It’s stupid, it’s juvenile and, yes, it’s just plain silly. But
most importantly, the movie
”
Old School,
”
currently playing at Premiere Cinemas, is funny.
It’s stupid, it’s juvenile and, yes, it’s just plain silly. But most importantly, the movie “Old School,” currently playing at Premiere Cinemas, is funny.
This 91-minute release from Dreamworks is by no means an attempt at highbrow or classy comedy. Anyone looking for deep sarcasm or witty repartee will not find it in this movie. Director Todd Philips aims low with this piece and hits the mark.
One of the things that makes the movie work is that Philips knows from the beginning that “Old School” is intended to appeal to the part of nearly all of us that loves a little slapstick and can’t help giggling when a character slips on a banana peel.
There are parts of this movie that are oddly reminiscent of “National Lampoon’s Animal House.” Now, this is not as good as “Animal House,” but it does capture some of the zany spirit that made the comedy classic something special.
Another thing that this movie has going for it is the nice comedic teaming of Luke Wilson ( “Charlie’s Angels,” “Legally Blonde” and “Blue Streak”) as Mitch; Will Ferrell (“Zoolander,” “A Night at the Roxbury” and “Austin Powers”) as Frank and Vince Vaughn (“Swingers,” “Lost World” and “Zoolander”) as Beanie.
The three complement each other with their comedic styles. Wilson’s understated, dry wit plays well off Vaughn’s sarcastic, fast-talking wisecracks. And it takes both of them to keep Ferrell’s manic, take-no-prisoners style of comedy even close to being under control. In fact, it’s Ferrell’s escapades – including running completely nude through an otherwise peaceful residential district – that keeps “Old School” on a comedic edge.
It’s Ferrell’s wonderful handling of his character of Frank “the Tank,” a beer swilling, dope-smoking party animal, that drives the plot forward.
The plot centers around Mitch, an attorney for a large company who’s living with his girlfriend Heidi, played wonderfully by Juliette Lewis ( “Natural Born Killers,” “The Other Sister” and “National Lampoon’s Vacation”). One day, Mitch unexpectedly finds out that Heidi is a nymphomaniac, who has been sleeping around with multiple partners behind his back.
A shocked and disgusted Mitch immediately moves out and finds a great bargain on a new house close to a local university.
Making use of the house’s close proximity to the university, Beanie puts on a huge party, inviting a large number of college students – particularly women – hoping that Mitch can drown his sorrows in beer and the arms of a young woman.
The day after the party, an old high school nerd nicknamed “Cheese” whom the trio used to pick on and is now the dean at the university, extends the school’s boundary’s to include Mitch’s new house. Under the law, anyone who lives on school property has to be affiliated with the university in some way, but Beanie finds a loophole that says fraternities can be considered an affiliate of the university.
So, without Mitch’s permission, Beanie enlists a motley mixture of students and disenchanted older men to start a fraternity in Mitch’s home. But unlike other fraternities that dedicate some of their time to community service, the frat Beanie and Mitch put together is dedicated solely to partying and pranks.
This movie is has too much nudity, graphic language and sexually suggestive scenes for youths or sensitive viewers.
