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Harvard Man [2002] [Region 1] [687797606693]

1 disc
Region 1 USA/CA (info)

This innovative drama from writer and director James Toback (BUGSY, BLACK AND WHITE) follows the travails of Alan Jensen (Adrian Grenier), a Harvard student determined to live life to the fullest and find the ultimate truth. He gets high regularly, and is sleeping with Holy Cross cheerleader Cindy Bandolini (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who also happens to be a mobster's daughter. Simultaneously, Alan is carrying on an illicit affair with his philosophy professor, Chesney Cort (Joey Lauren Adams), a woman with a vast sexual appetite. When his parents lose their Kansas home in a tornado, Alan is desperate to help them financially. He turns to Cindy's father for a loan and is soon entrenched in a high-stakes gambling scheme. But all is not as it seems and Alan soon finds himself in over his head with many aspects of his life: his drug use, the women in his life, and even the FBI.

Grenier is endearing as the truth-seeking Alan, and as a tough-talking Mafia princess, Gellar steps far away from her television persona as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Eric Stoltz and Rebecca Gayheart lend their talents in supporting roles that add to the film's twisting storyline.
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- Rating - drug use, language, and some strong sexuality
Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 60669
Credits

Adrian Grenier, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Sarah Gellar, Joey Lauren Adams, Joey Adams, Rebecca Gayheart, Eric Stoltz, Ray Allen
Critic Reviews

"...Rare and riveting....A wild ride that relies on more than special effects..."
Rolling Stone
"...A fast and clever con-gone-wrong comedy that reflects the writer-director's characteristic blend of the intellectual and the criminal..."
Los Angeles Times
"...HARVARD MAN brims with a boyish, nervous energy..."
New York Times
"...Grenier is a likable searcher, while Gellar is perfectly cast....Eric Stoltz, clearly having a blast, is terrific....The story closes on a surprisingly poignant note, leaving viewers with challenging questions to ponder..."
Box Office
"...Original, quirky, interesting..."
Chicago Sun-Times