'Score' examines worrying world of SATs

By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service

From left: Erika Christensen as Anna, Darius Miles as Desmond and Chris Evans as Kyle hatch a plan to steal the answers to the SAT. Along the way they get to know each other and what's at stake. Paramount Pictures 'The Perfect Score' PG-13, for profanity, innuendo, drug abuse 90 minutes

And it kind of works. For openers, it's smarter and more purposeful than most teen flicks.

In "The Perfect Score," a half-dozen high school students conspire to steal the answers for the forthcoming, all-important SAT exam. The test will determine their future — and they want all the help they can get. And they also object to the way exams have standardized their lives.

Matty (Bryan Greenberg) wants a score good enough to get into his girlfriend's school. Desmond (played by real-life basketball star Darius Miles) desperately needs a good score to accept a full-ride basketball scholarship. Kyle (Chris Evans) dreams of studying architecture at an Ivy League school.

Roy (Leonardo Nam) is the film's comic-relief character — a wacked-out stoner whose zero GPA in no way reflects his considerable intellect. He joins the caper just for kicks. Anna (Erika Christensen) is the smartest kid in school — but is a lousy test-taker.

And finally, there's Francesca (the red-hot Scarlett Johansson). Her reasons to join are more personal: Her father runs Educational Testing Services, the firm that creates the SAT — and she wants revenge for all his philandering with girls her age. She's also the key to the theft, because she has access to building plans and security codes.

The characters are generally well-defined and individualized, the script offers some wit — especially through the perpetually stoned Roy — and the film eventually sorts out its initially suspect morality. Along the way, the sextet become friends and learn a lot about themselves and their respective dilemmas. (That's the "Breakfast Club" part.) Brian Robbins (of "Varsity Blues") directs with clarity and confidence, though without much style or panache.

"The Perfect Score" isn't perfect but does come out a winner.

Jack Garner of The Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle is chief film reviewer for the Gannett News Service.