Finally, 2003 has produced a raw comedy worthy of the name.
Without any need to pay lip service to action or romance, Old School dishes up 90 minutes of pure laughs as it tracks a trio of thirty-something guys attempting to relive their college glory days.
Mitch (Luke Wilson), a bored real estate lawyer, sneaks home early from an out of town seminar to find a surprise in his bedroom. Gleefully hosting a bizarre sex orgy, complete with ‘friends from the internet’ and a mood enhancing porno video, is Mitch’s long-time girlfriend, Heidi (Juliette Lewis). Suitably dismayed by the discovery, Mitch quietly packs his bags and moves out.
Renting a cosy little house a few streets from the local college campus, Mitch is all set to live the quiet life until his two best pals commandeer the situation. In Mitch’s new home, Frank (Will Ferrell), a man most definitely under the thumb of his new bride, and Beanie (Vince Vaughn), a stressed out entrepreneur, see the chance to escape their miseries and to live, once again, like irresponsible college party animals. Taking advantage of a loophole in the college’s laws, the three born-again teens proceed to open their own frat house.
However, just when the trio’s future looks like a never ending gravy train of frat pranks, topless women in KY Jelly wrestling action, and all night beer binges, the whole deal is threatened by the stick-in-the-mud college dean.
The ending may be reminiscent of Animal House (1978), Revenge of the Nerds (1984), and countless other frat house comedies, but the laughs throughout Old School make the predictable plot more than forgivable. Ably supported by Wilson (Legally Blonde, The Royal Tenenbaums) and Vaughn (Swingers, Domestic Disturbance), Will Ferrell, as ‘Frank the Tank’, is the comic star of the show.
Ferrell’s portrayal of the ultimate man-with-no-shame is priceless. A drunken and naked escapade down the town’s main street is only beaten for laughs when the Saturday Night Live star shoots himself in the jugular with a tranquilliser dart and proceeds to ruin a children’s birthday party. Ferrell’s performance is one that the late, great John Belushi would have been proud of, and delivers a much needed boost for a genre that’s been subsisting on half-chuckles for far too long.
When Ferrell isn’t providing the giggles, the audience is entertained with some quirky cameos by the likes of rapper Snoop Doggy Dog, talk show host Craig Kilborn, and director Todd Phillips himself. Taking the cake though, in the short appearance department, is Andy Dick (Being John Malkovich, Being Ron Jeremy). The former star of television’s News Radio really turns the absurdity on as a hired fellatio coach.
Ample credit must go to director Todd Phillips (Road Trip and the upcoming Starsky and Hutch) for the comic success of Old School. Giving his stable of actors a free licence does cause the film to dash off on the occasional tangent, but it also provides many additional laughs. The New York filmmaker’s liberal strategy is a winning one, with Old School’s host of comedians let off the leash to do what they do best.
Old School also benefits nicely from an eclectic soundtrack. With the likes of Metallica, Whitesnake, Black Flag, Snoop Doggy Dog, Duran Duran, and even Larry Groce & The Disneyland Children’s Sing-Along Chorus, there’s something for everyone and some vivid audio-inspired memories of the film to be had. Simon & Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence will never be the same again after Old School’s kiddie party scene.
While it doesn’t quite scale the heights to cult status, Todd Phillips’ latest offering does push all the right funny buttons. Thanks to Will Ferrell and Andy Dick at their absolute best, Old School is the lowbrow laugh-a-thon many people have been waiting for.
Three men going through a mid-life crisis decide to move in together in a house that borders the local college. They soon discover that their status w...More at HotMovieSale.com
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