"Forget it Funke—it's high school"
Think Chinatown for the teenage set.
While investigating the theft of his Catholic high school's SAT exams, sophomore newspaper reporter Bobby Funke (Reece Thompson) uncovers an even bigger conspiracy. But will anyone believe him when he accuses the class president? Director Brett Simon's comic noir co-stars Mischa Barton and Bruce Willis as the unbalanced Principal Kirkpatrick, a shell-shocked Desert Storm veteran.
Assassination of a High School President provides examples of the following tropes:
- All-Powerful Bystander: Striedel, the guy fact-checking Bobby's story, who can contact him on any phone and knows about any plot development as soon as it's happened, but who's just The Voice hassling Bobby for his notes.
- Ax-Crazy: Paul eventually snaps and tries to shoot Principal Kirkpatrick and the student council during a pep rally. It's a paint gun.
- Berserk Button: Kirkpatrick really hates people chewing gum.
- Catchphrase: "The name's Bobby Funke. I write for the paper."
- Catholic School Girls Rule: Surprisingly, aside from a few Male Gaze moments, downplayed.
- Femme Fatale: Francesca. She was a part of the plot to frame Paul.
- Jerkass: Tad, Bobby's rival at the school paper, as well as the Student Council members.
- Male Gaze: Bobby does this a few times throughout the movie, mostly at Francesca or Clara.
- Manipulative Bastard: Francesca was in on the whole conspiracy. She got close to Bobby to make sure he wouldn't get close and to warn her accomplices. It all fell apart for her when Bobby saw her and Paul's intimate moment, leaving no sympathy for her when it goes up in flames.
- Popular Is Dumb: Subverted with Paul who is popular and seems dumb, but consider that he was good enough to be accepted into Cornell, and only took the SATs a second time to see if he could get a better score.
- Running Gag: People mispronouncing Bobby's last name as "Funky." Everyone but Bobby and Striedel does it, and Bobby's so used to correcting people that he even unconsciously does it to Striedel.
- Those Two Guys: Two guys and a girl, in this case. A trio of stoners and troublemakers who assist Bobby in minor ways throughout the movie. Not only that But save Bobby from attempted murder in the end as well.
- Tranquil Fury: Principal Kirkpatrick in the end When he finds out, along with the rest of the school, exactly who the culprits of the whole SAT and Drug problem going on with the school, going as far as telling all involved that they are in "Big fucking trouble".
