“Expelled”–Is It Worthy of All the Hype?
If you are expecting Shakespeare, you are going to be disappointed. but if you are looking for some light entertainment, and if you are still a teenager at heart, then Expelled is definitely worth watching.
Yes, as some critics have pointed out, the script could have been more imaginative. If you have seen the much older classic, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, there is no denying that there are some similarities, particularly as far as the basic premise is concerned. That said, I found myself getting into the movie anyway. In the interest of full disclosure, liking high school themed movies is an occupational hazard of teaching high school; I can’t guarantee that you’ll feel the same way about the film.
For me part of the appeal comes from Felix (Cameron Dallas), the charming rascal that we somehow want to cheer for even though what he is doing is often something we would be appalled by in real life. And yes, that could also be said of Matthew Broderick in the earlier film. However, the basic idea is far older than Ferris. At the risk of sounding like the English teacher I am, the idea has its roots in the ancient trickster myths. Every culture seems to have at least one, like Hermes in Greek mythology, who the very day he was born stole his brother Apollo’s cattle. Ancient Greeks had no more use for cattle thieves than any other agrarian society would have, but they laughed heartily at Hermes’ exploits anyway. Partly their reaction may have been caused by Hermes’ evolution into a beneficial god–will Felix evolve in a similarly constructive direction? The movie does consider that very question.
However, I think an even more powerful appeal of the trickster archetype comes from the fact that the trickster gets to break the rules in ways we can’t; by living through his antics vicariously, we may help to keep our own antisocial impulses in check. This effect is heightened by placing the trickster in a dubious society in which those who preach morality (in this case a wide range of people from the dean of students to some of his own peers) are to some extent morally corrupt themselves, and trickser Felix performs at least some of his mischief in a way that actually exposes this surrounding corruption.
It is also easy to be fascinated by the ways in which Felix extricates himself from trouble. More than once disaster seems inevitable, but Felix (with a lot of help from his friends) manages to get out of some pretty perilous situations unscathed. By the way, the friends are a less static group than in Ferris Bueller. Some of his allies by the end were enemies in the beginning, and the shifting relationships are another factor that keeps renewing the film’s energy. I especially like Vanessa (Andrea Russett), the bitter ex-girlfriend, Whose ambivalent relationship with Felix keeps the audience guessing.
Felix’s morally dubious choices aside, the film has some nice messages about friendship and–wait for it–the importance of actually working in school. How could a teacher not love that?
NOTE: If you are like me and like to watch movies on the largest screen possible, and if you don’t have a device that connects directly or via network to your TV, then you are going to want to download the iTunes version. Much as I like Amazon for most things, I discovered that Amazon instant video cannot be downloaded to a computer. (I bought that 1920 x 1080 display for a reason!) I didn’t feel like watching the movie on the much smaller Kindle screen, and Amazon’s streaming player is pretty small, doubtless for bandwidth reasons. By contrast, iTunes lets you download to a computer with no hassle and thus gives you more flexibility in the way in which you view your purchases.
And now, for those of you who never saw Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, here is the trailer for that movie:
