Old School (Full Screen Unrated Edition)

Old School (Full Screen Unrated Edition)
by Todd Phillips

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DVD Reviews of Old School (Full Screen Unrated Edition)

DVD Review: Old as in thirtysomething and School as in Animal House
Summary: 4 Stars

Second of all, the myth of Romulus and Remus is a Roman legend and not a Greek story. Seduced by the god Mars (not Ares), the Vestal Virgin Rhea Silvia bore twin sons, Romulus and Remus. Left to die in a basket on the river Tiber by her wicked uncle Amulius, the babes washed up on shore and were nursed by a she-wolf and fed bits of food by a bird until they were found and raised by a shepherd. Growing to manhood they discovered their true identities and eventually founded the city of Rome, over the dead body of Remus.

When a film like "Old School," which takes place across the street from a college campus, gets the facts wrong it certainly takes away from your enjoyment of the comedy. Maybe when Will Ferrell's Frank is streaking down the street he is doing that wrong as well. Maybe Vince Vaughn's Beanie does not give you the keys to Speaker City if he cannot beat a competitor's deal. Maybe Luke Wilson's Mitch does remember what happened when he woke up in bed with an under aged coed.

"Old School" is about the aforementioned trio of friends who are disenchanted with becoming adults in the real world and who end up turning the house Mitch is renting into a college fraternity so that he can stay there. That particular situation is contrived, to say the least, but then it ends up being pretty clear that the point of this film is to put three thirtysomething guys in situations that borrow from "Animal House" and pretty much every other party animal college film you have seen.

Ironically, given that this is the "unrated edition," which means they throw everything back into the movie except a handful of deleted scenes, the storyline of "Old School" ends up seeming like scenes have been cut. The relationship between Mitch and Nicole (Ellen Pompeo) hits a couple of stereotypical snags and they end up getting resolved off screen. However, the biggest offense of this film is that when it comes time for the frat boys to take on the evil, wicked, bad, mean, and nasty Dean Pritchard (Jeremy Piven), the film fails to come up with anything that is either particulary memorable or especially funny. Instead of having a climax, this film just sort of peters out at the end.

Yes, there are some big laughs, such as when we learn a new use for asphalt bricks, but the film is mostly Vaughn and Ferrell stealing scenes from Wilson, who really does not have a whole lot to do here. The extras include the previously mentioned deleted scenes, some outtakes and bloopers, and a less than steller parody of "Inside the Actor's Studio" (Ferrell does double-duty but the other two stars and writer-director Todd Phillips ("Frat House," "Road Trip") look lost during the proceedings. Certainly there are enough laughs to justify watching the film once.

Description of Old School (Full Screen Unrated Edition)