"Old School" Film Review

           Think of your life in 15 years. You will probably have a job, a wife, kids, a home, and an all around pretty steady life. I’m sure that you will be very happy, however if you had the chance to go back to your college life, would you take it? In Old School (2003), directed by Todd Phillips, Mitch (Luke Wilson), Frank (Will Ferrell), and Bernard (Vince Vaughn) capitalized on that opportunity when it was placed in front of them. In 2003, Artios Awards nominated this film for best casting for a feature film and the MTV Movie Awards nominated Will Ferrell for Best Comic Performance. In 2012 Spike Guys’ Choice Awards inducted Old School into the Guy Movie Hall of Fame. I have always appreciated college movies for their humor, but now that I am in college myself, it has a whole new meaning. I can now relate to what is going on in the films and not just laugh along because someone made a joke, but laugh along because it will bring back a memory of when something similar happened to my friends and I.

            To continue on that premise, I can understand why these men so desperately want to go back to their college days. Each of them has had a hardship in their life they are trying to escape. Mitch caught his girlfriend cheating on him, Bernard feels caught in his life of a wife and kids, and Frank’s brand new marriage is falling apart. They all seek solace in returning to their youth where they were happy with no worries. In an attempt to get back into the college life, they decide to start a fraternity. This does not go over well with the dean, though. He is someone that they used to know but bullied and now he hates them and does everything in his power to shut their fraternity down. Not only that, but he also states that anyone involved in the fraternity is subject to expulsion. To avoid this and save the students in the frat, they find a loophole that allows them to keep the frat as long as they participate in a series of activities ranging from academics to athletics to school spirit. If they can achieve a certain score on these assessments, they can keep the fraternity and all the students can stay in school.

            This movie is perfect for college students because it is relatable, easy to understand, and funny. It is very important for a college movie to be something that students can relate to because it will keep their attention. If the movie is about something that they are not interested in at all, the students will be less likely to enjoy it. Also, a significant factor is that the movie is easy to understand, college students have enough to worry about thinking through their classes, homework, and studying all day. They don’t need to go to a movie that confuses them just as much as their calculus homework. Finally, a good feature for a college movie to have is that it is funny. College students have pretty stressful lives especially around exam time. It is a really great release to go to a movie where you can sit and laugh and not worry about any tests you have coming up. I was, however, expecting the movie to be more comical, considering it has a cast full of well-known comedic actors. Will Ferrell commanded the screen when it came to comedy but even he had many serious moments that were uncharacteristic of him. Despite this, I cannot forget my favorite part of the movie: when Ferrell gets shot with a tranquilizer gun and destroys an innocent kid’s birthday party. Vince Vaughn, who I always thought was a humorous actor, did not impress me as much as I would have liked. With all this said, the director does a great job of portraying the college/fraternity life. The frat house looks like a typical, dirty frat house, especially the morning after the party with cans of beer and clothes everywhere. He makes it so college kids can look at it and think of last weekend and adults can look at it and think back 10 years ago even though it feels like it happened just last weekend.

            In conclusion, I highly recommend this movie for anyone looking for a laugh. I think the main audience of this film is college students and adults who want to relive their college years. The nudity and language make this inappropriate for any young kids. After seeing this movie, I think all college students will say that they never want to leave and all adults will say they wish that they could go back.