Old School

Short and Simple Review by WubsTheFadger

First off, this comedy is hilarious. The story is easy to follow, simple, and full of funny jokes and hilarious gags. I thought this film was genuinely funny and I truly enjoyed it. The characters are all funny and are all likeable.

The acting is very good. Luke Wilson is by far the best. He is a likeable, funny, and good-hearted man looking for a fresh start. Vince Vaughn is also hilarious. His one-liners are always well timed. Will Ferrell plays a weird and sometime socially awkward man who at times can be very funny. I found his character to be the weakest and at times he was really annoying. Jeremy Piven's character is not well developed and very, very annoying.

The pacing is a little slow and the runtime is overlong.

Pros: Hilarious story, good jokes, Luke Wilson and Vince Vaughn are both hilarious, and most the characters are likeable

Cons: Some slow pacing, an overlong runtime, Jeremy Piven and his bad performance, and Will Ferrell's character is a little annoying

Overall Rating: 7.0

"Old School" is a nutty comedy about three friends starting a fraternity. It's a comedy in the same vein as "Animal House," "Porky's Revenge," or "Road Trip," which are about hormonal young males drinking, partying, and having sex, except the hormonal males in "Old School" aren't exactly young---which makes it all the more hilarious. By all rights, they shouldn't have a fraternity nor should they be in one. Beanie (Vince Vaughn) was married with two kids, Frank (Will Ferrell) was a newlywed, and Mitch (Luke Wilson) just got out of a committed relationship. They were all 30+ and their partying days should've been behind them. Yet they started a fraternity in Mitch's new home as a means of making sure that the house, that was near the college campus, remained committed to campus related activities.

Necessity is the mother of inventions.

Their fraternity was unique in that it was a blend of students at the nearby college and adult non-students of varying ages. Blue (Patrick Cranshaw) was close to 90!!

The whole thing was a gas. This was just silly fun you couldn't help but laugh at.

Can't argue about my love for this film. It is funny and not super serious. You can leave your brain at the door. Won't impress the critics, but combining this film with drinks is a must.

Sure, you could watch "Anchorman" or "Elf" or "Wedding Crashers"... but if you want real Luke Wilson and Will Ferrell action, you want to see "Old School".

A group of 30-year old men turn a house into a fraternity to recapture their days of beer-drinking and women-catching. But once the dean finds out, it becomes an all out war between these men and the establishment.

The cast is perfect: besides Wilson and Ferrell, you have Vince Vaughn, Elisha Cuthbert, that girl from "Rushmore", Jeremy Piven, and a variety of other cameos. Even James Carville, who is just about the last person you expect to appear in a sophomoric comedy of this type. Well, second to last: Robert Novak would have been stranger.

I have no complaints to make about this film. If you're familiar with the work of these gentlemen, you know what you're getting already. And this is the cream of the crop. If you like their other movies and not this one, I think you're probably out of your mind or on some mind-altering drug like Ketamine. Because how can you not appreciate this? Oh, and it has Terry O'Quinn and Snoop Dogg. Seriously, watch it.

A man in his mid-thirties is restless, disheartened, and fed up with life in general after breaking up with his longtime girlfriend. He moves into a house on a college campus where, against his better judgment but with the persuasion of his equally depressed, unhappily married buddies, he starts an unofficial fraternity. To their surprise, the fraternity turns into a huge success that allows the three of them to recapture the spirit of their beloved college years. Intentionally goofy, college-oriented comedy from the director of Road Trip is uneven at times, but the cast is good and there are often some very funny moments. **½