Old school, indeed. Hearkening back to the days some 25 years ago when Animal House and Revenge of the Nerds were setting the comedy standards in lowbrow campus comedy, the genre has been revitalized by Todd Phillips (Road Trip) with Old School.

The story focuses on a trio of buddies: Mitch (Luke Wilson), who's on the rebound, the cynical Beanie (Vince Vaughn), who's been married for years, and the recently wed and suppressed wild man, Frank (Will Ferrell). All entering their thirtysomething years, they're all set for a pre-midlife crisis. Their bellies are starting to show, their hair beginning to thin, their ladies not so pretty. So what better way to rediscover their youth than to start a fraternity complete with raging parties, beer bongs and a little midnight streaking through campus quad. Okay, so it's Ferrell making an ass of himself. But really, there is something meaningful amongst all the crude jokes and Ferrell embarrassment. Not a lot, but more than you might otherwise expect.

Old School is nostalgic in that it is likely to appeal not only to the teenaged crowd, but a lot of their parents as well who grew up on John Belushi and toga parties inside Animal House. Rehashing the familiar plot of a fraternity facing closure at the hands of a jerk dean, Old School provides an updated version of Animal House with a more cynical comedy in its views on relationships and commitment. This is a movie about men trying to figure out what mid-life is just before they embark on it. Beanie is the man of experience. He's got a wife and two young children. This makes him the guru of the bunch who gives crass advice whether it's asked for or not. On the surface he's a cynic, deploring everything to do with long-term commitments, especially ones involving vows. Frank is the rookie. Just married, Frank wasn't call Frank 'the Tank' for nothing in his prior partying days. But his wife wants to chase after the American dream of white picket fences rather than the thought of spending endless weekends trying to restore an old Trans Am to its former mullet-toting owner. These leaves Mitch as the relationship baby. Just when he thought things were going well with his girl, he comes home early from a conference to find porn on the TV and two naked, blindfolded people walking out of his bathroom. Even though he's the kind, sensitive male, even Mitch can't make a long-term commitment work. But with the years passing by quickly, there's pressure to settle down and start a family - but not before one last run.

It's too bad that John Belushi is no longer with us to make at least a cameo appearance, but Ferrell more than picks up the slack. While Mitch is the central character as far as the plot goes, it's Frank that steals the majority of the scenes. Ferrell, a longtime member on TV's Saturday Night Live, has a magnetic naive innocence about him that is funny to watch even if it is sad and pathetic just below the surface. He doesn't hold back on his confusion, nor does he beat around the bush very well. Ferrell does a good job of embarrassing himself in the name of physical comedy.

Paying homage to other anti-establishment classics such as The Graduate and even Fight Club, Old School is an unlikely source for relevant commentary. Normally you go to a gross-out comedy to get some cheap laughs. You'll find them here, but Old School really does have something to say.

©Movie Views; February 21, 2003

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