Une chance pour tous

Listen to Me is, quite frankly, spectacularly bad, which makes it hard to rate. It was, quite unintentionally, hysterical at moments, and I love such great debating advice as, "We're not going to win with facts, so let's go for drama!" and suggesting that a new plan should be run in the 2AR. As other reviewers have noted, it does NOT represent debate very accurately at all, and is highly melodramatic and overwrought. However, as a debater (policy for 2 years in high school, now into my 3rd year of parliamentary in college), I enjoyed watching it, at least once, because it was so unintentionally funny. My coach last spring had us watch it during a meeting and we all laughed nonstop because of its inherent stupidity. My advice: if you're a debater, you might think this hilarious. If you're not, you might not enjoy it. Additionally, don't for a moment think that's how REAL debate is done. Just to pick one example, I cannot even begin to imagine my coach advising me to make up stories in order to win rounds. Side note of interest to debaters: Tom Miller, who is a debate official in the film, is an actual college debate coach at UCLA.

OK already! The debate scenes don't reflect true-to-life college debating environments. The characters were clichéd and one dimensional. Some of it is preachy. I grant you all that, other reviewers. But first of all, what a cool concept for a movie...a debate team at Pepperdine. I love it. I consider myself creative, but I could never have come up with that idea. Score one for the screenwriter, or whomever pitched the idea. Roy Scheider is so appealing on screen. I love that guy. I understand he was a Liberal in real life. I don't care. I still like him.His best scene is when he tells a story about his mother. Kirk Cameron's best scene is when he is trying to get his debate partner and date to loosen up in his dorm room. He played it with down-to-earth realism and sincerity. The biggest mistake of the film is Cameron's accent. Why not just make his character be from a small town in Eastern Oregon, OR hire an actor who is actually from Oklahoma or Texas?? His earnest attempt to do the accent drew away from his effort to portray the other aspects of his character. Abortion?? Come on. College kids debating that before the Supreme Court in the late 80s? What a lazy choice. It was like the writer or the film makers didn't want to rack their brains a bit and come up with something more original. That choice kind of ruined the film for me, although I realize that the whole Jami Gertz character was based on it's tie to this issue. Wow, Tim Quill nailed the noblesse oblige patrician with a hankering for the written word. But can't you be both a politician and a writer at the same time, or maybe write, before or after a political career? His character was choosing between the two career paths, but maybe he didn't need to. The politician Fred Grandy was an actor on the Love Boat before politics. Fred Thompson combined the two. Law and Order and politics. So I don't buy the conflict. Get rid of the sketch artist. I didn't get it at all. There is a kid who keeps sketching the people we see, but he never speaks. It was gratuitous. I loved the use of the classic 80s tune "Forever Young," set to a driving sequence on the Pacific Coast Highway, as well as the Celine Dion opening track, long before her fame. Watch it for its' camp, for the early resume of Gertz and Cameron, for the beach setting, and for the unique plot vehicle, college debating.

Amanda Peterson! Peter DeLuise! Jami Gertz! AMANDA PETERSON! Wow man.

This is a kick down memory lane. Amanda Peterson, afflicted with "The

Limp": "No - YOU be careful. I'M fine. I'll walk again - normally -

someday. And I'll ride a horse again. And maybe I'll even, dance, again

someday. So don't you or any of the rest of you here - feel sorry for

me, because I won't f**king stand for it." (massive applause from

debating audience).

Can you feel it? CAN YOU FEEL IT? Leave your cynicism at the door and

let this movie wash over you like warm bath water. I don't know what

else to say.

Now to you, the layman this movie may seem like a contrived piece of crap. Sure the acting is awful, the writing cliche, and the plot looks like something thrown together from some beverly hills 90210 episodes. And I know that for any debators out there the accuracy to real debate is slim to none. But if you are a sensitive person you can look deeper and see what is probably the most compelling story ever conceived. This is a true morality play. The rich kid dies after trying to rape a girl, granted the rape made no sense but go with it, kirk cameron pulls off a southern accent!!!! And those harvard jerks! THEY HAVE SLICKED BACK HAIR. If you don't see this movie you will go to hell.

I wasted two hours of my life watching this movie. I can't believe that I am wasting more time thinking about it and writing about it. But I must warn others who stumble upon this comment. Avoid this movie. Do not see it. I'm sure that after the actors made this movie, they felt so stupid that they never were seen in public again. This is the worst. I wanted it all to end.