Customer Reviews

Pcu [VHS]

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I caught this movie on video not long after it took a dive in theatres in 1994 and had no expectations for it. I was surprised how much I loved it and after half-a-dozen viewings it still holds up as one of the top "kollege skool daze" films of all-time. A sort of 1990s take on "Animal House" but adjusted to reflect the smothering, neutering, pandering effect that political correctness has had on society, and college society in particular, "PCU" is the story of a hapless perspective freshman ("prefresh") who visits the fictional Port Charles University, once a happening party school that has been spayed by its obsessively PC dean. The prefresh finds himself in the middle of a war being waged between the Order of Balls & Shaft (a button-down clan of elitist snobs led by super-smarmy David Spade) and a group of renegade misfits led by Droz (Jeremy Piven at his very best) over ownership of "the Pit" -- the decaying fraternity house occupied by Droz's band but which once housed Spade's Hitler Youth troop. The real battle on campus, however, is between those who just want to party and have a good time and various sterotypical groups (militant blacks, feminazis, potheads, vegans, gays, etc) who have made any behavior that doesn't involve protesting basically impossible. The president of the university, Garcia-Thomas (note the hyphen), so hates the "offensive" Pit-persons that she sides with Spade's group to drive them off campus even though Spade is the antithesis of all of her beliefs. What follows is general chaos, with a hilarious performance by John Favereau (fat and wearing dreadlocks) as Gutter, a moron who fails every task given to him yet somehow gets George Clinton and his P-Funk All Stars to jam at a "Save the Pit" fundraiser. "PCU" is hardly a perfect movie, but having had an extremely crazy college career I could definetly relate to what happens in the film, and I most definetly give a "big up" (as they say in Jamaica) to the brutally anti-PC message. Simply put, I laughed my butt off at this film. It's worth at least a rental and I can't wait for the DVD so I can watch the Pit crew bombard the vegans with meat again and again.

One of the traditions displayed every decade in film tends to be of the college flick. However, these have become abundantly rare. Having been in the shadow of the likes of such movies as Porky's and National Lampoon's Animal House, PCU finds itself stuck in the midst of a competitive market. I do believe this movie does manage to hold its own with the portrayal of how college life really is (in most cases). With the perfect mix of stoner humor and a reasonable plot, PCU comes to life as Piven's character Droz comes to terms with his former love, his enemies, as well as his friends. Chocked full of hi-jinx, this college movie starring Jeremy Piven (Family Man, Very Bad Things), John Favreau (Very Bad Things, The Replacements, Made), and sarcastic funny-man David Spade (Lost and Found, Tommy Boy, Black Sheep) with a very special appearance of the funk master himself, George Clinton, you just might find yourself liking it at PCU.
(Also suggest the titles Dazed and Confused, Half Baked, Animal House.)

If you like politically incorrect, and you like college movies, this one is for you. It also includes a killer cast of Jeremy Piven, Jon Favreau, David Spade, and even George Clinton!! This isn't a cookie-cutter college movie, it has it's own style.

This movie takes a hilarious look at the PC (politically correct) movement that began to plague college campuses in the late 80s to early 90s. Jeremy Piven is at his best in this movie as the slacker leader of a bunch of college misfits. The story centers around a 'pre-frosh' that visits the PCU campus and has his ideas and expectations of what college life will be shattered during one crazy weekend in the 'Pit'. This movie has queitly become a college campus cult classic much like its predecessor, 'Animal House'. Highly recommended for a good laugh.

One of my top 10 all time flavorite movies!

This is possibly the most underrated comedy of all time. Don't believe any of the hack reviewers that say this movie doesen't "explore political correctness deeply enough". It's a comedy. It's an incredibly funny movie with a great cast, (Jeremy Piven has been my hero since I saw this the first time) more quotable lines then any other movie out there, AND it even has George Clinton in it. No one I know that has seen this movie said they didn't like it. See it yourself. You'll be surprised.

It's a movie about a frat that has gone down hill and is about to lose it's existence on the campus. A freshman comes in and gets trapped into a situation that he never wanted to be in. A lot of anti-Politcal correctness satire is the underlying message on top of the comedy. David Spade is hilarious. Jeremy Piven looks way too old to be a college student. But it's funny.

Perhaps not so much on the larger scale, but to my friends and I, this is a classic college flick. The characters are unique, yet essentially based on people we all knew in college. The storyline, as previously reviewed, is not earth-moving, but I doubt it was intended to be. It's simply a movie that moves from one hilarious scene to the next, with plenty of great lines to quote.

Great movie!

I first saw this movie on HBO in summer 1995. I didn't remember it ever having been in theaters, but the tagline on Prevue Network was "an Animal House for the 90's" and I love Animal House, so I decided to give it a try. I found it to be even better than Animal House, due to being more relevant to the times, plus just a good movie all-around. Very little bad language, no sexual situations, and a fun, lighthearted message about going against the flow and being yourself. Modern college movies could, and should, take notes. THIS is how you make a comedy.

Two thumbs up!

For those of you who say that the acting isn't great, or the plot is weak, you take movies way too seriously. PCU recreates every aspect of college life. When you enter college, you will find that you will watch more movies then ever, and you will end up quoting them. PCU will give you more memorable quotes than any other movie.
Just remember, "One little hit from the binger, could brighten up your day!"