-
1 of 10
-
2 of 10
-
3 of 10
-
4 of 10
-
5 of 10
-
6 of 10
-
7 of 10
-
8 of 10
-
9 of 10
-
10 of 10
‘Old School’ delivers infectious enthusiasm
Archive
Comments
Story
These Old School ties are affectionate. Also ribald and raunchy without being downright rank.
The movie is a thirtysomething version of National Lampoon’s Animal House. The gags themselves are rarely memorable, but they’re delivered with contagious zest and even charm.
In its final moments, Old School wraps everything up in too pat a fashion, but at least the filmmakers have the good sense not to prolong the shenanigans beyond 91 minutes.
The formulaic plot finds Luke Wilson as Mitch, a successful realtor who comes home to discover girlfriend Heidi (Juliette Lewis in an abbreviated role) playing hostess to two blindfolded, nude bedroom guests.
Mitch forlornly takes up residence in a house adjacent to his former college campus.
Two college buddies, Frank (Will Ferrell) and Beanie (Vince Vaughn) urge Mitch to turn his dwelling into a frat house, which soon becomes an oasis for off-beat campus characters.
This naturally incurs the wrath of prissy Dean Pritchard (Jeremy Piven), who plots to drive the new fraternity off campus.
Among the dean’s plans are to have the new frat boys debate a smug and smiling James Carville.
Meanwhile, the guys are having great fun with KY wrestling matches and launch a counter-attack.
Todd Phillips, whose Road Trip provoked some guffaws, directs briskly, and the screenplay even allows time for characterization.
Wilson knows how to play the straight man without becoming a doormat for his more flamboyant friends. He provides nice-guy Mitch with undercurrents of anxiety that flesh out the character.
Vaughn turns the dispirited oafishness of married-with-children Beanie into a solid comic routine.
If taken seriously, Beanie would be the creepiest guy on campus, but Vaughn cleverly makes certain that Beanie will never be taken seriously.
Ferrell’s well-meaning sad-sack Frank becomes Old School’s comic center.
Frank is an earnest newlywed, and his wedding scene is one of the film’s highlights. He’s consistently accident-prone, a trait that could have grown monotonous with another actor. But the Saturday Night Live alum illuminates Frank’s physical mishaps with gleeful, even graceful abandon.
The female characters inevitably have less to do. Perrey Reeves and Leah Remini wring some laughs from their respective roles as Frank’s perplexed bride and Beanie’s seen-it-all wife.
Ellen Pompeo, as Mitch’s long-ago high school crush, shows promise, but their scenes are among the script’s most forced interludes.
Late-night talk show host Craig Kilborn is archly unfunny as Pompeo’s current partner.
Andy Dick and Seann William Scott fare much better as a sex guru and a petting zoo owner, respectively. Piven makes the uptight dean an acceptable comic target.
The big-hearted movie includes visual homages to both The Graduate and Chariots of Fire, and its cleverly eclectic score showcases “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “Lady.” Rap artist Snoop Dogg even appears at a fraternity bash.
While not remotely original in content, Old School tries hard to have something for everyone and succeeds more often than not.
Philip Wuntch, The Dallas Morning News
