The film tells the story of high schoolloser Dizzy Harrison (Qualls) who gets himself expelled so that he can move schools and reinvent himself.[2] Learning how to be cool from a prison inmate, he renames himself Gil Harris and is quick to make new friends and soon gains respect from jocks and geeks alike. He begins dating popular girl Danielle (Dushku) and unites a once-divided school, also 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.
Plot
Prison inmate Luther speaks directly to the camera in the opening, telling the story of Dizzy Gillespie Harrison, an 18-year-old nerdy high school senior in Austin, Texas. Dizzy is friends with Nora, Kirk, and Glen,[3] who together started a funk rock band called "Suburban Funk" and are addicted to video games.[4][3] After the school librarian accidentally gives him a penile fracture, Dizzy becomes despondent. He acts recklessly and is temporarily sent to prison, where he meets Luther. He then resolves to get himself expelled from his high school so that he can attend a new one and attain a better social status there. After numerous attempts, he is successfully expelled from his high school, Rocky Creek.
He enrolls at East Highland High and head cheerleader Danielle welcomes the newcomer to school.[3] Her friend Courtney invites Dizzy to a party and through a mishap, he gives her the impression that he has blown her off. Using a photo given to him by the prison inmates and help from his old friends, Dizzy manages to escape the party with his reputation intact. Upon returning home, however, he finds his father has sold their house and quit work to supervise him, which results in them living in a trailer.
Danielle asks Dizzy to encourage the school to go to see the football team play; he, referencing General Patton and Braveheart, gives an impassioned speech to the downtrodden team, inspiring them to win their first game in years. He is soon enlisted by the coach and principal to plan the school's homecoming dance, and becomes imbued with school spirit, shedding his bad boy image. Danielle breaks up with Conner and starts a relationship with Dizzy.
However, Dizzy and Gil are fast becoming too big for one body. When Nora berates Dizzy for becoming the same person he once hated, he uses his newfound popularity to confront Conner. Dizzy and Danielle spur the students to reunite, and the lines dividing the different cliques are broken.
With a new philosophy, the school football team wins more games and bullying becomes a thing of the past.[2] Reaching the state championship, where they play Rocky Creek, Dizzy's antics on the sideline cost Rocky Creek the game.
After Rocky Creek's loss to East Highland, Barclay, Rocky Creek's running back and one of Dizzy's former tormentors, slowly starts realizing who Gil is, as East Highland High celebrates their victory. At school the next day, while East Highland still celebrates, Barclay confronts and attempts to fight Dizzy, but before he can do anything, he is attacked by the entire student body. After the attack, Conner helps Barclay up from the ground, telling him he wants to know what he knows about Dizzy.
The homecoming dance, which Dizzy's funk band is supposed to play, is crashed by the students of Rocky Creek. Barclay and Conner, who have joined forces to set a trap for Dizzy, play an embarrassing video of the librarian incident. However, Luther and the other inmates arrive to save Dizzy, tying up the two bullies. Nora admits longstanding feelings for Glen, and Danielle reveals to Dizzy that she was also not popular while growing up and ditched her old friends once she gained popularity later on due to desperately wanting to fit in. She forgives him for hiding who he was, and they kiss.
Luther ends the film, and the man he is talking to is revealed to be David Hasselhoff. In a mid-credits scene, Dizzy and Danielle mount a horse and ride off into the sunset together. However, Danielle falls off the horse and Dizzy rides away.
Cast
DJ Qualls as Dizzy Gillespie Harrison / Gil Harris
The film was shot in Austin[5] and around Austin (San Marcos, Elgin, and Del Valle) utilized Texas State University, Driskell Hotel, and an FYE at Lakeline Mall between October 23, 2000, to January 12, 2001.[6]
Unrated version
In the 92-minute unrated cut, Dizzy appears to be a "child of divorce."[7] He once had a mother named Beth Anne but she left the family while Dizzy was doing his "godfather of soul" routine.[7] Miss Kiki Pierce talks about Dizzy's excessive masturbation and becomes his stepmother in the uncensored version (unlike the PG-13 version).[7]
According to the storyline in the uncensored version, Gil Harris had apparently murdered a guy in Rhode Island before being sent off to prison while no back story was made for the name in the theatrical version.[7]
Reception
Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 7% based on 99 reviews, with an average rating of 3.30/10. The consensus reads: "Incoherent, silly, and unoriginal, The New Guy offers up the same old teen gross-out comedy cliches."[8] On Metacritic, the film has a 24% rating, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews" based on reviews from 23 critics.[9]
The film grossed $31,167,388 worldwide[10] against a $13 million production budget.[11]
