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07/28/03

1 hr. 31. min.
Starring: Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell, Jeremy Piven, Andy Dick, Seann William Scott, Craig Kilborn
Producers: Todd Phillips, Daniel Goldberg, Joe Medjuck
Writers: Todd Phillips and Scot Armstrong
Director: Todd Phillips

Rating: *** Stars (Out Of 4 Stars)

“Old School” is an imperfect movie, but not a boring one and certainly not lacking in side-splitting laughter. What it does wrong is easy to miss and what it gets right is hard to find.

I shouldn’t really be giving this film a good, solid grade, because, to tell the truth, it really isn’t all that great. But it has something that other ’college comedies’ don’t have: originality. Of course, a bunch of thirty-something guys getting drunk and wild isn’t exactly original, but writer-director Todd Phillips actually makes it funny, unlike those other “Animal House” wannabes like “Van Wilder.”

Mitch Martin (Luke Wilson) is an average businessman who catches the early flight home from a conference, and his whole life is turned upside down when he finds that his girlfriend (Juliette Lewis) is the host of an orgy. Distraught, Mitch breaks up with her and moves into a large house on the outskirts of a college. With the help of his friends, Frank (Will Ferrell) and Beanie (Vince Vaughn), Mitch turns his new house into a fraternity for anyone who wants to pledge - old, young, student, non-student. But the guys have a problem when the dean of the local college (Jeremy Piven) wants to shut them down.

My opinion of the film lies somewhere in the middle, since I’m not really a big fan of these kind of films, but it does have that certain quality that the amazing 1978 film “Animal House” had.

What I love about “Old School” is that it is stupid, dumb fun. It doesn’t apply gross-out humor, which is why most teen comedies these days suck. I also loved the casting. Whoever thought of putting Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson, and Vince Vaughn in the same movie, kudos to you. These guys have more chemistry than a laboratory. Let’s start with Ferrell. This guy is hilarious, he’s the real star of this movie. You’ve seen him in “Saturday Night Live” and films like “Austin Powers” and “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” but you’ve never seen him like this: all over the place, drinking, yelling. One of the most memorable scenes in the movie is when Ferrell gets drunk as hell and begins streaking down the street. This guy’s a genius. What can I say for Vaughn? He’s at his best when he’s playing a smirking wiseass. The scenes where he tells his kids to cover his ears so he could swear made me laugh so hard I got a feeling of euphoria. Wilson, the sanest of the guys, is a real good actor. He has charm and is fun to watch, much like his brother Owen. I just wished the guy got better acting gigs like this, it’s been forever since I’ve seen him in a good film.

At about the halfway point of the film, it begins to grow sour. The jokes feel forced and they’re really not all that funny. The reason is because the film starts to develop a plot, and we get all these emotional scenes and long conversations that seem to last ten minutes. Although the second half does deliver some laughs (like Ferrell caught on fire) it absolutely does not match up against the first half.

Having said all that, if you enjoy films like “Animal House,” “Van Wilder,” and “American Pie,” you’ll probably enjoy this film. Although it isn’t the funniest comedy in recent years, “Old School” sure as hell delivers.