Lumsdal Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

xile19766 This movie is not even close. I went to Steinmetz when this happened, and one of the kids in this was a friend of mine. We went to Monroe middle school together, and wound up going to the same high school. His name was Thomas and he was always smart and always top of his class. Neither school was portrayed accurately. This movie would have been OK if I didn't know any better. I guess its true what they say about a "based on a true story" movie. Its 5% truth and 95% fiction. I wish they would have done a little more research on the schools before making this film. Whitney Young was the school to beat at that time, but they were not the tidy little students you see in this film. They had the same gang fights we had, the same trouble makers in class (me), The thing they had that we didn't was better teachers.

maydmaryn I can see how some might find this film rewarding - watching the little guy take down the overbearing elitists that win every year. Those homogeneous white kids at Whitney Young all wear button down shirts, and come from privileged backgrounds. And that Larry Minkoff, he just wanted his team to crush the other schools. That all makes nice drama, but has little to do with the actual story. Sure, Cheaters, is based on a true story, but its omissions and perversions of the truth make it little more than a piece of trash.You won't be surprised to learn that I actually went to Whitney Young. When I first saw HBO's incarnation of my high school, I had to laugh – WY is a Chicago Public School (although a magnet) with a minority of white students and not an Oxford shirt to be found. I got over it pretty quickly, however, when the film turned into a character assassination of a man that had died tragically the previous year and kids that had worked their butts off to get where they were. Cheaters portrays WY as claiming Steinmetz cheated because they beat them. In reality, Steinmetz was the only school in the competition to improve – literally every other competing school's scores, including WY, had dropped significantly. Young raised the charge, but they were not alone in thinking something other than increased study time at Steinmetz's had happened.I appreciate how difficult it can be for neighborhood schools to compete with magnet schools, which select students based on test scores and are given more flexibility with curriculum. It provides a disparity that can be very difficult or even impossible to overcome. The ultimate message of Cheaters, however, seems to be that sometimes you need to cheat to succeed. I'm not really sure that's an ideal to strive toward. Also, it's portrayal of Larry Minkoff was very hurtful to his family, friends, and everyone who knew him for the kind and generous man he actually was. This film has made me watch films that claim to be "true stories" or based thereon with a much more critical eye. I hope anyone who reads this will take Cheaters with a very large grain of salt.

Mr_Sensitive This is a good film and I really like it. I really don't know why, but I'm keep on watching it. It's fun, yet it only just about cheating in the competition. But they have cheated because the people and their surrounding have pressurized them. Jeff Daniels as the teacher have to make a decision if he would allowed his student to cheat, he himself was pressurize by the fellow teachers and his mother saying he was up to nothing unlike his brother. Even after hard work they still fail. Of-course one would be disappointed. And when the chances come why not grab it. I would have cheated myself at least it would provoke the spirit of the team. After all the movie did bring out all the things it needed. And it seem people really like the movie.I do.Max: B+

JoshuaJ956 In a time of society when cheating -- at the high school level more specifically -- is a daily occurrence . This movie accurately shows the effects of what it brings and what the result can be.Cheating happens. It can be at the academic or the athletic level or at the financial level. It has no boundaries. This movie depicts just one of those levels.The accuracy -- whether or not it is based on a true story -- is superb. I really enjoy this movie and recommend it to everyone.