Customer Reviews

Back to School

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After his appearance on Leno recently, it seems Rodney Dangerfield is losing his touch due to age and his admitted pot smoking. He still had it in Back to School, however. This has always been a good way to spend 90 minutes or so to get some laughs. Along with Caddyshack and Easy Money, it's his best work.

Be careful of which DVD version you buy. There are two floating around out there and they both look the same until you make a close inspection of the back cover. MGM quietly slipped this new transfer out there with the same cover without as much as a peep. The original copy was non-anamorphic widescreen and was a poor transfer with some framing issues. The new one is a great improvement with anamorphic widescreen and 5.1 Surround Sound. You have to look at the bottom left of the back cover. You will see 16:9 Widescreen 1.85:1 versus the old one which did not have the '16:9' printed above the word Widescreen. The free booklet with the older copy was nice but the new anamorphic transfer and 5.1 trump the importance of the little booklet included in the older DVD release. I don't know why they didn't throw in the old booklet but its importance is negligible. You don't buy DVDs for booklets anyway.

One more thing. Always buy DVD releases of films in their OAR(Original Aspect Ratio). Don't buy Fullscreen copies if the movie was originally released in Widescreen to theaters. The only time you should buy (Fullscreen, 1.33:1, 4X3) is if that was the OAR, which is usually only television these days and much older films from the early 50's and beyond. Why would you want to watch a film with the sides chopped off? You'll learn to live with the 'black bars' and realize that you're not losing any picture on the top or bottom.

As the word reaches us that Rodney Dangerfield has died without waking up from his coma, we take this occasion to salute him by viewing one more time his comedy classic, "BACK TO SCHOOL." Adrienne Barbeau is in it, playing a trophy wife of yesteryear, grasping and unfaithful, she's only in it for the money any more. Thornton Melon runs a men's store called, "TALL AND FAT," and I would have liked to see a whole sequel to BACK TO SCHOOL that focussed on the day to day life of running this haberdashery. Anyway he's rich enough to be able to afford to hire Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. to write a term paper for him. Sam Kinison is in the movie too as the history professor--crazy and out of this world! And Sally Kellerman is more subdued than usual playing Diane Turner, the English professor who, in a memorable scene, makes Rodney analyze the meaning of Dylan Thomas' famous poem, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night."

Robert Downey Jr is in the movie too, he's always good for a laugh or two. And Keith Gordon plays the son, maybe his best part after the young son of Angie Dickinson in DRESSED TO KILL. But most of all the picture belongs to the one and only Rodney Dangerfield. Rodney, we will miss your attitude and your "I get no respect" whining. You always saw things the way the common man did. We salute you for your tremendous achievements. As Dylan Thomas said,

"And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

This is one of those movies I can watch every six months because of the great humor and story Dangerfield stars in. Dangerfield goes back to college to be closer to his son and the funny one-liners and humor really come together in this funny and intriguing comedy. I also enjoyed Dangerfield's acting in which he has to earn the respect of his son at school and how he cares about father-and-son issues. I think Dangerfield is at his best here and it's unfortunate we haven't seen another film like this from him and I simply have to call this film a comedy classic!

Coming three years after making a big splash with his first-ever starring role, in the 1983 Horror classic CHRISTINE, Keith Gordon returned in this, the 1986 Comedy classic BACK TO SCHOOL, starring one of the most beloved comedians of all time, Rodney Dangerfield.

The story actually begins in 1940, where young Thornton Meloni (Jason Hervey, who would become famous two years later as Fred Savage's older brother on the TV show "The Wonder Years") is being exhorted by his immigrant father to stay in school and not to take over his tailoring business. The kid ends up not listening to him and becomes a high school dropout, taking over the business and changing it to a "Tall & Fat Store" while taking the "i" off the end of his last name and making a fortune. The fifty-something adult Thornton Melon (Rodney Dangerfield) is having an awful second marriage to Vanessa (Adrienne Barbeau in full vamp mode), but is proud of his college freshman son Jason (Keith Gordon), whom he thinks is in a popular fraternity and on the school's diving team. Soon after arriving for a surprise visit, however, Jason admits the truth that he's not in a frat, is not popular and is, in fact, the 'towel boy' for the diving team. Jason wants to leave school because it's not going the way he thought it would. The tall, beautiful Valerie (Terry Farrell) won't even notice him, and his roommate and only friend Derek (Robert Downey, Jr.) is a complete weirdo with wild hairstyles that appear to change daily. Rich Dad has an idea: he'll enroll as a freshman himself and that will influence Jason to have a better time and to stay in school!

After pulling some strings, including donating a huge sum for a brand-new School of Business (it is, after all, not everyday that a well-respected university will take on a student who never finished high school, even someone as rich as Thornton Melon), fun-loving Thornton proceeds to throw his weight around, changing Jason & Derek's room into a plaza suite (complete with a hot tub), throwing awesome parties and even romancing his English professor (Sally Kellerman), much to the chagrin of her uptight boyfriend, Business professor Phillip Barbay (Paxton Whitehead), who would like nothing better than an excuse to drum the impudent Thornton Melon out of the university! Meanwhile, Thornton uses his considerable influence on Coach Turnbull (M. Emmett Walsh) to let Jason officially join the squad, which upsets the snobby star diver Chas (William Zabka) who suddenly finds himself competing for his girlfriend Terry, who begins to take a liking to Jason.

If this all sounds like too much plot for this 96-minute movie, let me just say that BACK TO SCHOOL makes very efficient use of its time (no slow points here), and equally good use of Mr. Dangerfield's comedic talents, that the plot itself is almost secondary to the one-liners Rodney uses in his usual self-deprecating way. Plus, the cameos are real fun, especially Kurt Vonnegut Jr. as himself, being hired to write a paper for Jason about--what else?--Kurt Vonnegut Jr.! The music is very upbeat 80's here (as you would expect for a movie of this type); however, it does mark the film scoring debut for Danny Elfman of Oingo Bongo who appears in the film (as themselves) performing their great classic "Dead Man's Party" (which, incidentally, had been on the soundtrack to WEIRD SCIENCE a year earlier).

Even if certain occurrences are patently unbelievable, such as the oral exam scene late in the film, BACK TO SCHOOL is so much fun to watch that it doesn't matter what happens, just as long as Rodney's and Gordon's characters win in the end and make us laugh while doing it. It is of definite interest to us Star Trek fans that Terry Farrell would eventually go on to play Lt. Dax on TV in "Deep Space Nine." Also, watch quickly for a cameo by Robert Picardo (who would join the aforementioned Jason Hervey two years later in "The Wonder Years" playing the dreaded Coach Cutlip, then later on joining Ms. Farrell in the Star Trek series in his wonderful role of the holographic Doctor) as the guy Thornton catches Vanessa fooling around with at a big party. Oh, and Sam Kinison is hilarious in a small role, playing himself as a shell-shocked History professor who never quite came out of Vietnam.

Everybody is great in this mid-80's comedy classic. Lastly, you have to love a Rodney Dangerfield movie that features a university dean by the name of Dean Martin (the always-wonderful Ned Beatty). BACK TO SCHOOL really takes us back to school on what a great film comedy should be. Add this one to your DVD library! Even with the lack of a lot of extras, it's still very much worth it.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Don't you just miss 80's movies like Back To School? A film starring one of the funniest men on the planet (Mr. Rodney Dangerfield) with an ensemble cast of famous names unto themselves, has got to have SMASH MOVIE written all over it, and it does! A simple premise: Thornton Melon (Dangerfield) has become a wealthy millionaire even though he dropped out of high school, and now his son, Jason (Keith Gordon) wants to drop out of college, so in order to keep him from leaving, Thornton decides to go to college too! There are so many hysterical moments I just can't print them all. But some favorites are the big scene with Sam Kinison as the crazed history teacher, Professor Terguson ("Good teacher. He really seems to care. About what I have no idea".), Thornton doing the Triple Lindey swimming dive (with Derek[Robert Downey Jr.]distracting the rival diving team with loud noise and reflecting light to the face), Thornton's rendition of "Twist And Shout" at a local bar, and of course, the party in Thornton's dorm room, with Danny Elfman's band, Oingo Boingo and a killer hot tub, complete with BUBBLES! ("Now that's what I call marine biology".) But a truly winning comedy can't be completely great without heart, which is what this film has. Keith Gordon (John Carpenter's Christine), who is sorely missed in the acting world since he changed his profession to directing, is great as Thornton's son, Jason, who loves his father a lot but feels like Dad's always trying to do too much to make him happy when all he wants to do is live his own life. Terry Farrell (TVs Star Trek: DS9 & Becker) makes a good love interest for him too. I always knew she'd make a name for herself one day. Of course you can't make this sort of film without the bad guys and both father and son have each of their own: William Zabka (who we all should remember as bad boy Johnnie from The Karate Kid) as Chas, the snotty swim diver, and Paxton Whitehead as Philip Barbay, Thornton's economics professor are both out to give our duo a not so sweet time at college. But with Sally Kellerman as the funloving literature teacher, Diane, helping Thornton with reading (and biology) just made things a whole lot more fun. This film has such a great mix of comic chemistry and one-liners that you may miss after the first viewing from laughing so hard. But it's also a movie that just makes you feel good when it's all over.

The DVD isn't much on special features, only a trailer, which has a scene not in the film of Thornton and his bodyguard, Lou (Burt Young of the "Rocky" movies as Paulie) looking at a college sex book ("Well, they left out the most important thing...where to get it"). But at least they give you a letterboxed version (1.85:1) as well as a full framed version. But for the asking price, this disc is worth it. Maybe someday they'll get the gang together and make a documentary and audio commentary. Until then get this DVD. I haven't seen the picture look this good in years. The VHS pales in comparison.

So, if you're tired of all the bland humor that seems to be coming out of the Hollywood machine these days, go Back To School with Rodney Dangerfield, who will show you just how funny Comedies should be. "Ooh, I'd love to tame your shrew!"

There's wide agreement that the three greatest American film comedies are It Happened One Night from 1934, The Lady Eve from 1941 and 1986's Back to School. Some might quibble that It Happened One Night is no match for Miss Congeniality when it comes to female snorting or that The Lady Eve doesn't have the consistent belly laughs of Turner & Hooch, nor does it have a lovable, slobbering dog unless one counts Henry Fonda. Back to School, however, remains one of a kind.

But seriously, folks...I like this movie a lot. It's not just that the film pokes hard at complacent academia, or that there are a string of great comedy moments given to us by several first-rate actors. Mainly, there's Rodney Dangerfield, himself an idiosyncratic comedian who at times can be easy to get tired of. As Thornton Melon, an up-from-his-boot-straps wealthy clothier -- he owns the Tall & Fat stores -- who signs up as a college student determined to help his wimpish son become popular, Dangerfield is something else. He's not just the loud, wisecracking, eye-popping comedian. Dangerfield gives Melon a layer of good-natured intentions, likeability and even a little lost pathos that is eventually quite endearing.

Some parts of the movie don't work too well for me, mainly the parts of the storyline that involve Melon's son, played by Keith Gordon, his son's pal, played by Robert Downey, Jr., and his love interest, played by Sally Kellerman. Gordon is wimpish enough but, in my view, not very interesting. Downey is little more than an over-the-top exaggeration, and Kellerman puts me off with her above-the-salt manner and accent. But to compensate there is a great comedy turn by Ned Beatty as the obsequious university dean, Dean Martin, a man who knows endowments are worth more than an unseemly attention to student entry requirements. He'd be right at home in the Ivy League. Sam Kinison is terrific as a crackpot right-wing professor of history. Adrienne Barbeau is amusing and unlikable as Melon's high-spending wife who likes to show off her Klimt. And Paxton Whitehead as an over-civilized, professor of marketing with an aquiline nose can give us all useful lessons in condescension. The set up and follow-through with the Kurt Vonnegut joke is a classic. Part of the joy of the movie is watching how Melon deals with these people.

Still, what makes Back to School work is Rodney Dangerfield, his way with comedy, his delivery and his timing. I'll leave the movie where it started, with Thornton Melon's new television ad for Tall & Fat stores. I hope you can hear Dangerfield in your mind..."Hi there. Are you a large person? Pleasantly plump? A little on the hefty side, perhaps? Well, let's face it: Are you FAT? When you go jogging, do you leave potholes? When you make love, do you have to give directions? At the zoo, do the elephants throw YOU peanuts? Do you look at a menu and say 'OK'? Well, now you can eat all you want, because at Thornton Melon's "Tall & Fat" stores, we've got you covered. That's right. Fine woolen, and woolen-blend suits and sport coats, in all the larger sizes -- husky, stout, extra-stout, and the new Hindenburg line. And for you ladies we have caftans, muumuus, and our own exclusive A-frame in all colors and patterns. Yes, we have miles and miles of fabric. So take it from me, Thornton Melon, if you want to look thin, you hang out with fat people."

The DVD disc I have has wide screen on one side, pan-and-scan on the other, with no extras. It looks just fine.

(And for the record, I'm also fond of Miss Congeniality and Turner & Hooch.)

Having recently turned 34, I decided to go back to college. These last few weeks have brought back memories such as standing in long lines, worrying about financial aid, exorbitant book store prices, finding my way around campus, entrance exams (which can be quite challenging if your math is rusty like mine), and trying to find classes that best suit my work schedule. All of this has to happen before the first minute is actually spent in class. Being an older than average college student prompted me to write a review on this comedy classic about a college freshman much older than myself.

The sorely missed Rodney Dangerfield plays Thornton Melon in perhaps his greatest performance ever. Melon is a wealthy self-made sixty year-old entreprenuer whose massive retail chain specializes in clothes for large men. What Melon lacks in formal education, he makes up for by being hard-working and having a solid business know-how that is not taught in the economics classes. Two things happen that bring his life to a crossroads. First of all, he catches his no-good wife (played with perfect bitchiness by Adrianne Barbeau) making time and a half with another man. Secondly, his awkward, unhappy son Jason (played by Keith Gordon) calls him to say he wants to drop out of college. So, what's a rich over the hill fatcat to do? Enroll at his son's college, what else?

Thornton initially has a good thing going at school with partying, cutting up in class, and lots of beautiful female students. His wealth and fun-loving personality make him a hit with most of the other students. He doesn't just throw parties; he IS the party. His popularity even begins to rub off on Jason - which is a mixed blessing since he wants to succeed at school on his own merits. But soon his partying and the fact that he has paid consultants to do his homework illegally begin to catch up with him.

As I mentioned earlier in the review, Rodney was at the top of his game here. He was cleary having a good time making the movie, and that good time works its way to the viewer. The supporting cast is also excellent. Paxton Whitehead is perfect as an aloof Economics professor who serves as Thornton's diametrically opposed antagonist. Robert Downey Jr, an actor who normally annoys me to end, is hilarious as Jason's punked-out diver-heckling best friend. The late Sam Kinison is especially memorable as a psychotic History professor/Vietnam veteran. You even have a cameo by Kurt Vonnegut Jr (yes, the same Kurt Vonnegut Jr who wrote _Slaughterhouse Five_). Back to School is a textbook (bad choice of words) example of how great comedy films used to be before the comedy genre became hijacked by disgustingly unfunny toilet humor mavens like Rob Schneider and bland rom-com chick flicks.

Not only is Back to School great for those times when you just need a good belly laugh, it also has a great message about the importance of both having to work hard and also having a good time. Thornton was having a hard time with college because he partied too much. Jason, on the other hand, was unhappy because he worked too hard and didn't take time to smell the roses. Both of them needed to find a balance. Everyone going to school (college, high school, etc.) should take that lesson to heart. I certainly intend to.

Thornton Melon has a head for business. Even though he never went to college, he took the family tailoring business and transformed it into a chain of successful clothing stores. It's made Thornton (Rodney Dangerfield) a wealthy man who can send his son Jason (Keith Gordon) to the elite Grand Lakes University. Thornton also shares his wealth with his unfaithful second wife, Vanessa (Adrienne Barbeau), who is unsatisfied with the life Thornton's money could bring her. She not only wants his money, but she wants to control Thornton. The last straw between Thornton and Vanessa comes one evening at one of the parties Vanessa insists on throwing, when he catches her in the act of cheating. Not only does he serve her divorce papers, but he shows her photos of her cheating. Both Jason and Thornton's driver, Lou (Burt Young), say how much better a person Thornton's late first wife was.

Thornton uses the divorce to make a trip to Jason's college to visit him. Thornton discovers that Jason's been lying about how well he's been doing in school. Thornton offers this fatherly advice: "You don't lie to me. You lie to girls." Jason had claimed he was on the school's diving team when he was only good enough to be the towel boy. When Jason admits he's getting mostly Bs and Cs, Thornton is happy that his son is in some of the top three grades. Thornton decides he'd like to see Jason do better in both academics and athletics, and have some fun in the process. In "Back To School," Thornton decides to go to college with Jason in an effort to not only be with Jason, but also to get a formal education himself.

To get into the college without the benefit of SATs, Thornton makes a deal with Grand Lakes dean David Martin (Ned Beatty) to make a sizeable donation to the university - a business building dedicated to Thornton himself. The actions of Thronton and Dean Martin draw the ire of business professor Philip Barbay (Paxton Whitehead), who thinks Thornton's presence undermines the ideals of the university. Thornton further upsets Barbay by taking an interest in English professor Diane Turner (Sally Kellerman), whom he's been dating. Thornton's knowledge of business is merely an extreme distraction to Barbay, who insists on teaching his class how to conduct business legitimately.

Meanwhile, with Thornton's help, Jason makes the diving team. Team captain Chas Osborne (William Zabka) is certain that Jason's father bought Jason a spot on the roster. Coach Turnbull (M. Emmet Walsh), however, is more interested in Thornton's diving experience. Jason also takes an interest in Valerie Desmond (Terry Farrell), a student that Chas also likes. Thornton uses his money to make life as full of ease and fun as possible. However, Thornton takes that too far when he brings his people (and special consultant Kurt Vonnegut, in a cameo appearance) to the school to write papers for himself and Jason. Not only does Jason reject the work, but Barbay also believes Thornton isn't doing the work for class he's been assigned, and demands Dean Martin expel Thornton. Martin, instead, makes Thornton take oral exams with all of his professors. Expulsion awaits if Thornton fails the orals.

"Back To School" is one of the best college comedies I've seen. It's not quite in the same league as "Animal House" or "Horse Feathers," but it's close. The story is filled with Dangerfield one-liners that could easily have been preceded by his trademark line, "I don't get no respect." Thornton certainly doesn't get respect from Philip or Vanessa, but they are people who don't like Thornton as a person. Both have issues that involve Thornton's money. Everybody else sees beyond his money and knows him to be a generous, fun-loving businessman. When he's in the bookstore, he not only insists on buying Jason new textbooks, but he announces to the other students, "It's on me. Shakespeare for everyone." A host of writers, including Dangerfield on the story and Harold Ramis on the screenplay, maximize the joke potential of every scene. Some of the story is a bit stereotypical, but the film's good nature and consistent humor compensate more than adequately for the stereotypes.

In addition to all of the jokes, the actors make the relationships credible. Thornton may not offer Jason tpyical fatherly advice, but Thornton generally offers advice that is beneficial. Diane first takes notice of Thornton at the campus bookstore, and enjoys his enthusiasm. Philip simply dismisses Thornton as "the world's oldest living freshman." It's Philip's stuffiness and dismissiveness that creates trouble between himself and Diane, as well as between himself and Thornton. Dangerfield is not a great actor, but he does well here because the humor is tailored to his comic persona. One of the highlights of his performance is his recitation of Dylan Thomas's famous villanelle, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," and the interpretation of the poem he gives to Diane. In addition to the performers I've already mentioned, three others deserve mention for their comic support. First, Robert Downey, Jr., is hilarious as Derek Lutz, the dormmate of Jason's who puts blue streaks in his hair and stands against any conformity. Sam Kinison is just as funny as Professor Terguson, a history teacher who's not afraid to get sarcastic and loud with his students. His verbal exchange with Thornton is another of the film's best moments. Jason Hervey also makes the most of his brief appearance as young Thornton, doing a good job of copying Dangerfield's mannerisms.

The eighties were a time where Rodney Dangerfield took his brand of comedy to the big screen with great success. College will change Thornton Melon, but not as much as Thornton will change college. He may be one of the oldest people in the school, but his behavior is just like that of the much younger students. "Back To School" stands as Dangerfield's biggest achievement on the big screen. He stayed true to his brand of comedy, with very humorous results. He's the regular guy who found his niche in life, and made a fortune as a result. He's also the family man looking to prove a point to his son, as well as to himself. Thornton Melon is a man of means, yet he knows money isn't everything.

What's not to respect about that?

Originally published on Epinions.com.

there's something about rodney that just cracks me up everytime i see him. i have seen just about all of his movies, and this is BY FAR the funniest. movie-wise its good- not great. but comedy-wise, it's 5 stars. also, the acting by the supporting cast is very good considering the content. i can literally think of 50 REALLY funny parts in this movie easily. if your looking for a simple movie that delivers PURE laughter, look no further than BACK TO SCHOOL!

"Back to School" is a cherished member of my VHS collection not only because of the late but inimitably immortal Rodney Dangerfield and his outrageous persona, but also because of its laceration of a favorite satiric target - college. "Back to School" came out in 1986 -a year after I graduated from Tufts University- and it nearly perfectly encapsulates (if slightly exaggerates) and skewers college life during the heedlessly hedonistic and materialistic '80s.

At first Thorton Melon (Rodney's character in the movie) seemingly has two altruistic motives for applying to college: 1) personal improvement, and 2) desire to help his only son Jason (Kevin Gordon) succeed, especially when Thorton discovers that Jason is not exactly the epitome of the BMOC. However, once he essentially bribes his way into college by convincing the venally avaricious Dean Martin (he, he) to let him endow the Thorton Melon School of Business Administration, high school dropout Thorton apparently has it made. One might argue that this scenario is implausible, but given universities' insatiable hunger for more cash, I could believe they would bend the rules to let wealthy Thorton in.

Thorton then proceeds to embody every college student's wet dream - to be the perpetually fun-loving slacker who has the dough to show himself and others an endless good time and buy himself out of any trouble! Again, philistine critics may argue that no college would tolerate Thorton's party-boy persona. Wouldn't the cops arrest him for the voyeuristic female dormitory scene or the out-of-control party scene, instead of merely reprimanding him or bringing Lite beer (remember Rodney was one of the shills for Lite)? However, "Back to School"'s college satire necessarily must employ a little hyperbole to get its point across.

For example, in the classroom scenes with the history professor (the late Sam Kinison) and the business instructor (Paxton Whitehead), the movie also does go a little over the top but also tweaks college for its well-meaning but unrealistically theoretical approach (i.e. head up its a$$ approach) to working and life. Thornton's take on the corruption and shady dealing it would really take to start a business really does have a germ of truth. Also, the way Thorton "prepares" for his classes -his secretary takes notes for him in class and his research team does his reports and homework- is off the wall but also possesses scientific truth. I'm sure that at Tufts and other colleges, some students never went to class and got others to take notes and do reports. However, (and this is one of my favorite scenes from the movie) only Thornton would heft a report created by his research team and crack, "I dunno; it feels like a "C"; add some more multicolored graphs"." And of course only Thornton would hire Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. to appraise his own work.

Nevertheless, "Back to School" lets Rodney collide with harsh, poignant reality without sacrificing laughs. Thornton is failing his classes; even the professor most sympathetic to him (Sally Kellerman) suspects him of plagiarism. His son Jason angrily refuses to let Thornton's think tank do his astronomy work. Thornton will be expelled unless he passes a multi-part oral exam (!) by all of his course professors. After a pep talk from Thornton's chauffeur (Burt Young) about Thornton's "School of Hard Knocks" life, Jason realizes that just as his dad came to school to show him how to loosen up and enjoy life, he must show his dad how to handle college responsibilities. And isn't that what college is all about - balancing responsibility and fun to have a meaningfully productive experience?

Therefore, "Back to School" is more than just an "Animal House" retread. It uses Rodney's older, wry perspective (and those priceless one-liners) to point out both the absurdity and importance of college life. Heck, I would even recommend high school seniors applying to colleges to give "Back to School" a look if only to show them (with a grain of salt, of course) that while college is a worthwhile experience, it's also a unique, unfamiliar world all its own.