Old School is the kind of
movie people need right now; it's dumb, funny, and damn
inspiring (at least in the end). This is less a college comedy
than a comedy about guys able to throw away all the commitments
of marriage and work for a short time in order to experience
freedom again. Old School follows the concept of
Animal House very closely, but there is also a hint of
originality to it, which makes it a hair better than most of the
immature teen comedies that have come around lately.
Mitch (Luke
Wilson) comes home one night to find his wife (Juliette Lewis)
engaging in group sex with people she met on the Internet. After
the divorce, Mitch packs up his things and heads for his new
home -- a residence on the outskirts of a local college campus.
According to his two thirty-something and married pals Beanie
(Vince Vaughn) and Frank (Will Ferrell), the place can be a gold
mine. They could throw parties, hang out with teenagers, and
relive their youth. However, they’ve got a problem -- they have
nothing to do with the campus and so it is only a matter of time
before the College "jerk" Dean of Students (Jeremy Piven) throws
Mitch out of his new house.
This gives
Beanie an idea. What if they started their own fraternity? Then
they would have a legitimate on-campus affiliation and Mitch
would be able to keep his new home. They begin recruiting
fraternity members, or in other words, the outcasts of the
college. Other people, including an 89 year-old man, get
recruited as well. But their dealings with the "jerk" Dean are
far from over.
Directed and co-written by Todd Phillips (Road
Trip), Old School is stupid fun that fortunately
never lowers itself by putting in excessive gross-out material.
But that doesn't mean the comedy isn't laugh-out-loud hilarious.
Phillips and co-writer Scot Armstrong throw in a few surprises,
one-liners, and some priceless material involving cinderblocks,
streaking, and women sucking carrots. The result is one of the
most consistently funny teen comedies I've ever seen. At times,
your chest will hurt from laughing so hard. This is only a
reminder that you’re watching three of the best comic actors in
the business. Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, and Vince Vaughn show
so much comic accuracy and charm that you literally feel like
jumping out of your seat and rooting for them.
Wilson is
very good at balancing his character’s abilities, being a nice
guy and very cynical. He isn't an in-your-face kind of comic
actor and his toned down delivery makes Mitch as likable as he
is funny. Unlike Vaughn, who's much better at the in-your-face
delivery, is very good at playing scheming jerks. He gives these
jerks enough idiocy to make them funny while playing them with
enough restraint and charm to make them likable. Ferrell is
nothing but goofy and Old School is usually at its
funniest whenever he's on screen.
To proclaim Old School “rocks” is all fair and square. In
fact, it's one of the funniest comedies you’ll see all year
long, no matter what age group you belong to. So forget the
lackluster
Daredevil and see three real heroes fight the powers
that be to save the world from maturity. You won't regret it.
