For some reason this movie reminds me of the 2004 flick The Girl Next Door. They both have similar premises steeped in the art of the male fantasy. The earlier film has a loser guy falling for the girl next door, who turns out to be a porn star. Much comedy and hijinx ensue. The newer film centers on a loser guy professing his love for the popular head cheerleader and discovering she may return his affections. Neither film is all that great, but they are both entertaining for what they are, ridiculous escapist fare that has absolutely no basis in reality.
Based on a novel by Larry Doyle, who also wrote the screenplay, I Love You, Beth Cooper tells the story of a nerdy valedictorian who uses his commencement speech to profess his love for the head cheerleader, the titular Beth Cooper. It is something he was goaded into doing in order to leave some sort of mark on his high school years, something that cannot be undone and cannot be taken away. Along the way he also has a few things to say about other members of his graduating class. It is the sort of speech that you dream about, especially if you are a card-carrying member of the downtrodden and forgotten of the high school crowd. Of course, even in dreams there are repercussions, comedic and non-life threatening though they may be. This movie chronicles what happens after the proverbial cat is out of the bag.
The tale begins with Denis Cooverman (Paul Rust) preparing to deliver his speech. He walks to the podium and begins to nervously recite what he had prepared, but then, in a flash of inspiration he lets loose with the words that will forever change his life; well, at least for the next day or two. He has no idea where this will lead and it does not appear that he even gave it any thought.
Anyway, after the ceremony is over, the nervous fellow goes home and prepares for his graduation party. The expected crowd is zero, besides Denis and his possibly gay best friend, Rick Munsch (Jack Carpenter). Before leaving for the evening, his father gives him the "talk." The funniest thing about this is that his father is played by Alan Ruck, who would have likely had the Denis role had this been made in the wake of his Ferris Bueller's Day Off performance.
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