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{{short description|2001 film by James Toback}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Harvard Man 
| image          = HARVARDMAN.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[James Toback]]
| producer       = [[Daniel Bigel]]<br />[[Michael Mailer]]
| writer         = James Toback
| starring       = [[Adrian Grenier]]<br />[[Sarah Michelle Gellar]]<br />[[Joey Lauren Adams]]<br />[[Rebecca Gayheart]]<br />[[Ray Allen]]<br />[[Eric Stoltz]]
| music          = [[Ryan Shore]]
| cinematography = David Ferrara
| editing        = Suzy Elmiger
| production_companies = Bigel/Mailer Films<br />[[The Kushner-Locke Company]]
| distributor    = [[Lionsgate Films|Lions Gate Films]]<br />Multicom Entertainment Group
| released       = {{Film date|2001|5|10|[[2001 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]]|2002|4|12|United States}}
| runtime        = 94 minutes<!-- Runtime: 94:28 --><ref>{{cite web|title=''HARVARD MAN'' (18)|url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/AVV176899/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120721034530/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/AVV176899/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 21, 2012|work=[[British Board of Film Classification]]|date=2002-12-05|accessdate=2012-01-20}}</ref>
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $5.5 million<ref>{{cite web|title=''Harvard Man'' (2001) - Box office / business|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0242508/business|website=[[IMDb]]|accessdate=2012-01-20}}</ref>
| gross          = $56,653<ref>{{mojo title|harvardman|Harvard Man}}</ref>
}}
'''''Harvard Man''''' is a 2001 American [[Crime film|crime]] [[comedy-drama]] [[thriller film]] written and directed by [[James Toback]], and starring [[Adrian Grenier]], [[Sarah Michelle Gellar]], [[Joey Lauren Adams]], [[Rebecca Gayheart]], [[Ray Allen]], and [[Eric Stoltz]].

==Plot==
When his parents' house is destroyed in a [[tornado]], [[Harvard University|Harvard]] student Alan Jensen, [[point guard]] for the [[Harvard Crimson men's basketball|Harvard men's basketball team]], is desperate for $100,000 to replace their home. He is approached by his girlfriend Cindy Bandolini, whose father is an [[organized crime]] boss. Cindy convinces Alan to throw a game for the money. She tells Alan that her father is behind the deal, but actually she goes to her father's associate, Teddy Carter, and Carter's assistant, Kelly Morgan for funding. What she does not know is that Carter and Morgan are undercover FBI agents.

Alan throws the game, gives his parents the money, and then undergoes a [[psychedelic experience]] after he ingests a 15,000 microgram dose of [[LSD]], followed by a long stretch of the film during which morphing special effects demonstrate Alan's altered state as he is pursued by Carter, while Cindy is collared by Morgan.

Just when it looks like a toss-up as to what will prove his downfall first, the [[bad trip]], the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]], or the mob, Alan's other girlfriend, who is also his philosophy lecturer, Chesney Cort, saves the day. Not only does she get Alan to a doctor who can bring him back to sobriety, she reveals that she is in a [[ménage à trois|sexual threesome]] with Carter and Morgan. Once he gets some photographic evidence for blackmail, Alan is extricated from his problems.

The ending implies that he may have [[hallucinogen persisting perception disorder]], a chronic disorder in which a person has flashbacks of visual hallucinations, known as flashbacks, during a previous hallucinogenic drug experience. While taking a picture of a boy in the park, the boy's face morphs and Alan hears echoes of past conversations as Sandy says, "Sometimes it never ends". The little boy consoles Alan, telling him, "everything's okay". He responds, "I hope you're right". A close up is shown of his eyes dilated.

==Cast==
* [[Sarah Michelle Gellar]] as Cindy Bandolini
* [[Adrian Grenier]] as Alan Jensen
* [[Joey Lauren Adams]] as Chesney Cort
* [[Eric Stoltz]] as Teddy Carter
* [[Rebecca Gayheart]] as Kelly Morgan
* [[Gianni Russo]] as Andrew Bandolini
* [[Ray Allen]] as Marcus Blake
* Michael Aparo as Russell
* Scottie Epstein as Mario
* [[John Neville (actor)|John Neville]] as Dr. Reese
* [[Polly Shannon]] as Juliet
* Phillip Jarrett as Coach Preston
* Chantal Cousineau as Sandy
* [[Al Franken]] as himself
* [[Ivan Kajfes]] as himself

== Music ==
The film's original score was composed by [[Ryan Shore]].

==Release==
''Harvard Man'' had only a [[Limited release|limited theatrical release]] in July 2002, and received little critical or popular acclaim, although it achieved some success when it was released on [[video]] and [[DVD]] in October of that year.

==Critical reception==
The film received mixed reviews from critics. On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has a rating of 33%, based on 36 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''Harvard Man'' is a pretentious, incoherent mess."<ref>{{rotten-tomatoes|harvard_man|Harvard Man}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], which uses an average of critics' reviews, the film has a score of 49 out of 100, based on 20 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.<ref>{{Metacritic film|title=Harvard Man}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title}}
* {{Mojo title}}
* {{Metacritic film}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes}}

{{James Toback}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvard Man}}
[[Category:2001 films]]
[[Category:2001 comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:2001 crime drama films]]
[[Category:2001 crime thriller films]]
[[Category:2001 independent films]]
[[Category:2000s American films]]
[[Category:2000s comedy thriller films]]
[[Category:2000s crime comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
[[Category:American basketball films]]
[[Category:American comedy thriller films]]
[[Category:American crime comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:American crime thriller films]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:Films about substance abuse in the United States]]
[[Category:Films about the Federal Bureau of Investigation]]
[[Category:Films about mental states]]
[[Category:Films about organized crime in the United States]]
[[Category:Films directed by James Toback]]
[[Category:Films scored by Ryan Shore]]
[[Category:Films set in Boston]]
[[Category:Films set in Harvard University]]
[[Category:Films shot in Boston]]
[[Category:Films shot in Toronto]]
[[Category:The Kushner-Locke Company films]]
[[Category:English-language crime comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:English-language crime thriller films]]
[[Category:English-language comedy thriller films]]