Student Seduction (2003) starring Elizabeth Berkley, Corey Sevier, Rick Roberts, Sarah Allen, Sarah Smyth, Karen Robinson, Bronwen Mantel directed by Peter Svatek Movie Review

Student Seduction (2003)   2/52/52/52/52/5


Elizabeth Berkley in Student Seduction (2003)

Reduction of Seduction

Anyone in the UK who has looked through a newspaper or listened to the news in the last year or so will have heard stories of inappropriate affairs between a teacher and a student. It is a topic which has the potential for a powerful drama, unfortunately "Student Seduction" isn't that movie and in truth is a rather dull, vacuous drama full of cliches. It's a shame because the basic idea of "Student Seduction", a student becoming infatuated with a pretty teacher, is a good one but what comes after the set up is simply poor.

Having started work as a teacher, 27 year old Christie Dawson (Elizabeth Berkley - The First Wives Club) is popular with her students; she dresses young, listens to cool music and is friendly with all of them. Unfortunately one of her students Josh Gaines (Corey Sevier - Gospel of Deceit) reads more into it than what there is as he becomes infatuated with her especially as he is having after school Chemistry tuition from her. But despite being told not to be familiar time and again Josh takes no notice and takes things to far when he tries to kiss her and when she reports him he attacks her in her home. But it is Christie who finds herself the focus of the blame as Josh, his parents and lawyers make her out to be a sexual predator who came on to Josh.

Corey Sevier in Student Seduction (2003)

I remember when I was at secondary school and a new, attractive teacher arrived it caused numerous comments between the boys and so in truth "Student Seduction" has a good basic idea. The whole concept of a student being attracted to a young female teacher and then thanks to their hormonally charged brains misconstruing friendship for more is not that far fetched. Unfortunately what we get in "Student Seduction" takes that realistic idea and then blows it up into the drama which evolves in to the boy sexually attacking the teacher but the teacher getting the blame. I am not saying that doesn't happen but how it is dramatized is seriously over the top and cliche turning something real into an over the top drama.

Making it over the top is not the only issue which causes "Student Seduction" to struggle; it is also that it is so forced it is at times painful. I won't go into heaps of detail but we encounter a scene which shows that Josh has anger issues around girls, getting violent when they say no and so when we witness him being angry with a girl we know that somehow she will be pivotal. It makes it painful as does all the excruciating eroticism between Christie and her husband Drew, movies may show morning sex being sensual but in real life that isn't the case, "morning breath" anyone.

The irony is that the thing I expected to cause problems, that of Elizabeth Berkley cast in the main role, in fact was one of the better things about the movie. Yes this isn't great acting, no one puts in a brilliant performance but Berkley does play a friendly and enthusiastic young teacher quite well who unwittingly does things which can be misconstrued. And Corey Sevier is well cast as young Josh because he has the look and the sort of arrogance of a young Colin Farrell which makes him just dangerous enough.

What this all boils down to is that "Student Seduction" ends up a disappointing drama which takes a strong idea and turns it into just a so so, cliche drama. It isn't completely terrible and the acting is better than I expected but it is disappointing for being too over the top.


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