Stealing Harvard

In Stealing Harvard, the charming Jason Lee (Chasing Amy, Almost Famous) wastes his talent playing John, a nice guy who once rashly promised his niece that he would pay for her college education. Now she's been accepted into Harvard, and though John has just the right amount of money in the bank, that money is meant to buy a house for himself and his fiancée Elaine (Leslie Mann, Big Daddy). Afraid of disappointing his niece, John enlists his friend Duff (Tom Green, Freddy Got Fingered, Road Trip) on a spree of inane criminal escapades that go wrong. Lee is an engaging actor, but he can't make the half-baked gags of Stealing Harvard funny. Similarly wasted are Megan Mullally (Will & Grace), Dennis Farina (Out of Sight, Snatch), Chris Penn (Reservoir Dogs, Short Cuts), and others. --Bret Fetzer