Campus Man

I had passed Campus Man many times in the shop. Let's face it - it does scream 80's. I had picked it up an thought "Well this look cheesey". It wasn't until I took an interest in one of the Actors that I started to look for the movie to watch. And was surprised by what I found.

Ok it is a very 80's movie, the clothes and hair alone dictates that. But from the decade of overspending and businessmen flying by the seat of their pants, I feel that if this movie had been marketed better, or perhaps caught a slightly different wave it could have been up there with the Yuppie success of "Secret of My Success".

It is well acted by all, with most note going to John Dye and Kathleen Wilhoite as Todd and Molly.

Some of the plot points are a little under developed, where did this anamosity between Molly and Todd come from, Brett makes mention of Todd getting him into Diving, but doesn't eleborate.

All in all I enjoyed it. It could have been much worse. Considering Todays fare of Van Wilder; Party Liasion, it stands up rather well.

Todd Headlee, while still an A.S.U. student, created the first beefcake calender and it was a hit. Naturally, such a world shaking event cried out for a big screen epic... and here you are. This badly directed, written and scored little feature is useful only as a time capsule for awful eighties clothing and hair styles. The only other thing you can give this dull little caper is that it consistently avoids all the usual exploitative sleaze of campus comedies. It isn't clever or particularly funny, but it also isn't stripping down the women in the cast (and there are some pretty girls evident throughout) and there's no slobbering fat guy tossed in for comic "relief." No raunch, no swearing, no over-the-top sitcom acting, no crotch-smacking slapstick, no flatulence, no vomiting... it's positively the cleanest campus comedy ever made. Too bad it's also so trivial and innocuous. It does have a standout feature in Miles O'Keeffe as Cactus Jack. He almost lifts the film out of it's general lifelessness. He's so ruggedly handsome that it's almost supernatural and his character is like some amalgam of Clint Eastwood and the Marlboro Man. Otherwise, it's pretty slim stuff based on a pretty slim premise.

"Campus Man" isn't quite sure what kind of a movie it wants to be. It appears to be a comedy at first glance but that is rather deceiving. In fact, it would've played a lot better if it had been more serious in tone. The "funny" parts are typical 80's cheesiness and aren't very witty. The plot involves an Arizona State University student who owes $10,000 in tuition and has 30 days to come up with it. He decides to produce a male athlete calendar in order to try and make enough money to pay his tuition and hopefully have some left over. Of course, things don't go exactly as planned and trouble ensues. Uneasy mix of comedy with some serious issues makes "Campus Man" an uneven disappointment. A harmless time filler, however, if you can catch it on TV. 3/10

Harmless film about a college business major who convinces his longtime pal to pose for a beefcake calendar. When the interests of the editor threaten the model's career goals, problems arise.

If you're like me and really like movies from the '80s, this is a great choice! It's about a business student that gets the idea to produce a calendar full of guys & market it to the female population of the Arizona State University and beyond. It's a comedy throughout, but then gets sentimental towards the end, which makes for a different kind of teen comedy. The atmosphere, and characters of the movie are fun. As far as the fashion end of it, if you are looking for a movie that features some of the biggest, & most teased hair from the '80s, this movie will not fail to satisfy. Back in the '80s, I had never heard of this movie before, it seemed like it was released in limited markets. I caught it on TBS countless times in the early '90s & have recently added this fun '80s flick to my collection. It would be nice to see it released on DVD in the future.