convincing in their bonding to keep the code of silence. The lawyer for the board of education, who questions them about their cheating in one of the later scenes, said it best: "These kids may be some of the most skilled liars I've ever encountered. They looked me in the eye and lied to me. They scared me."

I will not give away the ending, only that it leads to some very good arguments and the "city gripped by 'Did they or didn't they?' fever." Did Dr Plecki do right? Do you sometimes have to break the rules to change them? Would they have questioned Steinmetz if it were a rich, WASP school, as one of the Steinmetz students points out? These are all questions that the film raises, and leaves for the audience to decide.

The movie doesn't ask anyone to condone cheating, nor does it say that we should condone it. All the movie does is ask the audience to pay attention, and raise questions. It is fair to both sides. I liked the fact that one thing the movie does make clear is: right, wrong, or indifferent, our society is not fair. It doesn't say that the actions of Dr Plecki and the students are okay, but they're understandable due to the circumstances.

I would recommend this film be viewed by all students in their English classes or with their parents. I also believe very strongly that anyone who watches this will be asking themselves questions about the values, morals, and quandaries of today's society. This film is a must see for all students, educators, and parents.

This tv movie basically shows what cheating gets you: short lived triumph and a quick downfall. But this goes way beyond an after school special. This tv movie examines it all as a scandal and goes into great detail about why and what happened. One thing I found interesting about this movie was how people reacted to the Steinmetz High win. Even though we know they cheated, it's interesting to see how some people automatically assume they cheated because they beat out a private school in a game of intelligence. Acting is superb and the whole movie is very realistic. Thumbs up on this one.