School Starts For Scoundrels On February 13th

School for Scoundrels marked the first Jon Heder film I actually wanted to see. Not because of Heder, but because his typical flat acting looked like it could easily be overcompensated for by director Todd Phillips (Old School) and Billy Bob Thorton, who really makes just about everything he’s in better. Unfortunately I wound up missing it in theaters, but now it’s coming out on DVD on February 13th (just in time for Valentine’s Day) with an unrated edition and a few extras that I can’t help but take note of.

The general story of the movie is that Heder plays a loser (as usual) who decides to learn how to stand up for himself. He meets Thorton who plays his teacher and the two wind up in a competition over the same girl. Given Thorton’s treatment of berating, harsh characters like this from his other films, I’m still excited about seeing it.

If Thorton’s bashing attitude isn’t enough for you on screen, you can now experience it in game form. The official School for Scoundrels site has a nifty little shooter game that allows you to choose targets (even personalizing the appearance of your opponent with your own pictures) and shoot them with paintball guns, spitwads, etc. No matter how good you get, the game still berates you as a loser. What fun! Check that out at http://www.schoolforscoundrels-movie.com/game/.

As for the DVD release, here’s what we’ve been told will be on the disc:

• Feature commentary with director, writer Todd Phillips and Writer Scott Armstrong
• Gag Reel
• Alternate Ending
• The Making-Of You Didn’t See on TV.
• Theatrical Trailer

That making-of featurette really caught my attention. Far too frequently DVDs wind up with bonus material that is just pasted in from the film’s advertising campaign, serving more as an ad for the film you just bought than an actual behind-the-scenes look. This at least sounds promising.

School for Scoundrels hits DVD on February 13th.