Imbued with the spirit of all those raunchy eighties comedies, Old School offers a lot of fun. This is a guys’ movie, there’s no doubt about that but I think that only works to its advantage. It’s perfect for those nights when you want to get fucked up and watch something funny. And also reminisce about your “prime”. A midlife crisis is no joke and it can hit pretty hard. So, it’s better to vent off some steam than spend your life savings on a muscle car and a lot of cocaine. I’m sorry, ecstasy or MDMA or whatever the fuck people are into nowadays.
Feel free to call me old school (pun intended) but I would rather stick to beer and weed. Although the subject of “back to school” has been explored extensively throughout movie history, Old School offers a refreshing point of view and an updated vocabulary. The characters are vibrant and relatable, compliments of an excellent script. And the same goes for most of the jokes and bizarre situations that I remember to this day. I mean who could forget Frank The Tank, Blue or Seann William Scott and the scene with the tranquilizer…
Three regular guys in their thirties are on the road to becoming your average middle-aged married guys. However, after the wife of one of them cheats on their buddy, they decide it’s time to shake things up. Soon enough, all three of them find themselves surrounded by booze and girls, living their lives to the fullest. And where’s booze and girls, trouble is never too far away.
The cast was excellent, led by none other than Vince Money Vaughn although people will probably remember Will Ferrell the most. After all, he made a string of highly successful comedies during this time. Finally, I have to rant a bit because I feel like this movie struck a nerve with a lot of middle-aged men. It opened some doors that cannot be simply closed.
I’m not going to go too deep on you because Old School is clearly not that type of a movie but I have to talk about something. I have to talk about your life and these roles that society has enforced upon us. We all have to behave a certain way and suppress our feelings and desires. What may seem like irresponsible hedonism and immoral behavior is actually very life-affirming.
The key is in communication with those in your environment. I know it’s hard to talk about these things. Mostly because we’re all brought up on this archaic tribal system of values. Fucking boomers and their fucking parents and so forth but someone has to break the cycle. First you have to really get to know yourself, make peace with it, aim for the better and just go for it. Live a little, take a fucking chance to quote almighty Carlin. At least for ninety minutes.
Director: Todd Phillips
Writers: Court Crandall, Todd Phillips, Scot Armstrong
Cast: Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Jeremy Piven, Ellen Pompeo, Juliette Lewis
Fun Facts: Will Ferrell was really naked for Frank’s streaking scene.
Rating:
IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0302886/
