Old School

In some ways, Old School is exactly what I expected, and exactly what I didn't expect. I expected it to be crude, vulgar, disgusting, and moronic - it is. But I didn't expect it to be funny, and it is. It strives to be the next Animal House, and it's not - not even close, really - but it's still a good bit funnier than the typical 90-minute "comedy" being forced on us these days.

Old School has absolutely no illusions as to where its intentions lie. A large majority of the jokes (and most of the ones that work) deal with sex, drinking, nudity, or male stupidity. I believe that anything can be funny, as long as it's handled well. Movies like American Pie can make disgusting humor funny; movies like Freddy Got Fingered make it physically painful to sit through. And, while Old School will certainly not become as popular as American Pie, it still handles the subject matter well, and I found myself laughing out loud quite often. Admittedly, I was usually embarrased to be laughing, but that didn't stop me.

When Mitch (Luke Wilson) takes an early flight home, he discovers his at-home girlfriend (Juliette Lewis) is living a...shall we say...wild life that Mitch didn't know about. He moves out and gets a new house just outside of the campus of nearby Harrison College. At the constant requests from his married friends, Beanie (Vince Vaughn) and Frank (Will Ferrell, Mitch turns his home into a fraternity for anyone - old, young, students, it doesn't matter. Unfortunately, the priggish dean (Jeremy Piven) wants it shut down as soon as possible, and he will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

Old School, like just about every other movies like this, cares nothing about providing a cohesive narrative or believable characters. There are minor subplots to give the characters some dimension, but they are secondary to the humor, and most are quickly dropped.

Luke Wilson is in his element as the calm, low-key Mitch. He manages to keep a certain level of dignity throughout the film, which is more than can be said of WIll Ferrell, whose most memorable scenes involve him being inebriated or naked (or both). Until leaving Saturday Night Live not too long ago, Ferrell was the funniest performer on the now-struggling show - and, in Old School, he loses none of the charm or humor that he displayed on that show. Vince Vaughn is typically stiff, but it works to his advantage here. Support it provided by a snobbish Jeremy Piven as the dean; Ellen Pompeo as Mitch's love interest; talk show host Craig Kilborn; and Juliette Lewis, who is thankfully only in a few short scenes.

Certainly, if you're looking for a complete cinematic experience, don't see Old School. But if you know what to expect, or if you're looking for something to tide you over until American Wedding's release this summer, then Old School should be just up your alley.

© 2003 Matt Noller