Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Speech & Debate

Play trailer 2:30 Poster for Speech & Debate PG-13 2017 1h 55m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
55% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 46% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Frustrated by the hypocrisy they see in their parents, teachers, and the members of the school board, an unlikely trio set out to find a common truth and make their voices heard as they revive a defunct school club and take on the world.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

Speech & Debate

Critics Reviews

View More
Nell Minow Movie Mom 04/14/2017
B
A heartfelt love letter from theater kids to theater kids. Go to Full Review Frank Scheck The Hollywood Reporter 04/11/2017
The film's stage origins, and a cameo appearance by Lin-Manuel Miranda, may be of interest to theater buffs, but everyone else will be left wondering what all the fuss was about. Go to Full Review Andrew Barker Variety 04/07/2017
Once a darkly comic romp centered around outing a pedophile teacher, this adaptation has been shorn of its sharpest edges, leaving a largely unfocused, conventional teen dramedy in its place. Go to Full Review D.R. Baker The Young Folks 04/28/2017
6/10
...Speech & Debate will probably not stand out among the best, although it is, at times, a fun ride anyway. Go to Full Review Brian Costello Common Sense Media 04/18/2017
3/5
Coming-of-age tale confronts teen issues; sex and drinking. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
steve d 12/11/2022 As a former Debater and coach, I wanted to like it, but it tries way to hard and does nothing interesting. See more 06/20/2021 Estava tão cult, até transformar se em um pastelão, adolescentes caindo de bêbados e drogados na esbornia, desvirtuou o que seria um filme leve e divertido sobre jovens liberais inteligentes e militando em prol da liberdade sexual, mães solteiras e afins, o discurso & debate quase se perdeu… Mas se recuperou de forma brilhante, aquele musical final, salvou, era o que eu esperava desses jovens "encrenqueiros" e reacionários… Um filme delicinha, descompromissado, que levanta uma linda bandeira.... See more Andrea N 06/14/2021 Surprised this movie doesn't have better reviews because I thought it was very funny and enjoyable. See more Robbie M 05/26/2021 Absolute cliché, boring garbage See more 09/14/2020 Three misfit high school students in a misfit script with misfit acting and misfit pacing and a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. BTW they are terrible at speech and debate. See more 05/24/2018 This was definitely the worst movie I have seen in years. The main character has a terrible singing voice. It gave me a headache to listen to her. The plot is completely incoherent, and the ending is awful. The acting is worse than a middle school play. I made an account just to warn people how horrible this movie is. You may have made some bad decisions in life, but watching this movie will be by far your worst. See more Read all reviews
Speech & Debate

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

Dan Harris

Director

Sarah Steele

Diwata

Liam James

Solomon

Austin P. McKenzie

Howie

Kal Penn

James

Janeane Garofalo

Marie

More Like This

View All
Barbershop: The Next Cut 91% 66% Barbershop: The Next Cut Watchlist TRAILER for Barbershop: The Next Cut Uncle Drew 62% 48% Uncle Drew Watchlist TRAILER for Uncle Drew No manches Frida 13% 72% No manches Frida Watchlist TRAILER for No manches Frida Life of the Party 38% 40% Life of the Party Watchlist TRAILER for Life of the Party Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

Speech & Debate

Speech & Debate: Trailer 1 Speech & Debate: Trailer 1 2:30 View more videos
View All

Speech & Debate

View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Frustrated by the hypocrisy they see in their parents, teachers, and the members of the school board, an unlikely trio set out to find a common truth and make their voices heard as they revive a defunct school club and take on the world.
Director
Dan Harris
Producer
Tom Rice
Screenwriter
Stephen Karam
Distributor
Vertical Entertainment
Production Co
Sycamore Pictures, Vertical Entertainment
Rating
PG-13 (Teen Sexuality|Mature Thematic Content|Substance Use|Some Language)
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 7, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 13, 2017
Runtime
1h 55m
Most Popular at Home Now