The New Guy is a 2002 American teen comedy film directed by Ed Decter, written by David Kendall and starring DJ Qualls, Eliza Dushku, Zooey Deschanel, Lyle Lovett, and Eddie Griffin. The film tells the story of a scrawny high schooler named Dizzy Harrison (Qualls) gets himself expelled to reinvent his identity at a new school. With advice from a prison inmate (Griffin), he transforms into the "cool" Gil Harris, winning over the school and dating the head cheerleader (Dushku). The New Guy was released by Sony Pictures Releasing on May 10, 2002. The film received generally negative reviews, but was a modest box office success.