“Harvard Man” (2001) seems in a rush to get over, yet it’s also oddly slow-moving. I think there’s a good film in here somewhere – maybe even several versions of a good film – but the best I can say of the finished product is it’s an interesting curiosity.
Alan’s playground
As she did more successfully in 1999’s “Cruel Intentions,” Sarah Michelle Gellar goes against her “Buffy” type as a young woman with, well, cruel intentions. As the daughter of an underworld bookie king (Gianni Russo), Cindy’s world is her playground. She’s seeing titular point guard Alan Jensen (Adrian Grenier), who aims to make the world his playground too.
The opening sequence sums up writer-director James Toback’s film well. We open on the sounds of moaning as multiple squares of images pan through Alan’s dorm room along with action from the Harvard-Holy Cross basketball game. Our first impression is “He’s having sex and missing the basketball game.”
“Harvard Man” (2001)
Director: James Toback
Writer: James Toback
Stars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Adrian Grenier, Joey Lauren Adams
That’s exactly what’s happening (and also Cindy is missing her duties as a Holy Cross cheerleader). How about a new rule: Off-camera moaning can’t be used unless it pans in on someone – surprise! — not having sex. Why so much build up to the obvious?
The film moves forward in this vein. It’s never surprising – or rather, it plays all its twists straight, thus telling us we shouldn’t be surprised – as it explores desperate gambling, point-shaving, responsible bookmaking, drug use, culturally forbidden romances and FBI stings.
Inconsistent gimmicks
“Harvard Man” works hard to pull itself down to mediocrity. In another early scene, a basic walk-and-talk between Alan and shooting guard Marcus (Ray Allen – yes, that Ray Allen) uses frame cuts even though the conversation itself is not chopped up. This adds nothing to the chat and in fact detracts from it.
Later, the film does a good job of using a fish-eye lens to show Alan’s POV after taking three hits of LSD. It reminds me of “A Scanner Darkly” in communicating a drugged-out feeling to sober viewers. But the whole film is so intentionally jittery that the impact of Alan’s trip is muted.
It’s too bad because drama could’ve been culled from all the aforementioned ideas, and there’s no arguing with the cast. As noted, this ain’t “Cruel Intentions,” but it’s still fun to see SMG go against type. (Although when she does the “Slayer run” to get to the basketball game instead of to slay vampires, the spell is broken.)
Toback makes sure to emphasize that Alan needs the $100K to help his parents, and I admit it makes him lean toward likable. Joey Lauren Adams’ Chesney is like her “Chasing Amy” character (except also a philosophy professor here) – a sexual nymph who always projects “having a secret.” A smirking Eric Stoltz knows he’s in a straight film that could use some comedic pick-me-up.
Taste of the Ivy League
“Harvard Man” generally looks nice as it’s shot between Harvard itself and the Toronto area. The basketball scenes avoid being embarrassing; here is where the editing cuts are actually effective.
Toback gives us walk-and-talks along the grassy banks of a river between Alan and Chesney – two relatively good people with their own senses of morality and adventure.
I didn’t absorb a lot of the words here, nor in Chesney’s lectures, where her language is too laden with big words to take seriously. I doubt “Harvard Man” had something mind-blowing to say, but if it had slowed down, we’d at least get a feel for how Alan’s and Chesney’s thoughts are processing. (Also, the audio on the version I saw was bad, so I heard the dialog clearly but as if it came from a dubbing booth.)
Despite the compelling leads, “Harvard Man” lacks confidence in its screenplay. That’s not the wrong instinct, as the focus is all over the place. The final shot suggests it’s an anti-drug film even though drug use is only a spice before that.
But instead of polishing the pages, it uses editing and camera gimmicks to distract us. But I didn’t want to be distracted. I wanted to know what “Harvard Man” was going for in the first place.