John Tucker Must Die

"Don't get mad. Get even."

2006 1h 27m EN

😐

6.1

MID

🥫

28%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

5.7

IMDB

★6.1TMDB · 1,520🥫28%Rotten Tomatoes●41Metacritic★5.7IMDB · 91,148

ComedyRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After discovering they are all dating the same same guy, three popular students from different cliques band together for revenge, so they enlist the help of a new gal in town and conspire to break the jerk's heart, while destroying his reputation.

“Don't get mad. Get even.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Jesse Metcalfe
John Tucker
Brittany Snow
Kate
Ashanti
Heather
Sophia Bush
Beth
Arielle Kebbel
Carrie
Penn Badgley
Scott
Jenny McCarthy
Lori
Terrell J. Ramsey
Tommy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Betty Thomas
Writers: Jeff Lowell
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.8× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 20 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Betty Thomas, shot by Anthony B. Richmond. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Richard Gibbs. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Matthew Friedman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jesse Metcalfe and Brittany Snow and Ashanti carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Don't get mad. Get even.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Betty Thomas directs. Anthony B. Richmond behind the camera. Richard Gibbs scores. Matthew Friedman cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Made its money back 3.8× over at the box office.
3Released 20 years ago.
4Directed by Betty Thomas, shot by Anthony B. Richmond. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Richard Gibbs. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Matthew Friedman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Jesse Metcalfe and Brittany Snow and Ashanti carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Don't get mad. Get even.".
9IMDB entry: tt0455967 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "high school", "basketball", "revenge", "falling in love".

The technical file

Cinematography: Anthony B. Richmond
Original score: Richard Gibbs
Editing: Matthew Friedman
Production design: Marcia Hinds
Costume design: Alexandra Welker
Sound: Martin Lopez
Stunt coordinator: Melissa R. Stubbs
Runtime: 87 min · 1h 27m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $18,000,000
Box office: $68,844,775
Return: 382% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: John Tucker Must Die (2006)
Rotten Tomatoes: 28% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 41/100
IMDB rating: 5.7/10 · 91,148 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

2 wins & 2 nominations total

Also by

Betty Thomas

Stills · wallpapers

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

signsoflife2026-01-06
★ 7/10
Entertaining and there's at least two seconds of girlkissing but the ending could've been a whole lot better. Felt very unsatisfactory, like nobody actually took anything from the whole thing. Whatever. All we can get from this is that beautiful girls need their time better spent, maybe dating each other. John Woker would've made a lovely t-girl.

Production companies