School's Out!

I picked this video up at the Library because I have heard of it through the Kevin Smith movies (he always refers to the show in his movies). Though I never have seen any of the show, I figured, what the hell. I have to say, this is a good video. I am very interested in seeing more of the show.

The plot is this: All the kids graduate and go through one crazy last summer. Pregnancy, drunk driving, infidelity, and teenage marriage are all in the mix, along with some awful 90's music. All and all, a very neat way to show what happens when you grow up.

When I first watched School's Out I found it to be a great and exciting conclusion to Degrassi High the cast did a fantastic job. It's the summer of 1991 the gang at Degrassi has just graduated and are looking forward to spending one more wild summer together before going off to university.Each character is dealing with a personal matter, Joey (Mastroianni) who wants to lose his virginity has just asked Caitlin (Mistysyn)to marry him. However she isn't ready yet for a commitment or intimacy . Snake (Brogren) is working as a lifeguard and he too wants to not be a virgin before leaving for school. Wheels (Hope) is showing signs of an alcohol problem, while Caitlin is working most of the time local girl Tessa Camponelli (Bourne) is there to support Joey's desire. As the summer comes to an end everyone is dealing with the impending reality that things are changing. Everything comes to a head at Bronco's (Ifill) cottage party when Caitlin discovers the truth about Joey's affair and breaks up with him. Lucy (Granofsky) gets into a terrible car accident in Wheel's car because he was driving drunk. The gang gets together again at the wedding of Alexa (Courakos) & Simon (Carry).8/10

I used to really like the Degrassi series - I probably still would if they continued airing it (even if they were reruns).

I was actually too young at the time to relate to the characters, but they managed to tackle serious social and personal issues that could happen to any teenager in any day of their life. Because of the brilliance of this series, I am able to embrace the knowledge it has brought upon me. However, the movie was a different story...

The first time I heard 'School's out' was going to be on TV (early-mid 90s, perhaps?) I was extremely excited, but once I saw it, it wasn't as good as I expected it to be. I felt that the characters had matured way too much, which seemed like a huge jump from when they were just in High School. It was rather dismal and depressing to see practically all the characters have their lives ruined, though, I suppose films like this would provide a really good way of educating a lot of future teenagers.

The good aspects of the film is that it looks into modern teen issues, and more importantly, it was a good laugh to be seeing all the tragic 80s/early 90s fashion blunders and side-to-side dancing emerge after a while of slumber.

The first time I ever watched this movie was back in 1994 when I was living in a small town called Gildford located in the northern part of Montana. I watched the whole movie with one of my nephews and enjoyed it all the way through but I expected more after it came to its ending. I used to watch reruns of the Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High episodes everyday when I got home from school while living in Gildford and I always loved and cherished those shows because of how enjoyable and true to life they were. I now own the complete series of Degrassi Junior High on DVD and I just received a brand new copy of the School's Out movie on VHS and after watching it once again after almost twelve years, it really is much better the second time around. It didn't exactly have the happiest of endings but that's what made the story so believably realistic. I absolutely love this movie and consider it a wonderful conclusion to the Degrassi Old School storyline.

I rest my case.

~Mr. Make Believe

Every fan of the original show MUST see this. Your Degrassi experience is not complete without it.

Dark? Yes. But for a show showing a realistic take on pre-teens and teens and growing up this is a great way to end the original series. Some happy endings and some jaw-dropping tragic moments. Pretty much everyone who was on the show the last few years is in this at some point. It doesn't go the pat happy ending that most shows would have pulled. They let some characters really screw-up. I loved that it went this far.

It's worth it for that classic Caitlin line to Joey at the climax. Fantastic, envelop pushing material.