Kids that should be expelled

A group of high school students come together to override their dictating principal. Sound familiar? That's probably because you saw a movie similar to it back in the late 90s. "Kids in America" missed the boat by about six years and really should have come out circa "Ten Things I Hate About You" and "She's All That." \nBased on real-life situations, the film, most like an immature knockoff of "The Dead Poet's Society," is directed by newcomer Josh Stolberg. It also features a variety of fresh faces in its characters, all of which are a bit cliché. "Everwood"'s Gregory Smith plays Holden, a rebellious teenager with a lot on his mind and who isn't afraid to speak it. Stephanie Sherrin plays Holden's love interest Charlotte, a teenage girl who stands by her man and fights against his expulsion. "The Simple Life"'s Nicole Ritchie makes her film debut as a ditzy cheerleader, and, may I say, it didn't seem like much acting was needed for the part. \nAfter Holden gets expelled, the whole student body takes his side and works to override their principal during her run as the school's superintendent. \nAlthough this movie's message against schools that shelter their students had potential, the film itself just ended up being obnoxious. I laughed at a few of the scenes, but I mostly found myself laughing not because of funny remarks but because of how ridiculous this movie actually was. At one point, the film seemed to stop being a comedy and turned into more of a sex-obsessed adolescent's dream. \nI thought "enough is enough." The message of the movie was abandoned far too soon and left the film to painfully drag on. It's clear that at one point even the writers Josh Stolberg and Andrew Shaifer questioned where this movie was going. They could barely complete the movie. \nAs a movie that was geared toward an MTV-based audience, the film was luckily only given a PG-13 rating, therefore kids don't need to feel embarrassed as they sit through a same-sex make out scene with their parents. I wouldn't even recommend this movie to my 13-year-old sister. The script, performances and movie as a whole were just downright awful.