The Perfect Score
Metascore
35 out of 100

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 28 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 28
  3. Negative: 12 out of 28
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  1. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    38
    Only sharp dialogue and a suspenseful buglary might have given this lame, quasi morality play some energy. It has neither.
  2. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    38
    Comes tantalizingly close to being interesting.
  3. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    38
    Misses the mark.
  4. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Rick Groen
    38
    Oh, it's perfect all right. In fact, The Perfect Score is a flawless example of the classic January movie release -- the kind of studio picture that even the studio loathes, and so consigns to the dumping ground of the year's frosty first month.
  5. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Marc Mohan
    33
    It's "Ocean's Eleven" for people who can't count past six.
  6. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    30
    At its core the film is as standardized as the exam it seeks to debunk, and nearly as tedious.
  7. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Keith Phipps
    30
    Attempts at high spirits and the presence of Matthew Lillard all suggest that this is supposed to be a comedy.
  8. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    25
    The script, attributed to Mark Schwahn, Marc Hyman and Jon Zack, is as confused as it is confusing, and the aimless direction by Brian Robbins doesn't help. It was apparently edited with a roulette wheel.
  9. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    25
    A dull film with unsympathetic characters brought together by a gimmicky premise that's handled with no imagination and a pristine fraudulence of emotion. Aside from that, it's great.
  10. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    25
    The movie, which strains to be hip in a faux-1985 beat-the-system way, takes such a light view of cheating that it has the ironic effect of rendering the heist that follows utterly innocuous.
  11. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Ed Park
    20
    "X is to Y, as this shit is to boring."
  12. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    20
    Luckily, life (just like the SAT) has its multiple-choice options. You don't actually have to watch this.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.2 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 19 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 11
  3. Negative: 2 out of 11
  1. hoops2448
    2
    The Perfect Score is one of the worst heist movies of all time. The fact that its trying to be a comedy at the same time makes it even worse. The story follows Kyle (Chris Evans) and his friend Matty (Bryan Greenberg) as they try to steal a copy of the SATs with the help of a ragtag group of other slackers with the likes of Scarlett Johansson and Erika Christiansen joining the effort. Sure its a snappy premise that could provide some decent laughs and light hearted enjoyment. However the script is terrible and there is absolutely no conflict in the film. It seems like this 'dangerous' heist is just a late night revision party, which is pretty much what it ends up being. It has no imagination, some incredibly poor performances (Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson) and it just feels like no effort went into the writing at all. It's not empty of merit with at least a decent performance from Erika Christiansen who is always reliable but it comes pretty close.… Full Review »
  2. jAbMaN
    10
    Great combination of two movies in one: The Breakfast Club and Ocean 11. Everyone is great and the high Asian guy is hilarious.
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