Commissione d'esame

Good light entertainment that never quite passed into the mainstream, despite featuring several performers who later became better-known: Anthony Edwards before he lost his hair and became a famous TV doc, Corey Parker before he became a caricature of himself, and Lara Flynn Boyle before she became a skeleton. A lightweight and quirky farce about the college admissions process, this bit of fluff also has a really nice heart, plus fun performances by Finn Carter as Edwards's true love and Chris Rydell as Parker's ultracool best friend.

Sweet character driven with silliness most of the way through! The jokes were well placed and everything else is genuinely pleasant; classic comedy before they got raunchy/dirty nowadays.

This is an amusing story that highlights that blasted college admissions process. The story follows several soon-to-be high school graduate's plans for the future. For Marlo (Parker), it's going to whatever school his dream girl Jessica (Flynn Boyle) is going to. For Oliver, it's giving into the white line fever and experiencing life Jack Kerouac style with the possibility of meeting "renegade game show hostesses" on the side. But, for most of the students in the movie, it is all about getting into college. We see the whole bit of it, taking the SATs, college recruitment day, college prep programs, and the dreaded admissions interview.

It's quite an amusing exageration of the whole process, and probably more likely so for kids actually going through the college application process. Although, the movie, at least for me, is sometimes funny and sometime not so funny, on the multiple occassions that I have seen it. I like the idea of the living SAT's with the fate of word problem person A and B resting on Marlo's selection of answers. I like the running gag about admitting a pig among the admissions officers. Despite the fact that the actors are too old to play teenagers (except Oliver and Wanda), it is a nice little movie about kids stuck in a nerve wracking situation hoping to just make it through things.

I enjoy watching How I Got Into College every once in a while, as I do Savage Steve Holland's other two films Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer. Sure, they're all rather tame films on a PG level but Holland has such a great wit and always chooses a wonderful cast. This makes for enjoyable entertainment where you can actually care about the characters and get a few laughs in as well.

Corey Parker plays a high school senior intent on winning the affections of class president Lara Flynn Boyle, even by planning on going to what ever college she decides to attend. Sounds like a typical formula for a teen comedy, but instead of guys sneaking peeks at girls in the locker room and burnouts scoring weed, we're treated to a rather charming, breezy comedy about people instead of working a film around breasts, drugs, and the latest favorite band.

Cory Parker, Anthony Edwards With Hair, Lara Flynn Boyle, and even supporing players like Nora Dunn and Phil Hartman all do a great job with the light material and with Holland's clever wit, it all adds up to a good time. Sure brought back memories of my adventure into selecting a college.

It's really unfair to pick apart this film. It is what it is, light and fun. When there are so many raunchy flicks like Fast Times At Ridgemont high to ad nauseum, it's refreshing to see a film like How I Got Into College to just kick back, watch, and have a smile. No harm in that!

Corey Parker delivers an affable performance as Marlon Browne, a generally uninspiring high school student. He is, however, highly motivated to apply to Ramsey College, since the high-achiever dream girl (Lara Flynn Boyle) whom he adores has her heart set on the place. He then gets caught up in the various machinations of the entire cutthroat college-recruitment business.

Although a step down from his previous classic 80s comedies, this effort from "Savage" Steve Holland ("Better Off Dead", "One Crazy Summer") gets by on some goodwill, and some very good moments. It may not be particularly inspired itself (at least, not enough to generate any true belly laughs), but it handles its satiric elements pretty well. All in all, it's entertaining enough to watch, and benefits from its very likeable cast.

Boyle is endearing, especially when her self-esteem takes a real hit. Top-billed Anthony Edwards does typically engaging work as an admissions officer at Ramsey. The supporting cast is packed to the brim with familiar faces: Phil Hartman and Nora Dunn (as shady tutors), Brian Doyle-Murray, Philip Baker Hall, Richard Jenkins, Charles Rocket, Christopher Rydell, Finn Carter, Bill Raymond, Bill Henderson, Robert Ridgely, etc. Fans of Hollands' previous movies will note the cameos by Taylor Negron, Diane Franklin, Curtis Armstrong, and Dan Schneider. Particularly funny are Bruce Wagner and Tom Kenny as A and B, the guys in Marlons' frequent math problem fantasies.

Pleasant overall, and reasonably funny, but no ball of fire.

Six out of 10.