YMMV / The New Guy

• Badass Decay: Inverted with Luther and Dizzy. Luther was pushed around in the last prison he was in and Dizzy suffered the same treatment at his school. Luther gives Dizzy this advice — switch and start over.
• Crazy Is Cool: Dizzy becomes this later on. For one thing, he gives the football team a rousing speech dressed as a general. And in the last football game in the film, he leads his team, and students to his old school ala BraveHeart.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Danielle, for being a surprisingly sympathetic, intelligent, and well-developed popular girl played by Eliza Dushku.
  • Luther the prison mentor is quite a scene stealer.
  • Dizzy's bandmates, especially Nora and Kirk.
• Heartwarming Moments: Diz using his newfound popularity to dissolve the cliques, with the student body flourishing as a result. In particular, Danielle reconnects with her old best friend, whom she'd left behind when she became a cheerleader.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Years later Zooey Deschanel will be the New Girl.
• Squick: Dizzy's injury at the beginning of the film, where his dick gets bent (it's not clear if he got better).
  Luther: I know what you're thinking... it's not medically possible. Let me ask you this; Are you a doctor?
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Danielle's friend Carmen, who gets a couple of good lines but is generally a Satellite Character who never gets much focus or attention as the school gradually changes for the better.
• Unintentional Period Piece: The Tony Hawk cameo, the Sam Goody record store, and the reference to Creed all date the film to the early '00s. Plus, if Dizzy had tried his plan in the age of social media, it would've fallen apart in a day.
• The Woobie: Dizzy in his old school. He and his friends were barely on the radar and his injury humiliates him in front of the entire school. Luckily, he is able to switch schools and start over.

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