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"HairBrained" was an adequate movie, it wasn't great, nor was it a waste of time. I must admit that I really had expected a little bit more from it.

The story is about an odd friendship between a young 13 year old genius who is attending college and a somewhat mature and out of place student. Despite their differences, they are kindred souls in a way.

There weren't any laughs in the movie to be found anywhere, and the movie was frightfully predictable. But what made the movie bearable to watch was the performances put on by Brendan Fraser and Alex Wolff as the two out-of-place individuals in a college environment.

I didn't really get the deal with the strange hair on the Eli Pettifog character, it was just too much and it was a nuisance to look at throughout the entire movie.

"HairBrained" is the type of movie that you are most likely to watch once and not bother to pick up to watch a second time, because it just doesn't have enough contents to support more than a single watching.

Overall the movie is fairly enjoyable but it has some turns that just feels very forced and contrived.

And although the cast does a fine job there are some random character developments with some of the smaller roles that seem to happen instantly and completely out of the blue, for instance the popular girl who's personality literally changes from one scene to the next in one moment of the film.

And other random odd ideas, which doesn't seem like they were meant to be funny but just poor script-writing and lack of knowledge of human interaction or potentially something made up on spot while filming.

I won't go into too much details as I don't like to spoil movies but I'm sure if you watch it you'll figure out instances I could be referring to.

Anyways besides that yeah it's fairly entertaining it's just not as good as it could have been.

Oh and despite Brendan Fraser and Alex Wolff's tennis get-up on the poster I don't actually remember them playing tennis once in the movie (and I just watched it) so unless I dozed off a minute and they did that for 20 seconds then there's no tennis in this movie (and that seems unlikely).

There is a difference between genius and an encyclopædic recall of trivia that the makers of HairBrained either fail to appreciate or failed to convey.

Overall, the movie is a reasonable diversion with a few humorous moments and decent performances by Brendan Fraser and Alex Wolff. Production values are on the level of a television program. Most of the shots are static with more motion from the jiggly-cam camera movement than the actors.

The plot is contrived. Wolff plays a thirteen-year-old genius who feels outcast but lacks the common sense to cut his comically exaggerated Afro that seems better suited to a Mel Brooks farce or one of the Police Academy films, and adds nothing to the narrative other than a raison d'être for a lame title that itself has little to do with the story. He looks and moves like a wannabe rock star, but his musical talents seem limited to playing a toy xylophone.

The greatest contrivance is the rule book for the competition, which includes harebrained rules that provide deus ex machina plot twists. The Whitman College team has an alternate contestant, whose presence facilitates two plot twists, while the Yale team has no alternate, which facilitates another deus ex machina plot twist.

The questions posed to the contestants more often seem drawn from trivia games than designed to assess intellectual acumen. Most are answered from memory by the contestants. A notable exception asks for the longest English word that can be played on a musical instrument. Several characters mouth words as they attempt to compute the response. But it seems hollow as it doesn't seem credible that they would be able to consider every possible permutation of seven letters that spell words.

Nothing in the movie seems quite real. We see the students doing homework, but never attending classes. We don't see any professors. Wolff's character is bullied, but not with any conviction. Brandon's character can pay full tuition, offer a thousand-dollar reward and purchase a commuter van, but he can't replace his decade-old car or even repair the soft top.

Other contrivances include the enrollment of a student known to Fraser's character and the handling of a bet.

The central love angle seems credible, but two other romantic subplots don't seem realistic. One involves an older student who aggressively pursues Wolff's character, only to inexplicably morph into a friend and confidant. The other involves Fraser's character breaking off a romance with a college student (played by an actress who looks to be in her mid or late twenties) because the inappropriate age differential seems weird.

The script is largely formulaic. There are mildly amusing moments, but the writers never push the envelope, except with a few homoerotic sight gags that seem more uncomfortable than funny.

The protagonists arrive at the conclusion through plot contrivances and regurgitation of knowledge they apparently had at the beginning of the film. The conflicts they overcome are largely internal, such as shyness and self-doubt. The moral seems to be something to the effect that personal victories don't require external validation. Whatever the film is about, it has nothing to do with being harebrained.

Review: This is one of those low budget comedies about a teenage school kid who is a genius. Because of his advanced mind, he enters the college mastermind competitions with the major goal of beating Harvard. With his new found friend, an 41 year old student played by Fraser, and his 3 team mates, they battle through the competition achieving more than expected. I personally didn't find this movie that funny or even slightly interesting. If you don't take the movie that seriously, then it's light hearted fun, but the storyline is quite weak and the acting wasn't anything spectacular. There are a couple of scenes which were quite amusing, but it's not a movie that I will be watching again in a hurry. Disappointing!

Round-Up: As I hadn't heard of this movie before, I wasn't expecting that much. I was shocked to see that Brendan Fraser was in this movie because it seemed more like a college teenage film, but after watching it, I do see the point of his casting. He has definitely had one of the weirdest careers to date, because he has made some really bad movies and then he will casted in a blockbuster. From the Mummy franchise and G.I. Joe, to silly movies like Furry Vegeance and Bedazzled, he really has had a versatile career. I did like him in Crash and Gimme Shelter so he does have his good moments, which are mostly when he is playing serious roles. In this movie he has gone into comedic mode, but personally I didn't find him that funny. 

I recommend this movie to people who are into there teenage movies about a college genius who enters mastermind competitions to try and beat Harvard. 3/10

I actually liked this movie, although I can see why others wouldn't. When I started watching, I thought it was a Brendan Frasier film, but it is most definitely not. Although he does a fine job in it, he is most definitely in a supporting role here. The acting was all around pretty good and the jokes, although a bit obscure, were quite good. It seemed to be fairly well written, and definitely had a certain " feel " to it from beginning to end. My suggestion would be that if you enjoy Wes Anderson films, you'll probably enjoy this. It's not quite as Quirky and odd, but definitely has the same vibe to it. Would definitely recommend for a rental.

Oh man, where do I start to express my disappointment with this horrid movie ? It's incredible to believe that Brendan Fraser can sink lower in his career, but this film proves that anything is possible. This is probably the worst acting in his filmography. Also the script is boring, lame, stupid and predictable. Directing is one of the worst I have seen... ever. The kid is annoying beyond believe. They make a desperate attempt to make him be cute and tender, but the results are lame. Large parts of the movie try to be funny, but they are filled with clichés and absurd, non funny scenes... The perfect cure for insomnia.

We loved HairBrained - it's got a real 80s teenage movie vibe meets college days with a hipster indie streak - it's silly, and cool, and just kooky enough to be off the beaten track without going AWOL.

The plot of the 13 yr old genius (Alex Wolff) gets to go to college and his adventures is one to simply kickback to and enjoy. Brendan Frasier and he make good foils for each other and the film has plenty of nice touches.

It subverts the sports / college genre nicely and all in all you could do a lot worse if you want a good sports comedy.

One of my favorite films of the year so far - honestly? A fun and original movie - and we don't get to say that often enough these days....

This - "I want to be a funny movie" - almost gets there, but falls short.

It's got good script, plot, photography, settings, characters, but it stumbles along and I think the trouble is with the editing. The entire movie is choppy bits of story and few scenes flow well into the next. I'm at a loss to clearly express my feelings; just as this movie is at a loss to be really good.

Wolff and Fraser make a good team but the experience of Fraser's background in acting make Wolff appear a bit amateurish (but that is understandable by his age) it just was another problem for me to like the end product.

It's fun enough to rent.

I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel! One of the most beautifully written movies I've ever seen, Hairbrained is funny and emotional with a cool vibe through and through. It is amazingly acted, the music is terrific and I've never felt better leaving a movie theater. It is everything a movie should be -- funny, emotional, and leaves the theater goer wishing there was more. Adam Weirzbianski deservingly received Best Screenplay at the Brooklyn Film Festival, and Alex Wolff received Best Actor. Brendan Fraser and Parker Posey are incredible in this movie. I cannot explain how every person should see this movie -- a great tale of friendship and love. This is a DO NOT MISS! I wish all movies were this fun and quirky.

Decent watch, probably won't watch again, and can't sincerely recommend.

I like Brendan Fraser well enough and he nailed it in this support role, but Alex Wolff pretty much carries the movie, playing off of everyone else wonderfully.

It is rare to have a collegiate coming of age story, but they managed to cover the idiosyncrasies of a young genius in a new world quite well.

What really breaks me from the movie is the slew of crimes being committed against Eli as he is 13-14 years old.

The other thing is that trivia isn't the most exciting thing, as exampled by the movie. They could have easily done an applied science competition that would have been a bit more compelling.

While I don't regret watching this subtle, slice of life story, there just isn't much to say about it: just very little payoff.

This is not a real review, it should be understood more as a collection of impressions on the film.

From my point of view, a fairly underrated film that entertains and amuses a lot, even if with a fairly banal and predictable plot, the film is still well developed and full of twists and turns that entertain the viewer very well. So if you are looking for a quiet and fun film to spend some time peacefully, this film is in my opinion a fairly right choice as the film doesn't have too many pretensions except that of being light and fun, and let's say it achieves this very well. In conclusion, in my opinion the film is worth it.

This is, hands down, the best movie I have ever seen. I discovered it on Netflix and watched it 4 times in one night. Over the course of a week, I have watched it another 5. I don't know what it is about this movie, but it brings a smile to my face. Alex Wolff has been one of my favorites since he was young, and seeing him grow up was amazing. His acting has improves so much. Julia always impresses me and she is so beautiful. The story line is great and I think it teaches a good lesson. It's just beautiful. Something about it resonated so well inside of me and made it life changing for me.

Now, I am off to watch it again and again. Please watch!

Not another teenage comedy, with boy who whant to fit in and nobody understand him. Ely is not a typical nerd, who is bullied by football players and in love with the pretties girl on the campus. His best friend is 41 years old gambler and he have a grouppie, who want to have baby with him. So, if you want to watch something oryginal, and you're hair brained, watch that.