Not Cool (film)

Not Cool is a 2014 American romantic comedy film directed, produced, and edited by Shane Dawson. The film centers around a group of high school friends reuniting over their Thanksgiving break during college. It is one of two films that were produced for the Starz reality competition show "The Chair", where the competitors use the same screenplay to create their own film. The film stars Cherami Leigh, Shane Dawson, Drew Monson, Michelle Veintimilla, Lisa Schwartz, and Bill Laing. The film grossed $36,026 in the US against an $800,000 budget.
Plot.
In a small Pennsylvania town, a group of high school friends reunite during a Thanksgiving break from their college classes. Former prom king Scott (Shane Dawson) is dumped by his hyperactive, erratic girlfriend Heather (Jorie Kosel) and finds a new love interest in Tori (Cherami Leigh). Meanwhile, Scott's younger sister Janié (Michelle Veintimilla) is approached by Joel (Drew Monson), who tries to woo her using the knowledge he gained from her social media posts.
Production.
"Not Cool", along with Anna Martemucci's "Hollidaysburg", is one of two films sponsored by the Starz reality competition show "The Chair". The films vied for a $250,000 prize based on multi-platform voting system. The film cost $800,000 and took 20 days to shoot.
Release.
The film was released through Starz Digital Media theatrically on September 19, 2014.
The film was released digitally on September 23, 2014.
Reception.
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 14% based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 2.1/10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 1, based on 4 reviews, indicating "overwhelming dislike". This puts the film among the lowest rated films on Metacritic. 
Frank Schreck of "The Hollywood Reporter" gave the film a negative review, stating, "Filled with ethnic stereotypes, scatological humor, profane language and characters who are not so much caricatures as cartoons, "Not Cool" well lives up to its title." Neil Genzlinger of "The New York Times" opined that the "characters are vile; the acting is terrible (Mr. Dawson, who has had some YouTube success, cast himself in a leading role); the tone is a confusing mishmash; and there’s not an original thought or joke in the thing." The "Los Angeles Times" also gave it a negative review, calling the film "an abyss, an insult to the craft of filmmaking, storytelling and entertainment in almost every way."
On the final episode of "The Chair", broadcast on November 8, 2014, it was revealed that Dawson's film won the prize. The results were tabulated with SurveyMonkey, where "Not Cool" averaged a 63 out of 100 in comparison to Martemucci's film which averaged a 58. In total, 39% of the votes cast were disqualified for lack of evidence that the voter viewed both films. Chris Moore, executive producer of "The Chair", noted that Dawson's film was mainstream. "The Chair" producer Zachary Quinto called Dawson's film "ultimately a vapid waste of time," but was "glad Shane won — he set out to do what he wanted to do."
In 2020 amid accusations of harmful jokes in his videos, Dawson released an apology video and mentioned the film (albeit not by name). Dawson stated his personal problems carried over onto production, and became hostile to those on set who criticized his style of humor and on set antics. In retaliation, Dawson admitted to then purposefully making the film even more over the top as a way to "say' Screw you, I'm gonna make it even crazier.'" Dawson expressed regret over the film, saying it's hard for him to watch the film now and "I would never make a movie like that now."