IMDb RATING
6.7/10
3.9K
YOUR RATING
Eleven students conspire with their teacher to cheat on an academic competition.Eleven students conspire with their teacher to cheat on an academic competition.Eleven students conspire with their teacher to cheat on an academic competition.
- Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
- 4 nominations total
Photos
Alex Poch-Goldin
- Jerry Marconi
- (as Alex Poch Goldin)
Jeff A. Wright
- Josh Haden
- (as Jeff Wright)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDirector John Stockwell and the film's producers hired a private investigator to track down the real Dr. Gerald Plecki. It took nearly half a year to convince Plecki to sell his rights and become involved in the production.
- GoofsWhen Dr. Plecki and the students are watching "Stand and Deliver" at his house, the scenes from that movie are shown out of order in "Cheaters".
- Quotes
Irwin Flickas: It was a multiple choice test. Nobody told me you could only pick one answer!
- ConnectionsFeatures Stand and Deliver (1988)
Featured review
Great film highlighted by great performances.
I saw this film when it debuted on HBO earlier tonight. I was pretty impressed by the story (by director John Stockwell), about a group of inner city Chicago youths who decide to cheat on their Academic Decathlon exams. The element that drives the story, however, is its performances, especially Jena Malone as Steinmetz student Jolie Fitch and Jeff Daniels as Decathlon advisor Dr. Gerard Plecki.
These youths decide to cheat solely for ambition, to beat the rival Whitney Young Decathlon Team (who wins every year) at the State finals. Basically, they're desperate, being an inner city school whose funding is based mostly on athletics. Daniels goes along with the plan because of this: to make a statement on how much focus is more on athletics and less on academics.
The only reason I decided to watch this film was for Jena Malone, who's one of the more talented young actresses cropping up out of obscurity. She's only fifteen, yet she's a better actress than women twice her age. She's even being compared to a young Jodie Foster. Hopefully, she'll continue to accept performances that aren't from your latest American teen comedies.
I did manage, however, to find a good story out of this, somewhat reminiscent of "Stand and Deliver," which the students actually watch in one scene. Whether or not we agree on Dr. Plecki allowing the students to cheat, we'll always agree that it's the teacher's responsibility to teach, and teach morally. Make up your mind about cheating; this story focuses on cheating and its consequences, and will probably be one of those great films not too many people will see.
Had it been released to theaters, it would've done modestly in the theaters and been critically acclaimed, then fade away after a couple of weeks. But it's good enough to win a few hearts and minds. Watch it for Jena Malone, though. I did, and I wouldn't be surprised if she was nominated for an Emmy here.
These youths decide to cheat solely for ambition, to beat the rival Whitney Young Decathlon Team (who wins every year) at the State finals. Basically, they're desperate, being an inner city school whose funding is based mostly on athletics. Daniels goes along with the plan because of this: to make a statement on how much focus is more on athletics and less on academics.
The only reason I decided to watch this film was for Jena Malone, who's one of the more talented young actresses cropping up out of obscurity. She's only fifteen, yet she's a better actress than women twice her age. She's even being compared to a young Jodie Foster. Hopefully, she'll continue to accept performances that aren't from your latest American teen comedies.
I did manage, however, to find a good story out of this, somewhat reminiscent of "Stand and Deliver," which the students actually watch in one scene. Whether or not we agree on Dr. Plecki allowing the students to cheat, we'll always agree that it's the teacher's responsibility to teach, and teach morally. Make up your mind about cheating; this story focuses on cheating and its consequences, and will probably be one of those great films not too many people will see.
Had it been released to theaters, it would've done modestly in the theaters and been critically acclaimed, then fade away after a couple of weeks. But it's good enough to win a few hearts and minds. Watch it for Jena Malone, though. I did, and I wouldn't be surprised if she was nominated for an Emmy here.
helpful•50
- deadkerouac
- May 20, 2000
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Những kẻ gian lận
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 48 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
- 1.78 : 1
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