Deal of a Lifetime (2000)

Excellent but underrated film

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

A reasonable retelling of "Faust" as a high-school comedy, the film is let down a little by a low budget and inexperienced director. It works well in parts, but there are occasional scenes which quite clearly don't work. One example - when the devil's agent (Kevin Pollack) is disguised as an ice-cream man he "scares" away some kids by throwing what looks like a few scraps of paper at them! Without the luxury of re-shoots, scenes like that needed either some imaginative work in post-production or someone brave enough to leave them on the cutting room floor. Instead, they are left in and undermine the good work elsewhere.Overall it's a enjoyable family comedy with good performances from the main cast. Shiri Appleby looks suitably stunning as the object of Michael Goorjian's affections and does a good job of making more of the role than the script gives her.

This movie seems like it will be terrible from the first glance. The tired story of a high school geek who sells his soul to the devil for a date with a cheerleader is not at all a unique one. Overall, the writing is pretty shoddy, yet somehow, a few really great lines managed to slip into this film. These lines are so good, they makes the whole movie watchable. Combine that with a delicious comedic performance by Kevin Pollack and a palatable performance by Michael Goorjian, and you've got a movie worth renting at least once.

In this low budget film we have another retelling of the deal with the devil story. I was curious in that I wanted to see how Michael Goorjian did in a more major role than the supporting part that he always had in Party of Five. (He did OK) and I was curious to see how Shiri Appleby (of "Roswell" did in a movie (she did OK too).Overall though, two OK performances don't make for a great movie. If you want a "junk-food" movie to pass an hour and a half, this movie may fit the bill. Just don't expect anything new or terribly original here. At least is wasn't painful to watch.

This is an imaginative, visually distinctive film that stands apart from the current, hum-drum collection of high school pics, mostly because it treats its audience with respect and has the visual chops to back it up. This is a romantic comedy for kids and their young parents, with a smart variation on Faust as the agent for the Devil takes the soul of an amoral kid. It's a great idea for young people to be exposed to these themes--temptation, redemption--particularly in the post-Columbine period.