Sorority Boys

For those New Yorkers who are frugal and would rather not spend a minimum of 10 bucks to see a movie, then this is a movie to rent. Better watched at home than on the big screen, this movie is light and very funny. I guarantee that you will laugh at least a couple of times. The humor is at times twisted and at times offensive but it's not too perverted. You'll enjoy this funny look at the world of women seen through the eyes of the men. However, if watching with children, please note that the movie does contain nude scenes and foul language.

Was anyone else bothered by the fact that a lot of the jokes in this film revolve around violence against women, and at several points, actual rape? Uh huh. That's what forcing (including drugging) someone and having sex with them is called. Seriously, the disturbing thing about this flick is that the same old stereotypes are being paraded around all over again. Even the details were so '80s: I mean, the old boys network offering a cruisy "We start at 10am" job to a undergrad - huh? Shame that such a talented cast got caught up in this garbage.

While the movie may be predictable, it is, I found it in many scenes, a laugh out loud movie. Ya, while ya wonder why nobody notices that they are guys, and Barry's love interest doesn't recognize that it's him, even though she is his study partner by day and they are "girlfriends" by night, but overlook that and enjoy an entertaining movie. The 3 guys really are funny. The football game scene's could have been a little more realistic. I mean, come'on, girls knocking guys out on the field is a little far fetched but it's a movie...you know.. make believe! Barry Watson and Harland Williams are great but to me Michael Rosenbaum stole the show. His expressions, falling off his shoes, the fight scene with Barry Watson, he just cracked me up. And looks like he could be Chevy Chase's son, which I checked and he's not. If ya not looking for an Academy Award winner, and ya just want to be entertained and have a good laugh, this is the movie.

Probably the cheapest laugh in all of comedy is putting a guy in drag, hell, they were probably doing it in ancient Egypt to get Pharoah to bust a gut when nothing else worked. And in this case they've got not one but three, the first two of which are barely passable as girls and the third looking like the spitting image of the big redhead that Arnold disguises himself as in "Total Recall".

The whole plot is based on three members of Kappa Omicron Kappa (not exactly a subtly acronym) getting kicked out of their fraternity after they were set up and accused of stealing the alumni party funds. They need to sneak back in their old house to recover a videotape that will prove their innocence. Their first scheme is to dress up as girls and get in during a party, but they quickly get ejected by the "dog catcher" whose job it is to get rid of ugly girls. While still in drag, they are invited to pledge the ultra-feminist Delta Omicron Gamma sorority (another non-subtle joke) and, since they've no food, money or lodging, they accept. The rest of the movie is about their awkward attempts to keep up their ruse and fit in with a bunch of sorority girls, all the while scheming to get back that tape. Naturally, much of the laughs come as the "girls" are forced to adjust to their new roles and dealing with stuff like leg shaving and walking (badly) in heels, although in the process these formerly crude horndogs learn to start appreciating women as more than just object to either lust after (if they're hot) or make fun of (if they're not).

Fortunately, they don't get too heavy on the feminist "message" stuff, at least not enough to get in the way of the humor. And there's a fun little love twist in which one of the boys starts falling for the sorority president, Leah. Her character's a bit of a modern movie cliche, like Julia Stiles in "10 Things I Hate About You" she's supposed to be this bitchy, angry, ugly man hating feminist but is simply too good natured and good looking to really fool anyone. Of course, the twist is, as a boy (in her Women's Studies class) she hates him, but as a girl, she starts to develop feelings for "her". Naturally, once she learns the truth she's initially outraged, but seeing as this is a simple comedy and not something like "Chasing Amy", she quickly relents and all ends well. This is by no means a great comedy, it's definitely a "rent, don't buy" kind of movie, but considering I had no real expectations other that to get about 90 minutes of shut-off-your-brain entertainment, I must say it wasn't bad.

6/10

After reading several comments on Sorority Boys, I prepared myself for a really lame gross-out comedy with plenty of dick and fart jokes and a wide array of breasts. Fortunately I was very much wrong! While the movie does have a couple of moments that reminded me of There's Something About Mary and more than a couple boob shots, it was all done in good fun. I never once had the urge to look at my watch and found myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion. It was great to see how typical guys would react to being in a woman's shoes (physically and emotionally) and maybe learn a little something about how they should treat a woman in return. All in all, it was a feel-good comedy, and by the end of the movie you saw a lot of character development. I can't say that I have made a *completely* unbiased evaluation of the movie, because my main motivation for seeing it was a certain Sexy Lexy of televisions "Smallville", but all in all I found it well worth my six dollars and hour and a half. However, I don't recommend that *everyone* go see it. There are many people who are far too critical of movies and don't believe that they can be just for fun (you know who you are) but think they should have some deep philosophical meaning. If you're one of THOSE people don't go see this movie!! For those of you who can enjoy a movie at face value (and then some in this case) go check it out! And if you're interested in seeing adorable shots of the main cast in drag, stay for the credits!! I gave it a 9 out of 10.