There are some very believable performances all round,and I did especially like the old grizzly English teacher, with his insatiable love for his subject. Jeff Bridges does give a good performance and the young narrator, Scott Wolf (did anyone else think he looked a little bit like a very young Tom Cruise) did a good job as well.

 

All in all, it's a good film to be watching at 12 o'clock at night, but it does sink into mediocrity as soon as dawn breaks and you can find something worth watching. Not a must see, but not awful by any accounts.