Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Laid-back comedy centers on heavy teen drug use.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
High School
What's the Story?
Henry Burke (Matt Bush) is a top high school student who's on track to become valedictorian and head to MIT. That is, until his childhood best friend, Travis Breaux (Sean Marquette), encourages him to try smoking pot for the first time. The next day, the upright school principal (Michael Chiklis) announces mandatory drug testing, with automatic expulsion for guilty parties. Travis cooks up a plan to save the distraught Henry; they'll make pot brownies and sell them at the school bake sale so that everyone will fail the drug test together. Their first step is to steal the required ingredients from a demented drug dealer (Adrien Brody), but that's only the beginning of a long, harrowing, and hazy day.
Is It Any Good?
Director John Stalberg makes his feature debut with this low-key but amiable comedy, which borrows from many other movies (Animal House, Superbad, Pineapple Express) but still has its own spirit. Though it's not necessarily laugh-out-loud funny, it runs a bit long, and it grows a little lethargic in its final third, HIGH SCHOOL is still mildly amusing. One of its best and longest-running jokes has the confused characters asking each other "what?" again and again.
Oddly, though High School features the typical lame adult characters, Chiklis steals scenes as the principal, while Brody, as the psychotic drug dealer, steals many others. Their combined bizarre antics give the rather ordinary teens something to react to. The movie seems to condone drug use as a way to loosen up and see life for what it really is; the good guys don't really pay a price for their deeds. It will be up to viewers to decide whether the likeable teens are actually good characters.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the movie's messages about drugs and drug use. Do you think the movie is an accurate depiction of social attitudes about marijuana? Why or why not? Does it address any of the consequences of drug use? As a comedy, is it expected to?
Are there any stereotypes in this movie among the high schoolers? What about the adults?
Who do you think this movie is intended to appeal to? Does it succeed?
Movie Details
- In theaters : June 1, 2012
- On DVD or streaming : September 4, 2012
- Cast : Adrien Brody , Matt Bush , Michael Chiklis , Sean Marquette
- Director : John Stalberg Jr.
- Studio : Anchor Bay Entertainment
- Genre : Comedy
- Topics : School ( High School )
- Run time : 97 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : pervasive drugs and language, crude and sexual content, some nudity - all involving teens
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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