Collegiate comedy about a discombobulated film student who receives direction from a Svengali-ish visiting professor (Kirk Douglas) on how to avoid being "a bit player in your own life." To call it sophomoric might mistakenly indicate a satisfactory level of achievement. Better to call it pitifully unfunny, and leave nothing to chance. For Brian De Palma, this represents a voluntary regression to the Greetings and Hi Mom! stage of his development, and it's quite instructive to see how deeply into amateurism a big-name professional can sink when restricted to a shoestring budget and a crew assembled from actual student filmmakers (Sarah Lawrence College). With Keith Gordon, Vincent Gardenia, Gerrit Graham, and Nancy Allen. (1980) — Duncan Shepherd
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