Summer School

This is not a great movie and it got bad reviews, but it stays in the movie rotations of many television stations. Why? Because it is funny. Just watch it and enjoy. It is really aimed at young teens and they will probably like it best.

This movie is truly a blast from the past. The characters are funny and the plot is very interesting. Personally, the best character's are Dave and Chainsaw due to their "laid back" attitudes in the film. Mark Harmon also does a good job in his role. The movie is in the mid 80's but thats what makes it so interesting.If you have not seen the movie... go rent it, you just might enjoy it. Two thumbs wayyy up.

After reading through the reviews on here to date, there's not a single bad one !

NO! WAY! Party all-the-time! Party all-the-time!

This film really is as cool as everyone says. Dated 80's stuff doesn't get in the way of great characters and sharp wit. If you've not seen it yet, rent it & marvel at the goriest sequence in a high school comedy ever - these people are PSYCHOPATHS !

Particular favs of mine are the 'I don't know anything' dream gag, the Rick Baker essay sequence and the 'War puts a man through many, many changes' gag from Dave. Top stuff.

9/10

Summer School is not your typical Carl Reiner film because it doesn't contain much of the ridiculous stupid-comedy you'd find from say, The Cheap Detective or Fatal Instinct. But Reiner presents a nice film, and a fantastic 80s movie, even if he doesn't stick to his formula.

Summer is approaching at a California high school. Gym teacher, Freddie Shoop, a laid-back surfer type, has the misfortune of having to teach summer school remedial English. He has no choice, as he is up for tenure. Says Shoop, pleading to get out of the dreaded responsibility of having to spend summer in a classroom rather than in Hawaii, "I'm not a real teacher. I had out basketballs, check for jock straps. I'm like real challenged."

And Harmon's students don't help to add any enthusiasm. Many are underachievers who are just as interested in finding more interesting ways to spend their time. It starts out with nothing but good times as Shoop and his class ditch school for fieldtrips to the beach, the petting zoo, and the amusement park. But, Shoop, threatened to be fired after the Vince Principal Gillis (Robin Thomas) learns of this. Desperate to keep Gillis from telling the Principal when he returns from vacation, Shoop bargains with Gillis that he will get every student in his class to pass the English skills test at the end of the term. This isn't going to be easy with a class like Shoop's. It isn't that they're dumb. It's just that they're not interested. It's the summer and summer means good times. So, Shoop, already good with bargaining at this point, must also strike deals with each of his students, who promise to help Shoop fullfill his promise to Gillis, if Shoop grants each of them a favor in return. And this is where the fun begins as Shoop clearly gets in way over his head.

This movie is great because of the various characters. Harmon is perhaps the best I've ever seen him as the happy-go-lucky guy trying to get the attention of fellow teacher, Robin Bishop (Kirstey Alley) who is likewise a good match for Shoop. The students themselves are equally enjoyable, with the most hilarious being Chainsaw (Dean Cameron) and Dave (Gary Riley) two guys with a fondness for grossing people out with a handy supply of fake blood and latex. Surprisingly, the movie never seems to have achieved the recognition of other 80s teen movies, though it should have as it is a film that delivers a load of laughs.

Malibu at sunset, Venice Beach, electric yellow radio headphones, "Cool Dude" sunglasses in a box, SHOOP on the chalkboard with two googly eyes / eyes poked through with #2 pencils, pregnant teenager in a onesie, surfer sarongs, Hawaiian shirts, a severed dolly head doggy toy, kissing in the surf, roller skates in jail, fresh safety pin through the ear, the principal's plaid blazer, Kirstie Alley's pumps and bottom swinging in pink, a cuffed severed-hand alarm clock, a drive-through photo developer, an Italian exchange student in a bikini, Mark Harmon's baby blues, a busted convertible and a driving test, dyslexia, tattered textbooks, mom's $5 in her son's g-string, fireworks on the couch, fish oven mitts, bubble sheets, Lamaze, leis, the football field in summer, the school hallways in summer, the lockers in summer, "there's no place like home."