Welcome to this week’s edition of the Nerd Review!  Every week the Nerds give you their take on a different movie from the Nerdosphere.  This week Dave and Patrick review the Rodney Dangerfield classic comedy Back to School!

The Flick:  Back to School

What’s it About:  Hoping to reconnect with his son, wealthy middle aged businessman Thorton Melon enrolls in college to keep his son from dropping out.

Metacritic Score: 68

The Nerds’ Take on Back to School (1986):

Patrick:  It’s been a while since the Bandwagon Nerds have jumped into the way-back machine, but a random joke in the middle of this week’s podcast led us to do a retro review of the Rodney Dangerfield classic comedy Back to School.  Kids, for those of you who don’t know, Rodney Dangerfield was a top notch comedian whose entire shtick revolved around the concept of getting no respect.  He was able to parlay that character into a franchise recognized the World over.  While he was a frequent costar or secondary character in many film, there are few films where Rodney took a lead role.  Back to School is one exception.  Rewatching this film for the review, I forgot just how damn funny Dangerfield was in his day.  Back to School showcases Rodney’s talent and surrounds him with a cast of comedic greats that make this movie one that holds up surprisingly well.

Dangerfield plays millionaire Thorton Melon a self-made business man whose success came from the founding of a chain of big and tall clothing stores called “Tall and Fat.”  Melon is stunned when he learns his son Jason is contemplating dropping out of college.  When Thorton challenges his son over the importance of education, Jason points out that Thorton never went to college and did well for himself.  So, why should he stay in school?  Thorton responds by deciding to join his son on campus and enroll as a freshman.  Shortly thereafter, Thorton arrives on campus and we are cooking with gas.

Back to School is chock full with the requisite 80s comedy tropes.  Thorton Melon is complete party animal, throwing his money at anything and everything to create the best experience for his son.  This, of course, leads to the rocky father-son relationship story trope.  There’s the nerdy Jason who is picked on by the star athlete (played by classic 80s asshole William Zabka).  There’s the stuffy professor who thinks Melon is ruining the prestige of academia.  It’s a simple twist on the evil dean trope, but nothing new.  A young Robert Downey Jr. plays Jason’s wacky best friend who completely embraces Thorton’s excesses.  There’s even a climactic athletic competition.  Like I said, all of the tropes are here.

So what makes Back to School standout?  Honestly, it’s the cast and its ability to keep the laughs rolling.  Dangerfield is at his best putting a rich guy spin on his schlubby no respect gimmick.  Its very reminiscent of his turn as Al Czervik in Caddyshack.  William Zabka made a killing in the 80s playing the asshole bully in films, and this is no exception.  He is douchey in every way.  Paxton Whitehead is terrific as the stuffy professor Philip Barbay and foil to Dangerfield’s Thorton Melon.  Probably my favorite members of the cast though have two of the smaller roles in the film.  First, there is Ned Beatty who portrays Dean David Martin.  Dean Martin (Ha!)  is a kindly yet buffoonish man who does everything he can to make Thorton happy.  The late Sam Kinison has a small, but memorable role as history Professor Terguson.  I’m not going to describe the character other than to say he’s very passionate about his job.  It’s a role best seen and not described.

There are too many memorable scenes in Back to School to fit into one paragraph, and it’s all due to the Dangerfield and fellow writer Greg Fields’s work.  There are plenty of funny jokes, sure but for me, the scenes they created are more memorable.  For example, Thorton decides to renovate his and Jason’s dorm rooms when he sees how small they are, turning the rooms into high end suites.  And everyone who sees the movie remembers the ridiculousness of the Triple Lindy.  It’s over the top 80s comedy in all its glory.  The movie is a product of its time, so some jokes and scenes don’t age well  However, it is nowhere near as dated previous films we have covered in the nerd review.  This film is great fun and if you are looking for a prime example of the 80s screwball comedy, Back to School is for you.  Check it out.

Patrick’s Rating: 4.18/5.0

Dave This week, we return to the Golden Age of comedies, the 1980’s. The 80’s produced so many timelessly great comedies that virtually every other decade since has paled in comparison. Our subject of conversation this week is one of the better comedies of the 80’s that flew under the radar just a bit, 1986’s Back to School.

Back to School is the story of Thornton Melon. Thornton is a self-made millionaire who started a line of Big & Tall men’s stores that became enormously successful. Thornton seems to have it all but looks can be deceiving. His wife is cheating on him, but that does not really bother him. What bothers him is his feeling that he does not have the relationship he wants with his son, Jason. Thornton goes to visit Jason at college. Jason has grown massively disillusioned with college life and is on the verge of quitting. To motivate his son to stick it out, Thornton decides to enroll into college as well and obtain the education that he bypassed on his way to financial success. Thornton bribes Dean Martin to allow him into the college by donating a new building to the college. From there, we are off and running into many wild and hilarious adventures.

Thornton immediately has issues with Dr. Bombay, the business professor at the college as Thornton’s real world business experiences clash mightily with Dr. Bombay’s highly sanitized teachings of the “legitimate” business world. It does not help that Thornton begins to show an interest in Dr. Diane Turner, his literature professor and Dr. Bombay’s girlfriend. Along the way, Thornton has an unforgettable interchange with history professor Dr. Turgeson and struggles to succeed at his classes. Jason, on the other hand, benefits greatly from his father’s presence as Thornton is, literally, the life of the party. Thornton is also instrumental in Jason making the diving team. But Thornton is taking too many shortcuts. He has a team of professionals complete his assignments and even hires Kurt Vonnegut to help write a paper about Kurt Vonnegut, of all people. Although Thornton and Diane strike up a romantic relationship, she is greatly disappointed in his partying and recklessness, and is especially discouraged when she realizes Thornton is clearly not doing his own work. She gives him a failing grade on a paper and Dr. Bombay accuses him of academic fraud and challenges Thornton to an oral examination that he must pass or he will be expelled. To add to his misery, Jason is furious as he believes his father bribed the diving coach to let him on the team and he also feels he cannot escape the rather large shadow his father is casting.

Thornton decides to quit school, and save himself the embarrassment of the oral examination. But Jason gets a rather stern talking to from his father’s bodyguard, Lou, about watching out for his father, the same way his father has always watched out for him. Jason realizes he has been an ass about things and decides to help his father cram for the examination. Diane decides to help Thornton as well and Thornton passes the exam with all Ds, and one A from Diane herself. The movie culminates with a diving meet where Thornton executes the insanely difficult and world-famous Triple Lindy to lead Grand Lakes to the upset victory. Thornton and Jason both get their respective girls and we get the happy ending that made so many 80’s comedies the stuff of legend.

This movie is excellent on so many levels. It is spearheaded by the magnificent performance of Rodney Dangerfield, who plays Thornton. Next to his performance in Caddyshack, this was definitely Rodney’s best work. He pulls off so many different roles all wrapped around one character in this movie. On the one hand, he is over confident and even arrogant with respect to what his financial status means and what it will enable him to accomplish. On the other hand, he is completely clueless as to the academic world that he has flippantly stepped into. His gradual progression to the point where he learns to appreciate education and the development of his relationship with Jason are the high-water marks of the movie. Make no mistake, Rodney carries the load in this movie, but he does so with ease.

But don’t be confused. This movie is not a one-trick pony and it is the incredible cast that makes this one truly memorable. Ned Beatty is utterly awesome as Dean David Martin. Sally Kellerman is equally tremendous as Dr. Diane Turner. Burt Young, of Rocky fame, plays Thornton’s rough and tumble bodyguard, Lou. Keith Gordon is excellent as Jason. But there is more, including a very young Robert Downey Jr., who plays Jason’s best friend, Derek Lutz, Sam Kinison who plays the completely unhinged Professor Terguson, and William Zabka, whose reputation for playing a complete douche bag is upheld here with his portrayal of the ever-cocky Chas Osbourne. There is even an appearance from Oingo Boingo during a wild party at the Melon dorm room. With a cast like that, the movie could not fail and it definitely did not.

There are too many memorable moments to name here. If there is anything wrong with the movie, it is that it came out in the 80’s and had to share space with some of the greatest comedies ever. In 1986 alone, it had to compete with classics like The Three Amigos, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Short Circuit, and Ruthless People. So, as great as it is, Back to School might have been a bit overlooked. As I said though, next to Caddyshack, this is easily Rodney Dangerfield’s best movie and one that, ironically enough, he does not get enough respect for. If you somehow managed to miss this movie, it is free on You Tube (with ads, but still…). It is the quintessential 1980’s comedy classic and one that any fan of 80’s comedies has to add to his viewing experience.

Dave’s Rating: 4.25/5

Overall Nerds’ Rating on Back to School (1986): 4.21/5.0