Hatley High

2003
6.1| 1h30m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 23 September 2003 Released
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The Canadian teen comedy Hatley High sends up high school sports rituals by placing a most unlikely competitive game at the center of its story: that of chess. Tommy (Nicholas Wright) is a new arrival in his parents' hometown of Hatley, whose mother recently died. He discovers, after the fact, that his mom was once a chess pro and thus a legend in the community. Tommy's chess-fixated peers accept him almost instantly, inferring that he must have inherited his dear mother's skills, but in time Tommy carves out a niche for himself independently of his mom's legacy, and strikes up an enduring romance with Hyacinthe (Rachelle Lefevre) a "chess cheerleader." Two fictional British filmmakers "frame" the tale by filming it for a documentary that they are producing, and thus provide witty, ongoing narration.

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Director

Phil Price

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Hatley High Audience Reviews

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.
Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.
Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.
Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
SnoopyStyle In the town of North Hatley, chess mania has taken over the local high school. New student Tommy Linklater likes to do his magic tricks. He is recruited for the chess team, The Knights, due to his late mother's legendary chess skills. Hyacinthe Marquez (Rachelle Lefevre) is the head cheerleader and honor student.This has a fun satire premise of switching the coolness factor between jocks and the chess club. It's kinda funny for a little while but it gets repetitive. The writing is not funny enough. Other than Lefevre, the cast isn't good enough. It's got one good idea but it fails to build on it.
Cablebot3000 This movie about, which is about a boy who moves to a new town and is good at chess, is pretty fun and amusing. The storyline and characters are well done and they are all likable. There is also some sentimentality to it, which I found to be a good factor instead of the same old cliché that a lot of movies like this have. The comedy part of it is also well done. Its not LOL material, but its still funny and quirky. Even the romance is not bad. Its different from some of the main teen comedies. And lastly, I am glad this wasn't the usual sex comedy. It is a pretty clean, and for the most part a family (sort of). I rate it 7/10. (my rating) PG-13 for language including sex and drug references, and for some sexual content
TD I often see teen movies and they usually provide a chuckle. Some are so awful, that they are instant eject button. Sometimes they just force me to keep my finger on the fast forward button. Hatley High was an absolutely GREAT movie. There were many depths and subtleties underneath a movie that kept my undivided interest every step along the way and provided many laughs as well. The chemistry between all the characters is great and there are several interesting relationships that develop. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is young at heart wants to see a good movie with some chuckles along the way. I am so glad that I stumbled upon it.
Samuel Sloan This is a great movie, long overlooked. A small town high school is nuts about chess and everybody plays The big showdown comes when a team from the Soviet Union is flown in to play the big match. The coach for Hatley High is a Soviet defector who defected during the last chess match between the two teams. The new Russian coach is a Russian nationalist, and the rivalry is personal.On the night before the big showdown, the Russian team captain, Anya Petrovich, played by Ilona Elkin, seduces the Hatley High captain, played by James A. Woods, and tricks him by putting handcuffs on him and locking in the principal's office. When the Hatley High Captain does not appear for the big final match, the Hatley High team will be forfeited unless somebody can be pulled off the bench to play the big final game.The creators of this movie could have used a real chess consultant. Many of the moves shown on the chess board are illegal. Black moves first in the first game and, although they use chess terms like Sicilian Defense and Budapest Defense, the moves shown on the board are nothing like those openings.However, we can overlook these defects because this movie teaches us chess players important lessons about how a movie about a high school chess match can be made exciting and interesting to the general non-chess playing audience.Sam Sloan