The Preppie Connection

R

Released Mar 18, 2016

1 hr. 35 min.

Drama

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11%

9 Reviews

Tomatometer

61%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

A drug-dealing student (Thomas Mann) at a prep school travels to Colombia to try and smuggle cocaine back into the United States.

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Audience Member

With a hurried ending, the Preppie Connection hits the highlights of a college boy turned campus drug god. It's all the exciting parts, without much of a deep connection.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

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john m

There's absolutely no exploration into the main character and it's a story that's been shown in different scenarios a million times in film. It basically just feels like someone found the facts of the true story and put them in bullet points of a script and that's what was shot. Mixed with half-ass, obvious narration that doesn't lend anything to who Tobias is.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Worth the watch, an entertaining wild drama of teenage wealth and crime

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

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Audience Member

The rythm of the movie seems very forced and overall boring. Really bad job at recreating the vibe of 80s

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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Audience Member

The Preppie Connection is a film based on the 1984 drug scandal at Choate Rosemary Hall, an elite private High School in Connecticut. Toby Hammel (Thomas Mann) is a good student who is awarded a scholarship to this elite private high school, but when he gets there, he discovers, as the poor kid, he doesn't quite fit in. In order to make friends, fit in with the popular kids, and get close to the girl his heart desires, Toby tells them that he can get them whatever drugs they desire. The truth is he has no idea how to do that, but someone as smart as he is was bound to figure it out. As with many of these films, some artistic license was taken, and not everything in the film is exactly what happened, however I find films like that make for the best dramas. Think about it for a second, some things in life happen that are just so strange and twisted that even the best writers couldn't make them up. These films play as more realistic, audiences tend to connect closer with the characters, and they even become invested in the story. I myself went searching Wikipedia afterwards to see what happened to everybody all these years later. The star of the film is Thomas Mann and other than his eerie resemblance to Sid in Lords of Dogtown, I knew nothing about him, but his performance was astonishing. Coming from a bunch of teen party movies to doing something like this was a huge step in the right direction and hopefully a big break for a talented young actor. V star Logan Huffman and newcomer Lucy Fry round out a stellar albeit unknown cast. IFC films are my favorite Independent films, stories based on real life events are my favorite kinds of drama, add to the mix a talented and relatively unknown young cast and you have the recipe for a film that does not disappoint. The Preppie Connection may not have the action or big name star that appeals to many fans, but by in large it is an unforgettable story of just what one person is capable of when properly motivated.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Eh. Was OK, but not really into movies that glamorize the teen drug scene, since anyone's capable of dealing and running drugs. Expect to see a lot more like this, especially after/during an opioid epidemic. Also, very weak love scene (one).

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

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Joseph Castelo

Director

Thomas Mann

Tobias Hammel

Lucy Fry

Alex Hayes

Sam Page

Mr. Jennings

Logan Huffman

Ellis Tynes

Bill Sage

Mike Hammel

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The Preppie Connection: Trailer 1

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John Hartl

Seattle Times

The movie needs the audacity of a "Trainspotting" to lift it above the norm.

Rated: 2.5/4

Apr 14, 2016

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

Variety

A dramatized real-life scandal of 1980s prep-school drug dealing plays like a tepid compilation of fictive cliches in The Preppie Connection.

Mar 30, 2016

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Randy Cordova

Arizona Republic

As written, Toby is somewhat of an empty slate, and Mann doesn't do much to fill in the blanks.

Rated: 2.5/5

Mar 24, 2016

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Jeffrey Lyons

Huffington Post

An edgy drama and an effective cautionary tale well worth seeing.

Apr 5, 2016

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David Noh

Film Journal International

[A] shallow and profoundly unexciting "true-life account" of one student's brief reign as a campus drug lord.

Mar 21, 2016

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Synopsis

A drug-dealing student (Thomas Mann) at a prep school travels to Colombia to try and smuggle cocaine back into the United States.

Director: Joseph Castelo
Screenwriter: Joseph Castelo, Ashley Rudden
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Coalition Films, Relic Pictures
Rating: R (Sexuality/Nudity|Language Throughout|Drug Use|Some Violence)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 18, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 2, 2017

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