American Eiskrem

When I found this movie at a local pawn shop for a buck, I was really surprised I had never heard of an 80's sex comedy that had the likes of Tim Robbins, Stephen Geoffreys, Amanda Bearse, Barbara Crampton, Kathleen Kinmont and John Vernon in it.

While it has a great cast, I found the film to be mediocre in general. I got a few good laughs out of it, but I have seen many other sex comedies from this era which were way funnier and memorable. Though I will say the shared topless scene between Kinmont and Crampton is worth the price of admission alone.

If you're a fan of dumb 80's comedies loaded with beers and babes, you could do much worse than this, but you could also do a little better.

White suits college and chicks, the s***, shame for many of us this only a fantasy. No where near believeable, this movie dishes out a lot of crap for us to try and swallow, it was shallow and amterial, I loved every second of it

Well, plenty of film producers during the 1980s, eager to capitalize on the success of Animal House, released hilarious movies that all had the same basic formula: good natured but mischievous college kids, naked coeds, a minimal plot, and plenty of gut bursting comedy scenes. Fraternity Vacation, like its predecessors (Porky's, Caddyshack, Revenge of the Nerds) has all of this and more, this time in opulent Palm Springs. It's such a shame that film critics turn their noses up at these fine flics and instead praise inferior "dramatic comedies" for their alleged intellectual complexity, when in reality it is political opinions and pressure which shape their faulty viewpoints. I would much rather watch a good natured comedy like this than something like Kramer vs Kramer, Mrs Doubtfire, or Scent of a Woman, all of which are excessively hyped because of their issue based themes. Fraternity Vacation has everything that's fun: love, friendship, light sex, beer drinking, jokes, music, and no violence or heavy mood dampeners (of which all true comedies are devoid). The actors are all talented and pleasing to watch. Fraternity Vacation is often shown on network tv, premium cable and basic cable, although on tv it is heavily edited (I recommend the unedited version). I urge anyone who hasn't seen it but loves good comedy to watch Fraternity Vacation, it's definitely a fun, witty film.

Wow, what an impression this movie and other movies like this made on me as a kid. I had thought, "Wow, I can't wait to go to college!" Upon a more recent viewing of this film, it had lost its luster. There are some great moments, for example the arrival to Palm Springs in traffic, which is pretty much dead on accurate, at least compared to Myrtle Beach spring break, even to this day. Unfortunately after that, very little could be considered realistic. The biggest issues I have with this movie are the 35 year old college frat guys, particularly the rich guys who were nothing but a 80's "Biff" device that are not believable in the slightest. These guys not only look 35, they act and dress as if they were 45, even while on spring break?

Also, the fun of the movie turns purely mediocre once the whole tired "bet" sequence begins (haven't we seen this before verbatim?).

Luckily, the ending turns out pretty solid however. One note to mention, the "nerd getting his day", another overused 80's device, is actually done better than average in this movie. One "neat factor" in this movie is seeing Tim Robbins in a role that most people would never believe he was in, but keep in mind that this was before his breakout success in Bull Duram. Heck, if someone offers me a role in a B level spring break movie, I wouldn't turn it down either! The only problem is that I am not 35 yet, and these days you have to be near 30 just to play a high schooler on TV shows (like Smallville) so maybe when I am 40? Overall, this is a fun movie that is best watched with a few beers and some friends, but don't even try to watch this one dead sober!!!

Fraternity Vacation is the classic teen comedy that follows 'Mother' (Tim Robbins) and Joe (Cameron Dye), two fraternity boys, utilizing nerdy Wendell (Stephen Geoffreys) whose parents' promise of helping their fraternity if they "teach him a few of the tricks of the trade" will have them spending time in sunny Palm Springs committed to their mission but also on trying to win a bet with two rival fraternity members.

You can tell how influential movies like this were for what would later come in the late 90s and 2000s. Teens doing what they like better: partying, chasing romantic interests, drinking, pulling pranks, etc. As usual in movie of those years, the actors weren't exactly young enough to play these roles: Tim Robbins had 27 years when the movie came out; Cameron Dye 26.

One of the things the movie does well is in keeping you engaged since it is a very eventful movie despite the natural lacks of its kind. When the trio arrives at Palm Springs, they lose no time and go to the swimming pool to meet some ladies. It doesn't take long for two girls to approach them and what began in chit chat progresses to the boy's room where Mother and Joe's euphoria upon ogling the attractive Marianne (Kathleen Kinmont) and Chrissie (Barbara Crampton) would make the Cheshire Cat's smile pale in comparison. The fun continues when the duo meets Charles (Leigh McCloskey) and J. C. (Matt McCoy), members of a rival fraternity, and they suggest the idea of betting on who they consider the most attractive girl, Ashley (Sheree J. Wilson). The first one to be with her wins 1000$.

Fraternity Vacation leans on silly jokes and prejudices to produce humor, some of the times succeeding, other times not so much. It is full of implausible events as most of these movies, rushed situations, underdeveloped characters, and simplistic unpretentious aims. Nonetheless it manages to be better than most of its kind where bad-taste humor consists of the go-to formula. Comparing Fraternity Vacation to something like American Pie would be like comparing Caviar to a Hot Dog.