While its a welcome trend that we are getting more movies that tackle life in school, the films themselves haven't given us much to cheer about. Rarely managing to convey the sense of fun that one experiences in those days, movies like Pattaalam and now Kulir 100 Degree make us wonder if the directors are just not ready to take on that phase of life yet. On top of that, Kulir 100 Degree is also completely unrealistic.

Surya(Sanjeev) attends a school in Chennai. His mother, who has divorced his dad(Aditya) because of his violent lifestyle, wants him to be a well-behaved kid but it looks like Surya has inherited his dad's genes since he is expelled from school after beating up his teacher. So his mom packs him off to the exclusive Lakeview school in Ooty. Rohit(Rohit), Akash, the principal's son, and Ralthe run the Student Council at the school and Surya rubs them the wrong way. Tanya(Riya), the principal's daughter and Bablu(Bobo Sasi), Surya's friend and roommate are on his side.

Kulir 100 Degree tells the story seen in movies like Thiruvannaamalai, where the hero follows the non-violence route because of some reason but finds it difficult to keep doing so as the provocations get bigger. It just moves the story to a school setting. The move is done reasonably well as the problems and provocations are what the kids would encounter in school. But the film feels like its all build-up. The cycle of the three kids insulting or hurting Sanjeev and Sanjeev taking it silently or giving it back in kind goes on for too long. The insults and revenge do get bigger but that doesn't dispel the feeling that the story hasn't moved forward at all. The cycle does end in an effective - even if somewhat predictable - manner though the end could have happened much earlier without much change to the story.

As movies like Pasanga show, movies set in schools or colleges work if they take us down memory lane by triggering small, dormant memories about our lives during those times. Kulir 100 Degree has no such aspirations but the bigger problem is that it doesn't attempt to even be realistic. The school's location is ridiculous with directions to the hostel, school, etc. arbitrarily pinned on some trees(there's even a sign that helpfully says 'Forest'!). The student council is all-powerful with even the principal deferring to them to resolve problems. There is barely any sign of classes being conducted and other activities(like the flag race, which is a bunch of unsupervised kids beating each other up and pushing pushing each other down a tree in a mad race to get to a flag) are blatantly unbelievable. And this is a school which, according to its principal, is one of the best schools in South Asia! With such an unrealistic setting, its no surprise that the happenings there don't make much of an impact either.

The initial role-reversal between Sanjeev and his mom is interesting and there are some interesting family dynamics as she considers his dad a bad influence and tries to keep him away. But neither of these are used later and feel wasted. And considering this interesting start, the way other relationships are handled is shocking. The rude way Riya's mom is treated looks like a throwaway aspect and its almost surreal when Riya, who we think is going to stand up for her mom, ends up doing so by spouting cinema dialogs which make us wonder if she is serious or joking(she does this once with Sanjeev too). The romance is dealt with in the same shabby manner and the way Riya's story arc is closed is abrupt and meaningless. Closure is always nice but not in this way!

Sanjeev is quite stiff but that doesn't hurt much as he is shown as the casual, unflappable type. Riya seems more at ease in front of the camera but is hampered by her character that alternates between being normal and seeming crazy. Bobo Sasi initially tries too hard to get laughs but actually impresses more when he is serious. The trio of mean kids is good with Rohit and the kid playing Ralthe making good villains. The film's is aided by a nice soundtrack. The songs are picturized well with some good choreography, nice locations and impressive images(like the burning cottage in the pathos number).