Fact: Alcohol
kills brain cells. You lose one more, you're a talking monkey. -
Freddy Shoop
SYNOPSIS
A high-school gym
teacher has big plans for the summer, but is forced to cancel
them. Instead, he has to teach a "bonehead" English class for
misfit goof-off students. Fortunately, his unconventional brand of
teaching and fun field trips begins to connect with the students,
and even inspires enthusiasm in some. Thanks to
IMDB.
CRITIQUE
I recall
watching this film quite a few times on TV (TBS Superstation to be
more exact). It's one of those cheesy teen 80s flicks that are
corny to the deepest core but lovable as well. The plot is simple.
The acting isn't all-round great but not all-round awful either.
The script is somewhere between mediocre and smart-writing. It's
really a halfer-halfer, and goes accordingly to whether or not you
actually dig the 80s teen flicks or teen flicks at all.
There is nothing more to gather than what's presented. For most
people, bad examples of horrible movie concepts is a put-off. But
we all have been there in the teen-world; some of us closer from
those dreadful days than others. And the best quality to get from
these kinds of films, especially this one, is the nostalgic
feelings of being a teen again and reliving the 80s, not to
mention realizing that yes, school can be (and was) fun.
The 80s were an odd but great time for pop culture and for most of
these 80s teen flicks. While American Graffiti can be the
best of films to depict the times of the 50s and the
teeny-boppers, movies like the John Hughes’ classics, She's Out
of Control, Fast Time at Ridgemont High, Girls Just
Wanna Have Fun, Just One of the Guys, Better Off
Dead, One Crazy Summer, Can't Buy Me Love, and
of course Summer School, depict the teens and the pop
culture of the 80s.
Summer School’s best charm and wit comes from the leading
man himself, Mark Harmon. He almost fits right into the character
as the carefree, down to earth fella who attempts to adapt to each
flaw that comes his way and make the best out of everything
possible. Many of the characters in this film are the typical
cliché teen figures you see in most of the 80s teen flicks, but
here they seem real enough as though they are actually students
being forced into summer school.
One of my favorite characters in the film happens to be Francis
'Chainsaw' Gremp (played by Dean Cameron) and Gary Riley (played
by Gary Riley). They are spoofs of Siskel and Ebert, and their
interaction with one another is just awesome to see and hear – all
over again. I just thought this was a nice twist, seeing as though
I'm a movie buff and many of the films they “mention” are horror
cult classics. In fact, near the tail end of the film – there are
a couple of shots of Chainsaw’s bedroom and aside from all the
horror movie posters, my bedroom looks somewhat similar. Just
thought these two characters were always cool and thought a
spin-off movie with these two should've been considered.
Of course, like many of the cliché teen flicks, and especially
when you put a teacher in the mix, the formula where the teacher
changes the outlook of the kids and the kids change the outlook of
the teacher, come full circle. Despite the cliché-ness of this
film, and it is turned way-up, there is still lots of smart-toned
dialogue and just funny stuff going on all throughout; even after
it's more than a dozen times that I've viewed the film. I still
laugh at the parts that are supposed to be funny and I still very
much get taken into its carefree environment.
Carl Reiner’s (whose best recent performance is in the brilliant
Ocean’s 11 remake and his best directed film is The Jerk)
easy going direction of the film doesn't try too hard or even
lazy. The direction is somewhat like the main character, as calm
as attempted. This is not a rare teen flick that we haven't seen
before, but it packs in a lot of funny gags and punches, and
attempts to present itself as a teen flick that can walk on its
own turf.
THE VIDEO
Paramount presents
Summer School in 1:85 widescreen format. Since it's part
of the fine-line of Paramount’s widescreen collections, more
attention will be taken on the transfer of the widescreen
format. This is the first time I've seen the flick in widescreen
(or even in its entirely), so it is a treat to see it as it was
meant to be seen.
THE AUDIO
Paramount presents
Summer School in English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English
(Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), and French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono).
The 5.1 track is the best way to go. Not much of remastering
went into this film. This DVD almost reminds me of my DVD copy
of Some Kind of Wonderful, another 80s teen flick. The
picture clarity was carefully redone but the audio quality is
pretty disappointing.
THE EXTRAS
Once again, it's
no surprise there are zero extras. It would've been great to see
a documentary on the actors, maybe one on the "Where Are They
Now? of the students" or even a commentary by the cast and the
director, but no such luck. The trailer is not included here
either. I think Paramount is getting lazier by the moment with
some of these catalog DVDs. Obviously, it's not a box office
hit, but at least put some effort into it for the film's
faithful fans.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Summer School is one of those films that's corny but
charming, and just an LOL-feel good time. Even to this moment, I
still find it hugely entertaining and downright funny. It's what
cheesy 80s teen flicks are all about!
