“Old School” is not our generation’s “Animal House.” That being said, the movie is pretty damn funny.
While most press has been describing the film as “low-brow,” the film succeeds mainly by ditching the gross out humor that has become so overplayed at American Multiplexes.
There are some gross jokes, but they do not seem to be the centerpiece of the film’s comedy. The true laughs are saved for the amazingly nuanced work of Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn, and Will Ferrell.
The plot obviously is pretty weak, but that isn’t the point, now is it? Wilson plays a jilted real estate lawyer who must find a new place to live after stumbling in on his girlfriend, a porno, and two blindfolded strangers. Moving close to a university, Wilson’s best friend Vaughn gets the idea to start a fraternity, and the high jinks follow.
But, of course, with a movie like this, you’re not paying $8.50 to see a good story, you’re paying for some serious laughs, and “Old School” delivers them in spades. Surprisingly, out of the three male leads, Ferrell has the funniest scenes, yet also seems to have the least amount of screen time in the film.
Yet, this seems to be mainly, an ensemble picture, and that is one of the main reasons why “Old School” is so much fun. For a movie with a pretty thrifty running time by today’s standards (1 hour and 40 minutes), the screen is packed with young stars who could very well be making some funny stuff in the coming years. We all know Ferrell is a comic genius, but who knew Vince Vaughn could be so icily hilarious? Not those of us who think “Swingers” sucks, at least. Furthermore, Wilson ditches his stereotypical naïveté halfway through the film, and actually approaches something resembling a fully realized comical character.
If the skills of the three leads aren’t enough for you, the film also boast a supporting cast of “PCU’s” Jeremy Piven, “24’s” Elisha Cuthbert, and yes, Snoop Dogg.
Director Todd Phillips has created a far superior film to his first, horrible outing, “Road Trip.”
While “Old School” isn’t an immediate comic classic, it will be worth seeing a few times. The problem with the movie however, is that since so many of the great jokes are “safe for TV” you will probably be seeing them in television commercials starting tomorrow, when the film is set for wide release.
See it before the surprise is ruined. This is definitely one comedy, perhaps the first since “Goldmember” came out last summer, that is worth the price of admission.
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