Dean Slater: Resident Advisor

Dean Slater: Resident Adviser was a great surprise. It is easy to assume mediocrity when a movie skips the big screens. Then again, I don't have much experience with these low budget films outside of nature documentaries on netflix. I am not the biggest fan of college themed movies either. Bearing biases, I enjoyed RA for it's creative filming, plot, and easy to watch acting.

The awkward moments of college were brought to life quickly. The movie actually hinges on awkward college life and this is a good thing. Growing up is awkward, and especially amidst your peers. Those that critique this aspect of the film are probably still reconciling their own youthful travails. The young cast had to have felt a tinge of red on their cheeks during the filming.

The highlight of the plot was when the internet was forcefully shut down, effectively halting access to text messages and facebook. The campus wide panic that resulted was beautiful, and a great tribute to the joys of interacting face to face (awkward or smooth), rather than through the hyped mediums of the 21st of the century (that decrease the stakes of an awkward interaction). The scene of great angst and confusion where the students lacked access to their phones was not exaggerated either.

The college students today would react similarly if they found themselves without access to facebook. I have seen my students use it voraciously when given free seconds. The social media snowball is racing downhill to create the next interactive platform into which the young and curious can stare into endlessly. But what about staring deeply into the eyes of your next best friend, or loved one? The writers of RA showed their concern in regards to the direction of everyday interaction on college campuses today. This made the movie for me.

The filming separated the movie from other non big screeners. It was tidy, clean and creative. The introductory scene and credits were excellent. 007 movies always kick off with an action scene and seductive opening credits. RA proved similar with less alterations and more props - which was impressive and had you buckling up rather than taking a bathroom break. Christian, Colin, and Scott are hopefully polishing up the plot of their second movie by now. I'm an eager fan.

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?"

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 did the 3 day rental on Amazon, and watched it over and over again! Loved the cast, the film work, the directing, and of course the kendamas! Colin Sander did an amazing job directing the movie, and I would highly recommend any of his works! I am definitely suggesting watching it and purchasing it too if you watch movies often! It has everything that you'd want in a college comedy film. There are life lessons to be learned from watching this, stories to be shared, and even ways to relate to the movie. Like stated previously in another review, after watching this movie, you indeed may not feel the same afterwards.

It's fun and frivolous but has some unique social commentary mixed into it. I enjoyed watching it. I think there's something for most people if they give it a chance. The score of 4.3/10 is BS it's much better than that. I had the chance to finally get a smart phone, get into using it then have it break. I went back to a normal phone while it was exchanged. The thing is when I got another smart phone it was just a phone to me. This is something that should be a part of everyone's experience as it puts things in perspective. This movie is about that sort of thing. Being unplugged. Great movie.