College v2

I present to you the list of the top 5 college movies of all-time, as decided by myself. I’ve also included a short review and explanation, as well as important film details. If you haven’t seen all of these yet, shame on you – head on over to Blockbuster or order a few from Netflix.

#1 – Animal House (1978)

Animal House is, was, and always will be the best college movie ever. It’s not one that I can see being topped. You don’t even need to be a college student to appreciate the insane humor featured in this movie. The only downside of this movie, if you can consider it one, is that it has spawned a seemingly unrelentless supply of wanna-be college flicks that just don’t even stack up to this original college comedy classic.

Plot Summary:
The story is set in 1962 in a College, where Dean Vernon Wormer is bound and determined to expel the Delta House Fraternity. However, the guys have other plans and do their best to undermine his efforts.

Rated R. 100 Min. Director John Landis. Cast: John Belushi, Tim Matheson, Karen Allen, Peter Riegart, John Vernon, Tom Hulce.

#2 – Old School (2003)

Old School is the Animal House of the new millenium, and comes in a very respectable second place. It also features some of this era’s best comedy actors.

Plot Summary:
A group of 30-something guys become disenchanted with life, and attempt to relive the glory days of college life. So how do they do this? By creating a fraternity of course! The only problem is, they aren’t students, and they need recruits.

Rated R for sex, drugs, profanity, and nudity. 91min. Director: Todd Phillips. Cast: Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaugh, Jeremy Piven.

#3 – Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

Revenge of the Nerds is an epic battle of Brains vs. Brawn, and another great classic college-themed movie, in which the nerds take on the jocks.

Plot summary:
Main characters Lewis (Robert Carradine) and Gilvert (Anthony Edwards) fight back at the jocks who torment them. A must see for any college student, or nerd sick of getting picked on.

Rated R. 90 min. Director: Jeff Kanew. Cast: Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Julie Montgomery, Curtis Armstrong, Ted McGinley, Michelle Meyrink, James Cromwell, Bernie Casey, Tim Busfield, John Goodman.

#4 – Back to School (1987)

Back to School stars the late, great Rodney Dangerfield, who never fails to deliver fits full of laughter. This movie is certainly no exception to that rule. If you have cable or satellite television, you might be able to catch this flick on the Comedy Channel (they like to play it often).

Plot Summary:
Rodney Dangerfield stars in this movie as a self-made owner of a chain of “Tall and Fat” retail stores, who decides one day to return to college. He settles on going to his son’s college in an effort to spend more time with him.
Rated PG-13 for occassionally vulgar humor. 96 min. Directory: Alan Metter. Cast: Rodney Dangerfield, Sally Kellerman, Burt Young, Keith Gordon, Robert Downey Jr., Ned Beatty, M. Emmet Walsh, Adrienne Barbeau, William Zabka, Severn Darden.

#5 – The Paper Chase (1973)

This is a great film featuring the story of a graduate student. Thinking about it, you don’t see too many films where the student is a graduate student. Most are still undergrads. Anyways, the star of this film – John Houseman – won an Oscar for Best Actor in a supporting role in 1973 for his role in this movie.

Plot Summary:
Hart (Timothy Bottoms) is a law student trying to get out of his first year as a law student alive, while dealing with the legendary, and extremely strict, professor Kingsfield. With hardwork and the help of classmates, he is able to rise above and become one of the brightest students in the class. However, things quickly turn for the worst when Hart finds out that the girl he is seeing just happens to be the daughter of Kingsfield. Oops.

Rated PG. 111 min. Directory: James Bridges. Cast: Timothy Bottoms, John Houseman, Lindsay Wagner. 1973.

So there you have it – my list of what I think are the top 5 college movies of all-time. Do you agree or disagree? What would your top 5 list look like?