3 heures, l'heure du crime

Three O' Clock High Suburban High School Masterpiece - 10 (classic)

At age thirteen, I was beginning to question my place in the flux of society. Did I belong to that group or that group? Little did I know that I was to hit puberty soon, whereupon a new cocktail of hormones would knock my brain out of childhood and into the world of minimum wages, TV, and weapons of mass destruction.

No other movie I can think of captures that sense of stark naked individuality as poignantly as THREE O'CLOCK HIGH. This brilliant film features a hero and a villain, both of whom are loners. The hero, played by Casey Siemaszko, is a born loser, the one who realizes that his fly is open during public speaking class and faces the laughter of all the normal kids. The villain, a young and fresh Richard Tyson, who was born to play this role, is the psychotic biker thug who never says a word and never allows anyone to touch him. The two loners have an unlucky encounter one morning, and as Jerry Mitchell apologizes he accidentally touches Buddy Revell's jacket. That's where the shat goes down, and soon the whole school is abuzz with the latest news: fight at three o' clock. Buddy Revell vs. Jerry Mitchell.

THREE O' CLOCK HIGH is directed and edited with supreme wit. Every second of the day is stretched to darkly humorous extremes. Each tick of the clock brings the audience closer to doom and a zoom closer into Jerry's sweaty forehead. Anyone who's set foot in an American school will be up in stitches suffering from that kind of uncontrollable laughter that bubbles up from the sternum. As he over-interprets the things he sees around him, Jerry Mitchell's fear reaches out through the screen and tickles your stomach. No other pathetic loser role has been played as well ever or since in my opinion.

I don't think that any of the cast & crew of this classic film have had the industry standard "illustrious" career, but who cares? They all came together in 1987 to make a movie that changed the course of my life. Stephen Spielberg was involved in THREE 'O CLOCK HIGH's production, but I don't know exactly where. Anne Ryan did a stellar job as Jerry's proto-goth girlfriend. Who knows what she's doing now? By now the children of 1987 are all grown up and running the rat race in a gerbil wheel.

THREE O' CLOCK HIGH will resurface all of the high school emotions that you want to forget. Do you remember wetting your pants, the puppy dog love, or being abandoned by your close friends? One thing is for sure. Watching this movie will evoke those emotions, including the deepest of thrills - overcoming the odds and getting that half-assed paper in on time.

Jimboduck.

This is a consistently overlooked and under-rated film. Fans of movies like Rushmore and Election may be surprised to learn that even during the John Hughes (Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, etc.) era there were still hip, funny movies being made about the high school experience.

The movie is shot in a mildly surreal "Coen brothers-esque" fashion that makes it a joy to look at, while the script is sharp and inventive. Despite its abstract nature, the script is very true to the realism of adolescent intimidation. Also not to be overlooked are some very clever performances by some lesser known performers which come off as very convincing.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a great film, very few are. If you consider Rushmore a 10 in this genre than Three O'clock High is about a 6 1/2 or a seven, but still well worth viewing.

Why is this movie not up there with 'The Breakfast Club,' 'Heathers,' and other teen rite-of-passage classics? 'Three O'Clock High' is hilarious. The cinematography is as well-executed as the script, and laughs appear at just about every turn. The mixed nuts in the cast give great deadpan performances (Jeffrey Tambor kills me every time as he heartbrokenly surveys the vandalized school supply store -- 'what kind of animals would DO this?' he almost weeps), playing up the comic absurdity of the script. A wonderful farce that hasn't lost a bit of its charm in 12 years. Why Anne Ryan, the hero's girlfriend, disappeared after this movie is a mystery to me -- she should have become another Winona Ryder. Don't pass this one up if your local video store has bothered to keep it on the shelf. You can thank me later. And if you're leery because the movie tanked at the box office, remember, Milli Vanilli's record sold seven million copies, so trusting the mainstream public is not always the best idea...

When I think of the eighties teen genre, I think about John Hughes and John Cusack...and a little movie called Three O'Clock High. Three O'Clock High is the greatest eighties movie that no one knows about. It does, in fact, blow The Breakfast Club out of the water. Casey Siemaszko is perfect in the lead as Jerry Mitchell and he is the ultimate underdog. You can't help but love his character. He definitely has a large degree of untapped talent. The most unforgettable character however, is Richard Tyson's infamous Buddy Revell. I won't say that he completely steals the show, but he does come close to it. Revell has many a one-liner and I quote him on a weekly basis. And who could forget Tangerine Dream's score. They are also an integral ingredient of the eighties flick. This is a truly brilliant piece of comedy. Three O'Clock High is a comic gem as well as a must see.

"You and me, we're gonna have a fight-today-after school-3 O'Clock-in the parking lot. You try and run, I'm gonna track you down. You go to a teacher, it's only gonna get worse. You sneak home, I'll be under your bed. You and me...3 O'Clock."

I have just discovered this film recently. It was never very popular, and I don't know why. I am surprised that a few people can't stand this film. After viewing the DVD a few times, I can honestly say that overall this is not a bad film. The directing is superb. I liked the way the director uses time...the passage of time...and shows its relationship and importance to the story. I also liked the camera blocking, and angles. My favorite shot is of the bully walking out of the school just before the fight: The camera zooms in and tilts up at a low level. A technique taught in film school to show a subject as "larger-than-life", or menacing over something. The acting was also excellent. Richard Tyson is great as the bully. His deep voice is well suited for this role, and is especially noted if you have a subwoofer. Yeah, I wouldn't want to fight him, either... Although the story is "typical", I like the plot-line. Throughout the whole story, the plot slowly builds to an amazing climax, then drops suddenly, and levels off. Its a perfect plot-line. Although, some parts of the story are "far-fetched". Such as, Jerry pretending to fall in love with his English teacher. One thing to remember, though, this is fiction. Sometimes in fiction, things happen that are unlikely in real life. That's why its called "fiction". Other than the bland "typical" story, I could not find anything wrong with this film. I have yet to even find so much as a continuity error. In conclusion, if you are looking for "content" you will be disappointed with this film. However, if you are looking for a well-directed film with good use of camera blocking and angles, and actor positioning, you will find this to be a very enjoyable film. ACTING: 9.1 / 10 DIRECTING: 9.4 / 10 STORY: 8.8 / 10

AVERAGE: 9.1 / 10 A lost Gem, and a must see for "film people".