Old School

Released 2003
Stars Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Ellen Pompeo, Jeremy Piven, Craig Kilborn, Juliette Lewis
Directed by Todd Phillips

Old School is exactly what director Todd Phillips intends for it to be: low-brow, moronic to a fault, and occasionally side-splittingly funny. I laughed aloud seven or eight times during this film, and smiled or chuckled on a few additional occasions. Admittedly, considering the bawdy, brainless nature of the humor, there were times when I was almost embarrassed to be laughing, but that didn't stop me. In an era when a viewer is lucky to find one or two humorous moments during the course of a 90-minute so-called "comedy," Old School delivers with surprising effectiveness.

Mitch Martin (Luke Wilson) is an average middle-class guy whose life is thrown into a tailspin when he discovers that his live-in girlfriend, Heidi (Juliette Lewis), is into an alternative lifestyle that involves multiple partners. Fleeing his broken relationship, Mitch moves into a low-rent house on the outskirts of nearby Harrison University. Egged on by his best friends, Frank (Will Ferrell) and Beanie (Vince Vaughn), Mitch turns his new digs into a fraternity house for anyone who wants to pledge – young, old, student, non-student. Mitch's house is soon the most popular place on campus, which leads the straitlaced, vindictive dean (Jeremy Piven) to begin a campaign to close it down.

Summary by James Berardinelli

"Old School" does a reasonably good job with its crude humor, and I laughed long and hard at several of the scenes. Unfortunately, the third act is a bore with the "fraternity" having to pass tests to keep their probationary charter. The Luke Wilson character is also a bore, but there's enough humor to recommend it for the guys. --Bill Alward, August 8, 2004