Movie Reviews

If Old School was about a group of college kids who decide to start up a new fraternity, acquiring a random bunch of new members and doing a variety of wacky things, it probably wouldn't have been as funny as it actually is. I think the main reason that Old School is pretty funny is because the guys that go out and do these things (start a new fraternity, etc.) are not college students -- they're almost-middle-aged guys with wives and jobs. Mitch Martin's (Luke Wilson) new house happens to be located on a college campus, so his good buddies Beanie (Vince Vaughn) and Frank (Will Farrell) observe that the house would be a great way to relive their frat-boy glory days by throwing wild parties and other fraternity-related stuff. In addition to the obligatory 'angry college dean', the three friends also have to deal with their 'real' troubles: their wives and jobs.

What I think I'm trying to get at is that this movie could've ended up as another dumb teen college comedy. The fact that there aren't too many teens involved, though, is what elevates above that. Wilson, Vaughn, and Farrell are funny because they do a lot of stupid teen-like things, but with an adult's composure and (in a way) restraint.

In the end though, Old School is another one of those types of movies that's really condusive to much analysis. You either find it funny, or you don't. I thought it was surprisingly funny, so I liked it.