The New Guy
| The New Guy | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Ed Decter |
| Produced by | Greg Silverman John J. Strauss |
| Written by | David Kendall |
| Starring |
DJ Qualls Eliza Dushku Zooey Deschanel Lyle Lovett Eddie Griffin |
| Music by | Ralph Sall |
| Cinematography | Michael D. O'Shea |
| Edited by | David Rennie |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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88 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $13 million |
| Box office | $31,167,388 |
The New Guy is a 2002 American teen comedy film directed by Ed Decter. The film tells the story of high school loser Dizzy Gillespie Harrison. Dizzy is an unpopular, high school band geek going through a hellish senior year.
In an attempt to make a new identity for himself, Dizzy gets himself expelled from his high school, learns how to be cool from a prison inmate, and enrolls at a new high school under the alias Gil Harris. He is quick to make new friends and soon gains respect from jocks and geeks alike, uniting a once divided school and greatly improving its football team. Eventually, Gil has to face his demons from his old school when they face each other in a football game.
The film received generally negative reviews, but was a modest box office success.
The film begins with prison inmate Luther speaking directly to the camera to an unseen individual, telling the story of Dizzy Gillespie Harrison, an 18-year-old nerdy high school senior. Dizzy is friends with Nora, Kirk, and Glen, who together started a funk rock band and are addicted to video games. They attend Rocky Creek High School, where Dizzy is picked on by basically everyone, especially star football player Barclay. This occurs before and after sex symbol Tina Osgood holds his hands, causing him to have an erection and ends up embarrassing himself as the jocks belittle him with no mercy. Dizzy's white briefs were yanked from underneath his pants and placed around his head - revealing the erect penis in plain sight to nearly everyone instead of "covering it." The school librarian would eventually "break" it after Dizzy refuses to "hand" over the "weapon" to her. Dizzy is misdiagnosed with Tourette's syndrome; he is then placed on medication by the school counselor who advises his father to spend every moment possible with him. While at the mall's food court, the heavily medicated Dizzy makes a fool of himself at a church revival and gets arrested.
In jail, Dizzy meets Luther, who turns out to be a sympathetic ex-victim who makes it his goal to teach him how to be cool. In an attempt to wipe the slate clean, Dizzy gets himself expelled from his old high school, then undergoes a makeover with the help of the prison inmates and guards. Changing his name to 'Gil Harris', he enrolls at East Highland High and makes an impression by being dropped off in a prison van in restraints (a reference to Con Air) and beating up the school bully, Connor.
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