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Dead Man on Campus

Generally unfavorable reviews
Based on 14 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 3 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy
Written by:
Michael Traeger
Mike White
Anthony Abrams (story)
Adam Larson Broder (story)
Directed by: Alan Cohn
Release Date:
Theatrical: August 21, 1998
DVD: June 24, 2003
Running Time: 96 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for drug use, language and crude sexual humor
Starring Tom Everett Scott, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Poppy Montgomery, Lochlyn Munro, Randy Pearlstein, Corey Page, Alyson Hannigan, and Shelley Malil
Tom Everett Scott and Mark-Paul Gosselaar play new roommates Josh and Cooper. Josh is the studious type, Cooper's the nothing-succeeds-like-excess guy--a lifestyle that rubs off on Josh and soon has both in danger of flunking out. But there's a catch: a clause in the schools charter awards A's to students who suffer the trauma of a roommate's suicide. So Josh and Cooper set out to find a suicidal roomie who is, uh, Most Likely To Succeed. (Paramount Pictures)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Variety Joe Leydon
Although it falls far short of fulfilling its full potential as a dark comedy of desperation, Dead Man on Campus is a modestly amusing trifle that merits a passing grade as lightweight entertainment.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Sandra Contreras
The story's not much, but this dark comedy contains moments of unexpected wit.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Anita Gates
A predictably dumb movie made for very young audiences, playing to youth's love of excess and loaded with masturbation jokes.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector
This limp 1998 comedy tries hard to be both irreverent and ethical by suggesting that deceit motivated by self-interest is OK as long as no one gets hurt.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
The bad news is that the opening credits, which make sick and darkly comic allusions to suicide, are the best thing about the film.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
As a satire of new-style collegiate types, this MTV production actually evinces a few germs of rancid wit.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
Unfortunately for the poor viewer trapped into sitting through this 95 minute mess, the humor is both conventional and unfunny, the script never takes any chances, and the ending is a cop-out.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
The overall premise, involving mental illness and suicide, isn't all that funny, at least not in practice, and the picture begins to seem labored and long.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Examiner G. Allen Johnson
Dead Man on Campus, a supposed black comedy produced by MTV, is simply awful.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Ron Stringer
The fault lies mostly with the writers, who consistently come up short on wit and imagination enough to finish, let alone flesh out or polish, a joke.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
A dark comedy caught in a white-light washout, it's neither mean enough to be funny, nor funny enough to mean much.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps
It's all handled so poorly that it comes off as more ghoulish than anything else, although those who find the word "bong" instantly entertaining and are easily distracted by the presence of flickering images may be amused.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
Under Alan Cohn's straight-on direction, the film, written by various hands, huffs and puffs mightily just to keep a strenuously labored plot going.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
The product of a first-time director and writers who have no sense of scene structure or shape, or even a discernible sense of humour.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 6.6 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Kevin M. gave it a9:
I'm sorry but this movie is hilarious! You just have to have lived life a little bit to really get to know this movie. I just know watching this movie everyday (literally) just reminds me of how fun MY college years were... this movie never gets boring for those who actually have lived life and their yeras in college, to everyone else, too bad you were a loser.
ed f. gave it a1:
Incoherent. Raises the ontological question "What is a movie and why this is not one."
Michele G. gave it a 10:
I absolutly love this movie its histerical & the part of Lochlyn Munro best suits him....hes definatly the funniest ever because hes so real....he doesnt need to make jokes he can just scream & yell & hes great...I LOVE HIM HES MY FAVORITE.
