Summer School - Una vacanza da ripetenti

When the summer vacation comes, the gym teacher Freddy Shoop (Mark Harmon) is ready to travel to Hawaii with his girlfriend. However, he assigned by Vice Principal Phil Gills (Robin Thomas) to give English classes in summer to undisciplined and mediocre high-school students. When Phil promises to fire Freddy unless his students pass the test, he agrees to grant a wish from each student if they study the English lessons he prepares with the support of the history teacher Ms. Robin Elizabeth Bishop (Kirstie Alley).

"Summer School" is a funny and entertaining comedy from the 80´s and underrated by professional critics. This movie certainly would never be an Oscar nominated but it is hilarious and makes the viewer laugh. Mark Harmon´s procedures and deal with the class is very funny and Kirstie Alley and Courtney Thorne-Smith very beautiful. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Curso de Verão" ("Summer School")

Seriously. Today's comedy is pure crap. This movie is long lost gem I tell you. It might not be a very good movie, but it's not meant to be. It meant to be funny and that's exactly what it gives - lot of funny moments.

Characters are likable, with two horror fanatics Chainsaw and Dave being the funniest of them all. Things they do and say in this movie are nuts. You can actually find a now-(in)famous names in this movie, then unknown.

If you are a horror\comedy fun, check this one out for sure since this movie gives some tribute to Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, since we are talking about characters who looooves horror and are experts in FX make up.

This movie is OK for a family watch or watching with lot of friends\girlfriend. Its one of my favorite B comedies of all time.

The 1980s was the decade for teen comedies. What separates SUMMER SCHOOL from the rest of the teen comedies of the decade is the unique premise. To my knowledge, SUMMER SCHOOL is the only movie about the title subject. No other movies have been made about summer school. This is the one and only. Despite the unique premise, many of the characters are still stereotypical teen comedy teenagers such as the geek, the jock, and the stoners. That doesn't make the characters any less enjoyable, it just makes them feel like characters that have been seen several times before. Out of all the characters, the best one is Chainsaw, wonderfully played by Dean Cameron. His sidekick is played by Gary Riley, who surprisingly did not go on to do much after this film. It's a shame since I really enjoyed his performance here. The other stand-out character among the group of teenage misfits is Pam House, played by Courtney Thorne-Smith in one of her earliest roles. She does a good job with her role and is quite cute as well.

No SUMMER SCHOOL review would be complete without talking about Mark Harmon's performance as Freddy Shoop, the gym teacher who gets stuck teaching the group of teenagers Remedial English. Harmom is extremely likable and charming in his role and without him, the movie wouldn't be half as good as it is. This is Harmon's movie. He brings the character to life like no other actor could. Thanks to him, SUMMER SCHOOL remains an 80s classic. Highlights include the gore scenes, the field trip scenes, and Jerome Watkins' (Duane Davis) line at the end of the movie, which is just one of the great lines scattered throughout this underrated gem. I give it 7/10.

"Summer School" is a prime example of a film that over-achieves. It appears to be a typical teen comedy, but its screenplay is so smart that it is hard dislike. Carl Reiner's direction is substantial as he never tries to make the film more than it is. Mark Harmon does some of the best work of his ho-hum career as a high school physical education instructor who must teach a group of lazy students who all have more personality than brains. Kirstie Alley stars as the next-door teacher who teaches Harmon a few things about education. All of the students have their moments as well. However, it is Dean Cameron as "Chainsaw" who steals every scene and makes the film fun throughout. A strange over-achiever. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Malibu at sunset, Venice Beach, electric yellow radio headphones, "Cool Dude" sunglasses in a box, SHOOP on the chalkboard with two googly eyes / eyes poked through with #2 pencils, pregnant teenager in a onesie, surfer sarongs, Hawaiian shirts, a severed dolly head doggy toy, kissing in the surf, roller skates in jail, fresh safety pin through the ear, the principal's plaid blazer, Kirstie Alley's pumps and bottom swinging in pink, a cuffed severed-hand alarm clock, a drive-through photo developer, an Italian exchange student in a bikini, Mark Harmon's baby blues, a busted convertible and a driving test, dyslexia, tattered textbooks, mom's $5 in her son's g-string, fireworks on the couch, fish oven mitts, bubble sheets, Lamaze, leis, the football field in summer, the school hallways in summer, the lockers in summer, "there's no place like home."