Cheats is a 2002

2002 in film

The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...

 comedy about four friends that have been cheating their way through high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

, and have to face new challenges to avoid getting caught before going to college

College

A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...

. The lead roles are Trevor Fehrman

Trevor Fehrman

Trevor Gregory Fehrman is an American actor.Trevor was born and grew up in South St. Paul, Minnesota where he performed in theater at his high school and did local commercial acting and modeling before his first TV break for NBC's Encore! Encore!. Both of Trevor's parents were school teachers in...

, Matthew Lawrence

Matthew Lawrence

Matthew William Lawrence is an American actor known for his leading role in the movie Cheats with Trevor Fehrman and his role of Jack Hunter on the ABC sitcom Boy Meets World from 1997 to 2000, and his roles in movies such as The Hot Chick, The Comebacks, and Mrs...

, and Mary Tyler Moore

Mary Tyler Moore

Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...

.

The original name of the movie was "Cheaters" but was thought to be confused with the movie Cheaters

Cheaters (film)

Cheaters is an HBO movie released in 2000 that chronicles the story of the 1994-1995 Steinmetz High School team that cheated in the United States Academic Decathlon . It is based on a true story...

starring Jeff Daniels

Jeff Daniels

Jeffrey Warren "Jeff" Daniels is an American actor, musician and playwright. He founded a non-profit theatre company, the Purple Rose Theatre Company, in his home state of Michigan...

. The real Applebee refused to take part in the 18 minute DVD special feature documentary based on the actual Cheats, and as such his name had to be censored whenever used.

Plot summary

While other kids at the elite North Point Academy spend countless hours studying, Handsome Davis sees it as nothing more than a system of control over your mind. That's why Handsome and his three best friends Sammy, Victor and the cribsheet genius Applebee have banded together and found ways to cheat on their tests all through their school years. Everything had been going along smoothly until the gang entered their final year of high school and the stakes were upped by the school's principal, Mrs. Stark. If they get caught cheating again Stark will make a note in their permanent records and possibly kill their chances of getting into college. But can Handsome convince his pals to pull off one last, great cheat with him and outsmarting Stark and the system, even if it means possibly destroying their friendships?

Documentary

On DVD edition there is a 18 minute documentary, showing people on whose real life events story is based, more than 10 years before.

Main cast

• Trevor Fehrman
  Trevor Fehrman
  Trevor Gregory Fehrman is an American actor.Trevor was born and grew up in South St. Paul, Minnesota where he performed in theater at his high school and did local commercial acting and modeling before his first TV break for NBC's Encore! Encore!. Both of Trevor's parents were school teachers in...
  
   as Handsome Davis
• Elden Henson
  Elden Henson
  Elden Henson is an American actor. He is best known for playing Fulton Reed in the Mighty Ducks trilogy with Emilio Estevez, and playing Lenny Kagan in The Butterfly Effect....
  
   as Sammy Green
• Matthew Lawrence
  Matthew Lawrence
  Matthew William Lawrence is an American actor known for his leading role in the movie Cheats with Trevor Fehrman and his role of Jack Hunter on the ABC sitcom Boy Meets World from 1997 to 2000, and his roles in movies such as The Hot Chick, The Comebacks, and Mrs...
  
   as Victor Barone
• Martin Starr
  Martin Starr
  Martin Starr is an American television and film actor, known for his roles as Bill Haverchuck on the short-lived NBC comedy-drama Freaks and Geeks and as Roman DeBeers on the Starz comedy series Party Down, as well as for his roles in the films Knocked Up, Cheats, and Adventureland.-Life and...
  
   as Applebee
• Mary Tyler Moore
  Mary Tyler Moore
  Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
  
   as Mrs. Stark, Principal North Point Academy
• Maggie Lawson
  Maggie Lawson
  Margaret "Maggie" Lawson is an American actress who is best known for her role as Juliet O'Hara in the TV show Psych...
  
   as Julie Merkel
• Babs Chula as Mrs. Rosengarden ( as Babz Chula)
• David Krumholtz
  David Krumholtz
  David Krumholtz is an American actor best known for playing Professor Charlie Eppes in the television series Numb3rs. He appeared as Seth Goldstein in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and its two sequels, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay and A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas...
  
   as Evan Rosengarden
• Dixon Cohee as Greedy Herman
• Griffin Dunne
  Griffin Dunne
  -Personal life:Dunne was born Thomas Griffin Dunne in New York City, New York, the son of Ellen Beatriz Dunne and Dominick Dunne. His mother founded the victims' rights organization Justice for Homicide Victims and his father was a producer, writer, and actor...
  
   as Mr. Davis, Handsome's Father
• Kathryn Anderson as 2nd Grade Teacher
• Brett Kelly as Young Sammy
• Casey Dubois as Handsome (2nd Grade / Kindergarten)
• Leonie Haworth as Julie (2nd Grade)