Old School (2003)

Director:

Todd Phillips

Writers (WGA):

Court Crandall (story) and
Todd Phillips (story) ...

Release Date:

21 February 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

All the fun of college, none of the education.

Plot:

Three men are disenchanted with life and try to recapture their college days.

Plot Keywords:

College | Fraternity | Party | Underwater | Catch Phrase

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Luke Wilson	...	Mitch Martin
Will Ferrell	...	Frank Ricard
Vince Vaughn	...	Bernard 'Beanie' Campbell
Jeremy Piven	...	Dean Gordon 'Cheese' Pritchard
Ellen Pompeo	...	Nicole
Juliette Lewis	...	Heidi
Leah Remini	...	Lara Campbell
Perrey Reeves	...	Marissa Jones
Craig Kilborn	...	Mark
Elisha Cuthbert	...	Darcie
Seann William Scott	...	Peppers
Matt Walsh	...	Walsh
Artie Lange	...	Booker
Patrick Fischler	...	Michael
Sara Tanaka	...	Megan Huang

MPAA:

Rated R for some strong sexual content, nudity and language.

Runtime:

91 min | 92 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (unrated version) | Finland:K-15 | Iceland:12 | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:18A (Alberta/Manitoba) | Canada:18A (Ontario) (unrated version) | Ireland:18 (extended version) | Singapore:R(A) | Malaysia:(Banned) | Singapore:R21 (re-rating) | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | New Zealand:R13 | Peru:14 | South Korea:18 | UK:15 | USA:R (original rating) | USA:Unrated (unrated DVD version)

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

The Writer, Court Crandall, an alumni of University of New Hampshire ('87), based the story on his experiences at Phi Kappa Theta fraternity and his role as a husband and father of two boys.

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end, when Mitch is sitting on the back of the U-Haul and talking to Nicole, the helmet behind Mitch in the truck changes position several times between shots.

Quotes:

Frank: [in an unconscious state, begins French kissing Peppers as he is giving him CPR]
Peppers: [disgusted] This guy was French kissing me
[Peppers pushes Frank back in the pool]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Flushed Away (2006)

Soundtrack:

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Hey, everybody, let's go streaking with Will Ferrell!

A rarity these days: a comedy with a decent number of laughs.

Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, and Vince Vaughn are thirty-something guys with ordinary lives who decide to start their own fraternity so they can re-experience their college days. Of course, all they really want is a good time; although some of their group are genuine students, some have obviously been out of school for a LONG time!

Good and raunchy without being overtly outrageous, this comedy actually made me laugh. It really, really did. Although reminiscent of "National Lampoon's Animal House" to a degree, it doesn't feel like a ripoff but a pleasant homage. High marks for the amiable comic cast, especially the always funny Will Ferrell.

A good sophomore effort for Todd Phillips, whose first fiction film was "Road Trip." One of the stars of that film, Seann William "Stifler" Scott, has a cameo here. And late night talk show host Craig Kilborn is very appropriately cast as a smug, smarmy womanizer.

Better than other comedies I've seen lately. I gave it seven out of ten.