Synopsis
Paul Tannek, a polite scholarship student from a small town, struggles to fit in at college after his wealthy roommates label him a loser and force him out of the dorm. While living in an unusual temporary home, he falls for Dora, a troubled classmate involved with their manipulative English professor. Paul must learn to trust himself and stand up to those exploiting him.
Factoids & Trivia
- The film was shot in Toronto between November 3, 1999, and January 18, 2000. Locations included Union Station, Lower Bay Station, Central Technical School, the Toronto Opera House, and Revue Video.
- The David Spade video-store scene was filmed at Revue Video, Toronto's first specialty video store. Because the store concentrated on foreign-language and classic films, its appearance was extensively altered for the scene.
- Wheatus' "Teenage Dirtbag," which appears on the film's soundtrack, became closely associated with the movie. Its music video features Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari in a separate high-school story rather than recreating the film's college setting.
- Dora Diamond's name and some aspects of her characterization were inspired by Dora Dymant, Franz Kafka's companion late in his life. Kafka is also discussed during the film's English class scenes.
- The studio required the movie to be released as a PG-13 comedy, although the project had originally been developed as an R-rated comedy. The change was later identified as a major reason the finished film felt watered down.
- With an estimated $20 million budget and about $18.4 million in worldwide theatrical grosses, the film did not recover its production cost in theaters.
- The movie marked another pairing of Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari after their appearances together in American Pie.