Video Game High School
age 14+
Quirky YouTube spin-off has gun violence and bullying.
- Rated: NR
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Release Year: 2012
- Running Time: 124 minutes
What parents need to know
Positive role models
Violence
Sex
Language
Consumerism
Drinking, drugs, & smoking
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Video Game High School is a quirky movie centered on gaming with some realistic video game violence and real-life bullying. The action of the war games the students play is conveyed through real-time action; characters are shown firing machine guns and assault rifles in battlefield scenes, with "soldiers" often shown getting shot in the head. These aspects of the film make it best for teens and older, and will be enjoyed especially by gamers who have seen the popular web series on YouTube.
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Kids say
What's the story?
Brian (Josh Blaylock) is a below-average gamer in a society where video gaming is the most popular sport on the planet. Through a remarkable twist of fate, Brian defeats gaming champion "The Law," and is offered admission to the elite VIDEO GAME HIGH SCHOOL. He enters the school ranked at the bottom of his class, and things don't get better for him as he encounters intense competition from fellow students, screaming administrators, and angry instructors. Oh, and there's "The Law," who rules the school as Varsity Captain and will stop at nothing to make Brian's life at VGHS as unpleasant as possible. Brian makes friends with fellow misfits Ted and Ki (Ellary Porterfield), and even initiates a romance with Junior Varsity Captain Jenny Matrix, but with "The Law" watching his every move, Brian must prove that he deserves to be at Video Game High School, and that his initial victory was no mere fluke.
Is it any good?
QUALITY
For teenage gamers and fans of the popular web series, Video Game High School is a quirky and action-packed story. It both celebrates gaming culture and parodies the cliques and competition of high school life, while finding room for a tiny amount of sweetness in the form of the budding romance that develops between Brian D and Jenny Matrix.
However, families wary of gun violence and school bullying will be uncomfortable with the regularity in which the two are shown in this movie. While it's technically "video game violence," the characters are placed in real-enough looking situations where they fire assault weapons at each other, hoping to score the maximum number of points by shooting their rivals in the head. The movie also treats bullying as simply a matter of course in high school rather than something that should be stopped. The quirky style of the movie makes it impossible to address these issues in meaningful ways, and so the violence and bullying leaves a bad taste in an otherwise exciting movie.
Families can talk about...
Families can discuss how the Video Game High School web series has set fundraising records on Kickstarter, and has reached millions of viewers in ways that would have been impossible several years ago. How does Freddie Wong and the other producers of VGHS use the tools of the internet to find their audiences and fund their projects?
For parents and teens who want to write, play music, or make movies, how might the example of the VGHS producers inspire you to use the internet to showcase and promote your work, and find worldwide audiences?
How realistic is the behavior of these high school students and school staff?
Movie details
| DVD/Streaming release date: | May 11, 2012 |
| Cast: | Ellary Porterfield, Johanna Braddy, Josh Blaylock |
| Directors: | Brandon Laatsch, Freddie Wong, Matthew Arnold |
| Studio: | Vivendi |
| Genre: | Action/Adventure |
| Topics: | High school, Misfits and underdogs |
| Run time: | 124 minutes |
| MPAA rating: | NR |
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are conducted by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
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Game On!!!
This has got to be the best web series ever. It's success through fan appeal has landed it in feature length on Netflix, DVD and Blu Ray, and available for purchase on iTunes. It follows no-rank gamer BrianD, an average teen who plays on the first person shooter Field of Fire. One day on an online match, he unknowingly happens upon gaming superstar and varsity captain at Video Game High School, The Law. He beats The Law, and gains instant stardom. He is then accepted into VGHS himself. When there, he meets a cast of quirky characters such as the unsuccessful son of the Guitar Hero champion, (I won't spoil the name of the champion,) the daughter of two game developers, the Junior Varsity captain Jenny Matrix, and many more hilarious people. He befriends the Guitar Hero boy Ted Wong and the game developer girl Ki Swan, as well as developing a crush on Jenny. But there are just a few problems. One, he's the lowest ranked player in the school, and once your points fall below zero, you're expelled. Two, The Law is constantly bullying him. Three, The Law is Jenny's boyfriend. This is all presented in a comedic way, and even The Law is hilarious at times. Violence: 6/10 The students play Field of Fire, a violent first person shooter game in which gamers team up and try to kill as many players on the other team as possible. There is blood, but it's pixels. Plus, even though there are many close-up headshots, explosions, and deaths, it's video game violence, so the characters don't really die. Characters respawn after being killed. Sex: 3/10 There are some innuendoes such as "What else happened backstage, Bella?" or "I have the girl of your dreams S'ing my D... Stylin' my Do." Some infrequent kissing and tame flirting. Language: 6/10 Two S***'s, (one is muttered) infrequent Hells, Damns, Ass's, and Craps. Some instances of "That sucks!" NOTE: Some references to popular video games such as Guitar Hero, Grand Theft Auto, and the ESRB rating system.
What other families should know
Too much violence
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
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What other families should know
Too much violence
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
Was this review useful?
Freddiew is the best!
Being a Freddiew subscriber I was really looking forward to seeing his first ever independently financed web series I was ecstatic. This in no way disappointed me. It is filled with action has comedic aspects and a TINY bit of romance. For the most part the characters are likable with the exception of The Law and Games Dean (both are douchebags until the end when Games and Brian become friends). In Field of Fire (the fps game) when people are shot there is no blood only pixals that fly off the people with the teams respective colors. I loved this series and can't wait for the rest of Season 2 (it has already begun)!
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