Dizzy (DJ Qualls) is already what you could call the epitome of pathos at his school but his reputation as a loser and social misfit is cemented when the aging school librarian breaks his penis–in front of the entire school. He thinks there is no hope until a prank lands him in jail overnight and his cellmate Luther (Eddie Griffin) teaches him a few tricks that will guarantee him popularity. The only problem is he needs to start with a clean slate which basically means switching schools. Dizzy eventually gets his wish and enrolls at East Highland High School. He changes his name to Gil Harris and religiously follows Luther’s rules which include making a grand entrance (which he does Dr. Hannibal Lecter style) and beating up the biggest guy in school. Although the entire geeks-vs.-popular crowd theme has been done countless times before scribe David Kendall manages to supply a few good lines making it a bit more entertaining to watch.
DJ Qualls who was drop dead funny in Road Trip carries on the tradition in The New Guy mostly due to his reactions and gut-busting facial expressions. For example when he tosses away a lighter he’s playing with to look cool and inadvertently sets a statue on fire he displays this expression of pure shock as he walks away calm and collected. (And in case you are wondering he’s not a deejay: his initials are short for Daniel Joseph.) As the inmate Luther Eddie Griffin (John Q) is also pretty funny thanks in part to some great lines such as: “High school is a lot like prison. The sex you want you ain’t gettin’. The sex you gettin’ you don’t want.” He also does the buggy-eye thing eerily well. Lyle Lovett has a small role as Dizzy’s father and is mostly the butt of the joke in all his scenes including when he gets hit in the eye with a flaming marshmallow. Keep your eyes peeled for a multitude of cameo appearances including former Black Flag frontman-turned-poet/actor Henry Rollins former “Ice Ice Baby” rapper Vanilla Ice and the commercially successful skateboarder Tony Hawk.
Ed Decter makes his directorial debut here but he’s no stranger to comedy: he helped pen the 1998 comedy There’s Something About Mary and last year’s Head Over Heels. The New Guy is nothing to boast of visually. It’s ugly and sloppily pieced together. There’s a great soundtrack to the film that includes The Offspring Mystikal Cypress Hill and Outkast but the tracks are loud and overpowering (I am still convinced that Qualls‘ character mumbles something about chili before he kisses the film’s heroine towards the end of the film.) Qualls‘ performance however turns the film into a more enjoyable experience than it otherwise would have been with his shooting-daggers stares–complete with whipping sound effects–and his “radical” transformation which consists basically of a haircut. Considering the film is already a cliché some of the laughs might have gone over better had Decter avoided the crass toilet bowl humor and midget jokes that have become so antiquated.
