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Harvard Man
User Score
7.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 1 out of 6

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  1. ChadS.
    Sep 26, 2004
    5
    This was the film that got made, but "Harvard Man" gave me the impression that we're supposed to speculate about how this story would've unfolded had Alan (Adrian Grenier) not ingested all that LSD. That girl who engineered the drugs is like the screenwriter's antagonist and prevents the narrative from flowing in a lock-step manner. If that's the angle you want to engage with the film from, "Harvard Man" can be construed as being a poor man's Charlie Kaufmann concoction. If you don't, it's a mess. Obviously, casting against type, Joey Lauren Adams is surprisingly convincing as a philosophy professor. Her provocative extra-cirricular activities reminded me of Joan Allen's boot-knockin' in "The Contender", in which, both films challenge our temptation to apply the double-standard that a woman's sex life undermines their ability to be a politician, or college educator, respectively, we can abide by. But Sarah Michelle-Gellar and Adrian Grenier are terrible, or maybe it's the characters they play. … Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. ElizaT.
    Sep 7, 2002
    10
    THIS movie I think, it's really COOL, we teenagers love these kinds of movies!!!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. AlexM.
    Sep 19, 2002
    2
    Preposterous, pretentious, poorly conceived and poorly acted. SMG should have stuck with Scooby Doo. Talented actress Lauren Adams is buried in this film and Al Franken steals the show. Toback has done much, much better. This movie looks and feels like it was thrown together for a quick buck. And a payday is not likely - exhibitors won't touch it and it will be out on VHS before it hits your local cineplex (if ever).… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
49 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 20
  3. Negative: 4 out of 20
  1. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Loren King
    75
    Toback's films deliver a lot of bang for the buck. He's one of the few serious and original directors who can mix group sex and talk of existentialism; a fast-paced basketball sequence cut with scenes of Mafia members plotting a hit; and an in-class philosophy lecture stylishly edited with Alan's memories of a contradictory in-bed discussion.
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  2. New Times (L.A.)
    Reviewed by: Andy Klein
    50
    Toback has taken a distinctly '60s-ish personal experience and done his best to transplant it into the current, vastly different, cultural milieu. Harvard Man is a semi-throwback, a reminiscence without nostalgia or sentimentality.
  3. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Dana Stevens
    70
    Mr. Toback uses his improbable, conventional story as the trelliswork for a series of wild and florid riffs about sex, ethics and the delirium of renegade moviemaking.
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