Repeat Viewing: Old School

This will be the first of a new, recurring series of revisiting classic movies in my collection. These will generally be movies I have watched, rewatched, and probably rewatched again and again. We will cover all genres and all eras. Suggestions for future reviews are welcome. In honor of director Todd Phillips new summer smash hit, The Hangover, the first movie in the series will be his earlier comedy classic, Old School.




Old School



Date Released: 2003
Genre: Comedy
Stars: Luke Wilson, Will Farrell, Vince Vaughn
Director: Todd Phillips

Plot: A newly single man, Mitch (Luke Wilson), moves into a house near a college campus. After his friends (Vince Vaughn and Will Farrell) throw him a wild party they find out that, due to new zoning rule, the house must be school-affiliated or Mitch has to move out. To satisfy the zoning rule (and to escape their own boring lives) they decide to start a new fraternity open to men of all ages. Hilarity ensues.

Best scene: The breaking-in-the-house party "Mitch-A-Palooza." The amazing unleashing of Frank the Tank, Snoop Dogg's backyard jam, and Mitch's hookup with his boss' daughter (Elisha Cuthbert).

Best line: "We're going streaking!" - Frank the Tank

Future TV Stars:

• Ellen Pompeo as "Nicole", Mitch's love interest. She would later gain fame as Dr. Meredith Grey, the star of ABC's Grey's Anatomy.



• Terry O' Quinn as "Goldberg", Mitch's boss. A veteran TV and film actor who would star in TV hit Lost as the mystic island warrior, John Locke.

Cameo out of left field:

• James Carville, former Clinton administration advisor and political analyst, as himself. He is brought in as a substitute debater who is bested by Frank. ("What happened? I blacked out.")

That Guy Hall of Fame:

• Matt Walsh as "Walsh", Mitch's co-worker. You might recognize Walsh, a stand up comic and writer, from such TV shows as Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, Arrested Development and small roles in movies like Bad Santa, Starsky and Hutch, Semi-Pro, Step Brothers, Role Models, I Love You Man, and The Hangover.

Soundtrack: Mostly upbeat, familiar, contemporary pop songs, but also some classics and blues mixed in.

• Ryan Adams, "To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High)" kicks off the movie with Mitch running through the airport to get home to his horny girlfriend.



• Dan Finnerty and the Dan Band, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" possibly the funniest wedding band scene of all time. with the over-eager lead singer inserts some choice words into the 1983 Bonnie Tyler classic.



• Snoop Dogg, "Papered Up" Snoop kills this Eric B. and Rakim old school jam during the Mitch-A-Palooza backyard concert.



• Metallica, "Master of Puppets" While the men collect their fraternity rushes in a tricked out black-as-death conversion van, Metallica thrashes through their speed metal classic.
  

Permanent Influences on Pop Culture:

• Frank the Tank



• "You're my boy, Blue!"



• "earmuffs"

Breakout Star:

Will Farrell as Frank the Tank. This is the movie that turned Will Farrell from Saturday Night Live star into bonafide movie star. Remember before this Farrell's biggest movie roles were as the villian Mugatu in Zoolander and as a wildlife marshall in Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Post-Old School Farrell starred in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy, Elf, and Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda within a year. The rest is history.

Upon Further Review: (The Hangover SPOILER WARNING AHEAD!!!)

Re watching this since having seen the The Hangover there are some startling similarities and themes. The lead characters in both movies follow a certain "type." Mitch in Old School (OS) is basically Doug, the groom-to-be in The Hangover (TH). A straight-man who is the stable center for his wacky friends. Beanie (Vaughn) in OS is a smooth-talking family man exactly like Phil the school teacher in TH.

Frank the Tank is a mash-up of Stu, the dentist, and Alan, the bearded man-child in TH. Stu is a repressed professional in an unhappy relationship about to propose to an abusive shrew. Frank is a repressed animal unleashing himself after recently marrying into an unhappy union. Alan is a socially awkward tag along whose actions lead directly to a night of lost memories and misadventures. Frank is a middle-aged man recapturing his youth while shooting himself in the neck with horse tranquilizers, doing beer bongs, and streaking solo through town.

Another weird similarity: Doug gets stuck on the roof of the hotel for two days getting baked by the sun and turning bright red. Frank botches his mascot dive through a flaming hoop and reemerges in the locker room with his entire body turned bright red from the burning suit.

END OF SPOILERS

Final Verdict:

Old School is a timeless comedy gem that gets better and better with each viewing. It is the rare funny movie that doesn't fall apart before the credits roll. The plot, as thin as it is (frat vs. dean of college), stays good to the end and the subplot with Mitch pursuing Nicole doesn't drag the comedy down. Pompeo actually brings a different vibe and a bubbly energy to the movie that shifts gears nicely. Luke Wilson is good as Mitch and Vince Vaughn has some great one-liners while basically playing himself. But really this is the Will Farrell comedy show. His Frank the Tank character is one of the funniest, self-destructive schlubs ever to be put on film and he steals every scene he's in.

Repeat Viewing Grade: 5 out of 5