Class of '44

The problem with this movie is that it couldn't seem to decide whether it wanted to be a poignant follow up to the awesome Summer of '42, or a version of Animal House.

And the chemistry between Hermie, and his girlfriend was pretty much non-existent. Think that I would have enjoyed it if they had brought Aggie back from the original film.

The first scenes and the last ones did capture the spirit of the times, and were true to the original in their poignancy, and warmth......but those scenes were sandwiched between a pretty forgettable middle. There was one moment when Hermie inexplicably explodes at his roommate, Sam Bottoms, that really didn't make a lot of sense.

Gary Grimes was, however, very watchable, and Jerry Hauser had some really good moments.

I liked the prequel Summer of 42 a lot more. I did not find this sequel to leave me with any bright spots to remember this movie for any significant value. It almost looked as if they took some excess film from the Summer of 42 and tried to piece together this sequel by adding a few new characters and a new location.

I just found that I was waiting for something (anything) to occur but the movie went no where. Oh sure there was young love, a few fight scenes, boy turns in to man and goes off to serve in the military, but these scenes did not have any flow to them. As I said I thought maybe they just edited from some scenes that were cut from the original Summer of 42.

Look out for a young John Candy who has a single scene in which he has a few lines while climbing the stairwell in a home filled with students after high school graduation ceremonies about 15 minutes in to the movie.

I am adding one more 4 to the Class of 44. At the time of its release, it was panned unmercifully by most critics; and they were not too far off the truth. Since I had such great regard for Summer of 42, which was twice as good as this film, I tried to keep an open mind about it. The only content I found amusing was the imitation of the Columbia University football team (they lost 70 in a row in the 70s). At least this team was better than Columbia. There did not seem to be any chemistry between Grimes and the actress with the birthmark or black and blue mark under her left eye, which I thought was terribly unattractive. Too many pots left on the stove boiling according to my old film professor. After one of the friends joins the marines, we never hear from him again. After Oscar joins the military, he still remains a putz. And college seems terribly unappealing to Herman Goring. The laughs are too few and far in between, and the contrived relationships are pretty much sowhat. Disappointing at several levels. Don't bother watching this turkey; watch the original Summer of 42 instead.

Hermie, Oscy, and Benjie graduate from high school. Dorothy is long gone. The war is calling. Hermie is going to college. Oscy is still girl crazy. Benjie signs up with the marines only to be ridiculed by the other two. After sending him off to the war, Hermie and Oscy go to college together. Hermie is taken with high-strung school reporter Julie. The boys join a frat where they get hazed. Oscy gets kicked out and joins the Army but he's stationed off New York as a typist.

I feel like this is missing the biggest issue of the era, the war. It's always in the background but these characters are not actually in it. Benjie goes off to war and disappears. The football sucks because all the real men are gone. There are constant references to the war. I expected more pressure for the guys to join. It could have done a separation of paths by doing the other half with Benjie at war. This is Animal House but the bigger issue of the war is pushed to the sidelines. That may be the point but it makes the movie less compelling. I do appreciate its semi-autobiographical nature. This is notable for John Candy's theatrical debut as a side character early in the movie.

Summer of '42 was a great movie. I loved its funny and relatable characters, terrific characters, relatable story, excellent score, and the overall artsy nature of the film. It truly is a terrific film.

Now when I heard that there was a sequel to the film, I was a bit skeptical. I immediately thought it would be bad, especially after reading that the film abandons the artsy-ness of the first film and goes for a more straightforward story. But I thought to myself, "It can't be ALL that bad. I mean, we still have the same likable characters." Plus, they're in college, so I assumed that we'd get to see the typical young adult antics displayed in most college films.

I was kind of right.

Yes, it does suck how this film is more simple and straightforward instead of being poetic like the predecessor. But it's not like they had nothing to work with. I mean, this movie is set during World War II. They could have thrown in some social commentary about war, and how it affects young adults and their overall views on it, but nope. But that isn't to say that the film is a total wreck. It makes up for it by reuniting us with the same three friends who haven't changed a bit. Oscy is still a smart-ass, Hermie is still the one who stays true to himself, and Benji is still the same. So, that's good.

But one thing you might be asking yourself when watching this is whatever happened to Dorothy, the girl from the last movie that left a major impact on Hermie's life, in both Summer of '42 and in real-life. I mean, this movie had the same writer, Herman Raucher. I think it should have been at least mentioned, or maybe Hermie is in a deep depression and the new girl that he meets in this film pulls him out of it. Speaking of which, the romance in this movie isn't quite on par with the last movie. I don't see much chemistry between them. And I think that a deep soul like Hermie should have higher standards for women.

Overall, this movie was actually alright, but again, it could have been much better. I wouldn't mind watching this again. It has the same great characters who put on great performances, and it actually has some comedy to it. But because it could have been much more better, I give it a measly 5 stars.