As a kid I loved Caddyshack and Rodney Dangerfield was a huge reason why I loved that movie so much. However, I was not familiar with any of his other work such as his standup and other comedic performances. I did not actually see Back to School until about a decade after it came out, but the reason why I watched it is kind of fun.
How to Download Back to School
Back to School was released on June 13, 1986. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
I am a massive Simpsons fan and I used to watch The Simpsons on a Sunday evening with my grandfather. In the episode, Burns, Baby Burns, Rodney Dangerfield voices Larry Burns and I and my grandfather were cracking up over it. I recognized the voice and my grandfather told me it was Rodney Dangerfield and about the movie, Back to School. That made me want to see that movie so badly and after a little bit of searching, I found it on good old VHS.
The plot of Back to School is just so ridiculous that it somehow works. Rodney Dangerfield plays a very successful businessman called Thornton. Thornton has it all, but his son who is away at college has been acting distant. Thornton’s private life is not going well either, his gold-digging wife has been cheating on him so he is divorcing her and this is the perfect time for him to visit his son, Jason at college.
When Thornton gets to college, he finds that Jason is in a real slump and considering dropping out of college. Jason is not having a good college experience at all, but Thornton tries to persuade him that his college days are the best days of his life and that he needs to embrace it more. Also, Jason is a diver, but he is just the errand/towel boy for the diving team. Add to this the girl he has the hots for is with his bully who is also on the diving team and you can see why college is not clicking with him.
Hilarious Hijinks and College Chaos
Most parents would give the big speech and leave it at that, but Back to School is a Rodney Dangerfield movie we are talking about! Thornton decides that the best way to get his son to fall in love with college is to enroll himself and show him how much fun it can be. Rodney Dangerfield as an old dude at college is freaking hilarious.
Thornton is throwing wild parties, giving people gifts, talking back to his teachers and even trying to hit on a member of the faculty. Thornton becomes a legend on campus, but this makes Jason feel like he is in his father’s shadow. Despite all the slapstick and over-the-top comedy, Back to School does have heart and a good message at its core.
Of course, with any 80s college movie, you have a “crusty old dean” as Homer Simpson would put it trying to ruin the fun. The woman whom Thornton has a thing for just so happens to be the girlfriend of the dean and this puts him even more on the dean’s hit list. It is fun and very typical college hijinks and it is certainly going to make you laugh.
An Unforgettable Soundtrack
Before I bring this thing to a close, I have to talk about the soundtrack. I love Oingo Boingo and Danny Elfman. While Back to School is not the first movie that Danny Elfman would score. What makes this so cool is that Oingo Boingo is actually in the movie and they perform one of their songs.
Final Thoughts
Back to School is just a ton of fun to watch, the ending speech that Thornton gives always makes me chuckle and the movie has a good pace and is entertaining from start to end. I will say that this needs some kind of HD release, I have had the DVD in my collection for years and we desperately need some kind of upgrade! Also in watching this again, it made me wonder if the movie, Old School was inspired by this.
