Don't expect any subtlety from this latest entry in the increasingly threadbare gross-out comedy cycle.
The usual ingredients (toilet humour, sexism, insulting ethnic stereotypes) are given only a mild sifting by first-time director Ed Decter, one of the writers on the much-imitated "There's Something About Mary".
"Road Trip" star DJ Qualls is Dizzy, a terminally uncool high school senior who decides to get himself expelled and enrol at another school under a hip new pseudonym.
With the help of street-smart convict Luther (Griffin, giving the film's only watchable performance), 'Gil' becomes the most popular guy in school by championing the underdog, coaching the football team, and dating the head cheerleader, Danielle (Dushku).
Things turn pear-shaped, however, when Danielle's ex-boyfriend starts probing into Gil's past.
Farces like this one punctuate their meagre narratives by subjecting their protagonists to as many sadistic humiliations as possible.
"The New Guy" certainly comes up trumps in this department: Dizzy gets his penis mangled in the first few minutes (earning him the charming soubriquet "Brokedick"); his father (Lovett) has his hair set on fire; and his principal has his bowel movements broadcast over the school's cable TV system.
But take away the occasional astute movie parody and copious cameos from the likes of Vanilla Ice, Tony Hawk, and David Hasselhoff, and what's left is hardly worth the celluloid it took to record it.
Not even the gratuitous scene where Dushku models a series of revealing swimsuits can justify its sorry existence.
The New Guy (2002)
