Art School Confidential (2006)
Jerome Platz wants to be an artist. No…he wants to be a great artist. So after finishing high school he enrols in an art school. But he soon learns how the art world works and gets his first hit of criticisms. What’s more he’s in love with the art model. Can his dreams of being a great artist come true and get the girl too?
**May Contain Spoilers**
One of the reasons I wanted to watch this movie was that scene in one of the trailers, where Bardo starts labelling the students coming into the class. There was the mother, the freak, the suck up and him, the guy who keeps changing his major cause he’s afraid that he suck at everything…I thought that was very funny and that it would be a rather funny film that pokes fun at the art world. 
And yes the movie is pretty funny in all its art school clichés, at least the first half of the movie is. We get to see all Jerome’s wacky classmates …and roommates, one is gay and as aspiring fashion designer and the other a film student trying to get funding from his grandfather to direct a movie based on the local serial killer. Than there’s the thing where Jerome tries to lose his virginity…another zany affair which ends unsuccessfully. And of course he later falls in love with the art model…which maybe the reason he even joined this particular art school…so he can meet her.
But the movie takes a serious turn in the second half. Even though Jerome works very hard on his art, his work doesn’t even get recognised by he’s classmates…they much rather see a painting with weird big strokes or a plain picture of a car. And after getting criticism and even criticism for criticising a fellow classmate’s work, Jerome falls into despair. He starts smoking, drinking, and visiting Jimmy, (Jim Broadbent) a washed up art school graduate living a dingy apartment, who starts giving him weird dark advice.
Then a drastic event happen which changes Jerome’s life…and after that his art started getting recognized and he finally even gets the girl…which I thought was a fitting end for a movie that’s poking fun at the art world right? Don’t artists need drastic events before their art get recognized….I mean look at Van Gogh…did he not cut his ear off?? Did he not die first??? Before his art fetch a ton of money. Suddenly his art was impressive, fascinating and great?
I actually like this little flick, its funny, with a little seriousness, and actually I didn’t mind the serious turn like some people do…I mean it’s needed to lead to the chosen ending…right??…which I thought was rather funny…don’t you think??…with the media interviewing the art teacher and all. Plus don’t you think the art world takes itself way too seriously…they probably should watch this film and take a look at themselves. Oh and theres probably tons of Jeromes out there who only needs a drastic event…to finally make them a great artist right? 🙂
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