The New Guy – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

The New Guy

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

movie2002

25%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

A critically reviled 2002 teen comedy about a nerd who reinvents himself—crude, dated, and genuinely unfunny.

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The New Guy

movie

PG-13, 2002

25%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

A critically reviled 2002 teen comedy about a nerd who reinvents himself—crude, dated, and genuinely unfunny.

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Screenwise Verdict

Let's be real: this movie is bad. Not charmingly bad, not so-bad-it's-good bad—just bad. With a 7% critic score and a 24 on Metacritic, this is one of those early 2000s teen comedies that thought crude humor and stereotypes were enough to carry a film.

The premise is tired (nerd reinvents himself as cool guy), the execution is lazy, and the humor is both dated and unfunny. The 'learn to be badass from a convict' angle is questionable, and the whole thing feels like it was made by people who had never actually met a teenager.

Even if your teen is into retro bad movies, there are way better options. This is the kind of movie that makes you wonder how it got made, let alone how it's still streaming on multiple platforms. Skip it.

Age Fit

Common Sense Media rates this for 15+, which tracks given the sexual content and crude humor. But honestly, even older teens will likely find this boring and unfunny—it's a relic of a specific era of bad teen comedies that hasn't aged well at all.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

Early 2000s teen comedy that relies heavily on crude humor, sexual content, and stereotypical high school tropes. The premise of faking a persona to gain popularity doesn't model authentic self-acceptance or healthy social development. Tone is chaotic and crass rather than emotionally grounding.

Imaginative

Generic fish-out-of-water high school comedy with a tired premise (nerdy kid reinvents himself). No creative world-building, original storytelling, or invitation to think differently. The 'convict teaches cool' angle is lazy and stereotypical. Nothing here sparks curiosity or creative thinking.

Safe

Rated for ages 15+ by Common Sense Media, likely due to sexual content, crude humor, drug/alcohol references, and language typical of early 2000s teen comedies. Not graphic or traumatizing, but contains inappropriate content that would be unexpected for younger viewers. The prison scenes and 'badass' lessons could normalize questionable behavior.

Enriching

Critically panned (7% RT critics, 24 Metacritic) with minimal redeeming value. The message about being yourself is buried under crude jokes and stereotypes. No meaningful character growth, ethical development, or skill-building. Even the entertainment value is questionable given the universally poor reviews. This is not a movie that teaches anything useful.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

If you're feeling deeply nostalgic for the worst of early 2000s teen comedies, this exists
The premise of reinventing yourself could theoretically spark a conversation about authenticity vs. fitting in
Some teens might find the over-the-top silliness entertaining in a so-bad-it's-good way (but probably not)

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What to Watch For

Crude sexual humor, language, and stereotypes throughout—this is firmly PG-13/15+ territory
The 'learn to be cool from a convict' premise is questionable at best and normalizes some sketchy behavior
It's genuinely not funny—7% on Rotten Tomatoes isn't a typo, and your teen will likely be bored
Dated humor that hasn't aged well and reinforces tired high school stereotypes

Conversation Starters

"Why do you think Dizzy felt like he had to completely change who he was to fit in?"
"Have you ever felt pressure to act differently around certain people? How did that feel?"
"What do you think about the idea that you need to be 'cool' to be liked?"

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