PCU

I'm really glad this movie was able to find its audience on video, because it deserves recognition. This is a damn good film! The unfortunate thing about a movie like "PCU" is that the "Animal House" comparisons are inevitable. But there's no point in comparing. "PCU" stands on its own two feet. "Animal House" is one take on college fraternities and "PCU" is another. It's like comparing "The Naked Gun" to "In the Heat of the Night," because they're both about cops. The characters and plot in this movie are in no way derivative of "Animal House." Jeremy Piven was a great choice for the lead. I've always been a fan of his, but he always gets stuck with supporting roles. In this case, he proves that he has the confidence to carry a lead role. His laid-back sense of humor makes the jokes all-the-more hilarious. I'm often more appreciative of comic actors who don't try to hammer a joke to death with mugging and wacky inflections. Piven delivers a joke the way it's supposed to be delivered--in a straight fashion. We don't see enough of that nowadays. And I can say the same about most of the actors in the film, with maybe the exception of David Spade. He's the type of actor, who can either be sarcastically funny or sarcastically annoying. He doesn't exactly provide the film's funniest moments, but he plays a moderately small role and doesn't get much of a chance to do any annoying shtick.

In the DVD commentary, Jeremy Piven mentioned that the actors weren't allowed to improvise, and he was very disapproving of director Hart Bochner's choice to follow the script verbatim. Luckily, that didn't exactly hurt the film, since the actors were working with a solid script. The point is the movie doesn't look scripted. Whether or not they actually were, the actors seemed comfortable with the material and delivered every gag with great precision. Besides, when you let actors improvise too much, that can also hurt a film. I liked the "Rush Hour" movies, but at times it's so evident that Chris Tucker was stepping out of character to make the audience laugh that there were parts where I was taken out of the movie. I certainly can't complain too much, because the comic style of "PCU" had a uniqueness to it that really stood out for me. After watching Hart Bochner's extremely broad spoof, "High School High," I wasn't exactly sure he had a knack for directing comedy. But in this case, he proved me wrong. The gags here are nowhere near as broad, and it helps that the actors don't act like they're in a comedy. Plus, there are very few cheap shots. Very few jokes about bodily functions of genitalia. In other words, the humor had a certain intelligence--something I DEFINITELY can't say about most comedies nowadays. This is not one of those comedies aimed at a teen to young adult audience, where you're allowed to have an I.Q. of 10. As you can tell from the memorable quotes section, there are plenty of great lines. "You're gonna wear the T-shirt of the band you're gonna go see? Don't be that guy." By the way, that's the only line Jeremy was allowed to improvise, for all you trivia buffs. The most memorable gag, in my opinion, is the one involving the sign language interpreter, who has to translate phrases like "butt pirate" and "pillow biter." No one can deny that gag was classic.

Another way cool thing about this movie: the gorgeous Megan Ward. I've never seen her look hotter. She has such a gorgeous girl-next-door look that when Chris Young's character got to kiss her, I felt his happiness. There's a great shot of her from behind, where she's wearing low-cut denim shorts. Very nice! So many elements of this movie just click. I loved the soundtrack too. The songs played over the opening and closing credits are both way cool, and plus you're treated to the great sounds of George Clinton during the film. It was an original idea to choose George Clinton, since you'd expect to see a hard rock or heavy metal band in a film of this sort. All in all, go see this overlooked gem of a movie! You won't be disappointed!

When they made this, it was a parody. All the groups were extremely exaggerated, for comedic effect. Now, in 2019, we know, too late, that it was a warning. And the groups are actually like that, now. Only it's not funny.

Perhaps one of the greatest college comedy films ever created. Bringing in the Nineties Politically Correct atmosphere, PCU delivers a humorous portrayal of college life amongst all the angst of the down-trodden minority groups. Comedic actor Jeremy Piven as 'Droz' leads a great cast including an early appearance by a then-chunky Jon Favreau (star of Swingers) as 'Gutter'. The downtrodden members of 'the Pit' (an unconventional fraternity), must battle against the minority groups at Port Chester University in order to thwart the 'preppies' attempts to take over 'the Pit'.

The movie features an incredible cast with Jeremy Piven anchoring the lead role, and featuring David Spade in a usual tie-wearing, brown nosing politician egocentric.

The movie from beginning to the end was fun and funny, yet doing their part to point out the vast political correctness and sensitivity society is in these days. The only thing was it felt like a ripoff of Animal House (only a PG13 version). The fraternity on campus that causes problems for the university...the dean trying to run them out of the school...the alcohol...the parties and the dean's personal student monkey.

But for those that could care less about originality...this movie is a must-see.

As far as homages to / imitations of "Animal House" go, this has to rank as a pretty good one. It's got good characters, some amusing dialogue, decent satire of special interest groups, and a cool soundtrack. Its pacing is acceptable, its running time brief (81 minutes in total), and its spirit irresistible.

Marking a rare directorial effort by actor Hart Bochner (who's best known as weaselly executive Ellis in the action classic "Die Hard"), "PCU" features Chris Young as Tom Lawrence, a clean cut, wide eyed "normal" sort of guy who is checking out Port Chester University to see if he'd like to go there in the fall. He gets caught up in the fervor of various "politically correct" activists, as well as the activities of the wacky guys and gals of The Pit, a student group known for their nonconformity.

As you may guess from that running time, there's really not that much story here, but there are enough laughs to keep the movie watchable. Jeremy Piven contributes a charismatic star turn as "Droz", leader of The Pit. Megan Ward and Sarah Trigger supply appealing love interests for Young and Piven. Jessica Walter does fine as an easier-on-the-eyes version of Dean Vernon Wormer. David Spade is extremely well cast as the snooty and smarmy preppie McPherson. There are also engaging performances by actor / director Jon Favreau and Alex Desert. George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic further spice things up with their appearance. The climactic party shows how sometimes people just need to lighten up and enjoy life a little more.

With its well defined protagonists and antagonists, the end is appropriately satisfying, and overall "PCU" provides solid entertainment to those just looking to have a good time.

Seven out of 10.