School Ties

I've read the first 30 comments about this movie. Not once did anyone comment on the reasons why Greene (Fraser) never mentioned his religion -- the casual "joking" and "common knowledge" comments heard in the bathroom. Is it any less a matter of prejudice to use the phrase "I jewed him down" than it would be to use the term "kike"? Is telling a derogatory joke about homosexuals any more offensive than calling us "fag"? This is the only movie I can think of right off-hand other than "The Laramie Project" that makes the point that casual speech can be used as a form of maintaining prejudice. For this reason alone, "School Ties" is an important film. As a survivor of a 1964 prep school much like the one in the movie, I can tell you that the scenes and attitudes are accurately presented. I found the characters to be a little one-sided, yes. It's rare to meet any person who is as totally focused and determined as the Greene presented here. Nor is any prejudiced person or group normally so totally open in expression as the "good old boys" we see in this production. But, that's the most impressive way to show the public just how bad it is to be bigoted or to be the target of bigotry. For the production and acting values I'd give this film 6 on a scale of 10. For the "pre-star" status performances of Fraser, O'Donell, Damon, and, yes, even Affleck, I'd give it a 7.5 on a scale of 10. For the message I'd give it 9.5 on that same scale. "School Ties" is a movie that can be enjoyed by anyone who sees it. For "star followers", it has a cool four New Idols in "pre-star" roles to add to their tape collections. For the activists in the world it is a stark and dramatic example of how prevalent unrecognised bigotry is in our society.

I just watched School Ties recently and I was quite impressed with it. The acting was excellent as 4 previously unknown actors made their big breaks, Brendan Fraser (pre-George Of The Jungle) is awesome as Jewish boy David Green. Chris O'Donnell (pre-Vertical Limit) plays the role of Reece with good convictions and Ben Affleck & Matt Damon (pre-Good Will Hunting) are great. Matt plays the role of jealous bigot Charlie with good character and conviction. It's just a shame that Ben Affleck didn't have much of a speaking role. For those of you who are fans of Fraser, Affleck, Damon & O'Donnell, this movie is worth checking out 8 out of 10 in my books

It was well written, inspiring, revealing, and a reminder that we are still in 2013 only 60 years away from a time of great hatred and prejudice in America. Generations of bigotry are still yet to be undone. We need to create dialog and not make assumptions about any segment of society or pass judgement simply because they are different.

The film begins painting a picture, setting the stage, identifying the key players, there was inciting action, and the pacing was excellent. Moment by moment I was gently lead from one scene to the next, often with great suspense. In the end my own prejudices were re-examined and I began to think not just about anti antisemitism, but other forms of hate speech and discriminatory language that I might not even be aware of.

I also feel that the writers accurately portrayed their point of view with sensitivity and shared a beautiful story with the world . I'd highly recommend.

I really liked this one.

There's something romanticized about prep schools in coming-of-age movies, despite their being breeding grounds for insular elitism. Reminds me of "Dead Poets Society"; I wouldn't last a day in these places, but their settings make for memorable movies. In the case of "School Ties", it's anti-Semitism when Brendan Fraser, the star quarterback, is outed and summarily scorned. The irony here is he's the most honorable student in an institution that won't shut up about integrity.

It's a well-written film and features an all-star cast of future stars (capably fronted by Fraser) and it didn't take long to pull me in and keep me invested for the duration. Things become grim in the third act, and with this time period and subject matter, you just know a swastika is going to turn up eventually; it does and it still stings.

The movie seems to telegraph the resolution (and it really got under my skin) but the end pleasantly surprised me. Yeah, it's Hollywood, but it's a quality movie with a compelling story and great performances. Well worth your time.

What is it about Jews that so many people hate them? From as far back as the Old Testament, to the weekly ramblings of Pat Buchanan and the fanatical Iranian president, Jews just can't seem to catch a break. What is it they've done that's so bad? They murdered Jesus, did they? And the Romans had nothing to do with that?

Anyway, this is a better film than I expected. Not only does it give us an interesting protagonist, but it allows us to feel like the outsider he is when he arrives at the elite prep school. Regardless of their religion, few people ever get a chance to attend such a ritzy school. Brendan Fraser plays David Green, a working-class Jewish kid who gets a football scholarship to St. Matthews for his senior year. The school is filled with smart and athletic young men destined for Ivy League schools and eventual seats at the head table of our society. The other boys David quickly befriends are played by a who's who of young acting talent just before they became huge stars. Chris O'Donnell, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck are all on display. Matt Damon's Charlie Dillion character is a real jerk. All the guys crack little Jewish jokes here and there, but once Damon learns the new kid's secret. He cranks the Anti-semitism level to really ugly levels.

Luckily for these guys, David Green knows that he has a great chance of getting into Harvard if he just ignores their jokes as long as they don't find out he's a Jew. Green is a tough kid who's had to fight for everything he has, and he could easily beat the snot out of any of them. Once the secret is out, the boys he thought were his new friends suddenly become either indifferent to him, or his enemies. The new girlfriend from a nearby school who adored him also turns her back once she learns his religion. The film could have stopped there and just been a pro-tolerance kind of exercise, but luckily there are other things going on. One of the boys is caught cheating, but the faculty doesn't know who. Unless the boy comes forward, the entire history class will be flunked for breaking the honor code. Green becomes a suspect because he initially hid his religious identity. Will he to take a fall for the guy who cheated?? The film is thoughtful and has interesting characters where it could have just given us closed-minded bigots. Even though we know these guys are ant-Semites, we at least see them as real people with complex problems and motivations of their own. The film boasts some beautiful and realistic locations in most scenes. There are some subplots not fully motivated or fleshed out. What exactly happens to the boy who bolts from his French exam? What became of him after his nervous breakdown? And why did this film feel the need to recylce a gag from the movie Real Genius about putting an intellectual's car inside his dorm room?? Still a very good movie that might make you think twice about cracking ethnic jokes around people you don't know that well. 8 of 10 stars.

The Hound.