School for Scoundrels (2006)

Two foils and a girl--what a hoot! Billy Bob Thornton (who charms in any role he plays, from U Turn to Bad Santa to Friday Night Lights) runs an unscrupulous motivational seminar for losers like meter maid Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) upon whom he plies his unorthodox mantras and methods. (Be a lion. Always get the girl alone. Lie, lie, and lie some more.) His cut-the-crap-you-namby-pambys curriculum keeps them off-balance and gets mixed results with sufficient twists and turns. Michael Clarke Duncan (The Whole Nine Yards) plays a threatening sidekick; Ben Stiller plays a manic has-been; Sarah Silverman is love interest Jacinda Barrett's bitter girlfriend; Luis Guzman is the creepy supervisor. It's a fine ensemble cast with Heder growing into his role as Thornton raises the stakes by going after his girl. The physical humor is generally hilarious; everyone in the preview I attended was laughing quite a lot. You will too. Four stars.