Long Before the MCU, Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson Teamed Up for This Heist Movie

A little while before Captain America and Black Widow were kicking villainous behinds, Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson were scheming to steal the future… well, sort of. 2004’s The Perfect Score paired the future A-listers up for a very different kind of mission where the stakes were good SAT scores instead of a hefty payday. But for a group of teens desperate to break free from the pressure cooker of high school, that might as well be the same thing.

What this heist dramedy does is take the classic caper formula and trade high-tech gadgets and vaults for a plan to swipe the answers to the SATs. Blending humor, teen angst, and a touch of rebellion, The Perfect Score perfectly captures that early 2000s vibe complete with a pop-punk soundtrack, plenty of denim, and a boldness that’s rare these days. Evans plays the charming rebel, Johansson the too-cool-for-school artist, and their rag-tag crew delivers all the chaos one would expect when a bunch of kids try to pull off a "perfect" crime. At the end of the day, it may not be the most ambitious heist flick out there, but it’s a time capsule of pre-superhero Hollywood and a reminder that even Marvel heroes had to start somewhere.

‘The Perfect Score’ Is More About Bonding Than Breaking Into Vaults

Summing it all up, The Perfect Score is a high school movie with heart. While it’s technically a movie about breaking into a testing facility to steal the answers to the SATs, the narrative leans more into the relationships forged along the way. In its own way, the film is less like Ocean’s Eleven and a bit more like The Breakfast Club with an extra splash of rebellion. It throws together an unlikely group of teens comprising Kyle (Chris Evans), the dreamer; Francesca (Scarlett Johansson), the artsy cynic; Matty (Bryan Greenberg) the lovesick goofball; and Anna (Erika Christensen), the overachiever. There’s also Desmond (Darius Miles), the basketball star under pressure, and Roy (Leonardo Nam), the lovable stoner. At first, they couldn’t be more different if they tried. However, their shared desperation to ace the SATs brings them together.

Perhaps the actual selling point here is how The Perfect Score uses the heist as a backdrop for their struggles. Though they’re as different as day and night, each character has a unique and valid reason for wanting to pull off the caper. As the plan unfolds — and inevitably falls apart — it’s their budding friendship that steals the spotlight and by the end, the SAT answers feel almost irrelevant. So, while everyone loves a good heist movie, the real win here isn’t their bid to ace the test, but how they found unlikely kindred spirits in each other even when their plan went up in smoke.

‘The Perfect Score’ Is a Time Capsule of Teen Rebellion and Real-World Issues

A good teen movie is never complete without some over-the-top commentary on the struggles of growing up. In that regard and more, The Perfect Score ticks all the boxes and then some because while it’s a heist movie on paper, it’s also a playful jab at the ridiculous pressure teens face to plan their futures around a single test score. For instance, Kyle’s frustration is over being rejected from architecture school because of his SAT score and this highlights how unfairly this single test defines students. There’s also Anna, who’s so obsessed with acing the SATs that she has practice tests everywhere she goes. Desmond worries that his athletic scholarship depends on a score he knows won’t reflect his true intelligence. Each issue is as relatable as the next and The Perfect Score brings all these anxieties to life, albeit with a bit of exaggeration for comedic effect.

The Perfect Score is undoubtedly peak early 2000s teen angst, but the film also aims at the one-size-fits-all system that reduces kids to numbers without being heavy-handed in its messaging. It also offers a soft landing for its critique using some good ‘ol fashioned humor and absurdity. Take the scene where Kyle tries to memorize the SAT answers in advance but ends up zoning out while staring at a surreal motivational poster. It’s such a goofy look at the real-life phenomenon of panic-cramming for tests. Even more, it makes viewers root for these characters because they’re trying to do something that’s relatable, cathartic, and over the top. By the end of it all, and as expected, the group realizes that stealing the answers won’t solve their problems. That’s where a clear message emerges — sometimes the system needs questioning, but real growth comes from finding out who you are.

The Perfect Score is available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.

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