Frat House

I just saw this movie, and blow me out! It's a scary, real portrait of fraternities in USA made by two skinny, smart guys with glasses. Although, this is not "The Revenge of the Nerds" whatsoever. It's just a close look to the inside madness in frats. This is a story about noisy parties, people with affectional needs, humiliation, naked women and kegs. At some point it's hilarious, and it's great if you want a college discussion about it. Totally cool, but hard to find (for some reason, not in video).

Despite allegations of staging, this was one of the most entertaining documentaries I have had the pleasure of seeing. Even if some of the scenes were staged, you still get to witness the unbelievable torture that these young men had to endure. The film is a very guilty pleasure, and will make you cry with laughter. Forget all the controversy and enjoy this riotous film.

I have a few comments about this film; First, I myself am in a fraternity and what is depicted by this film is not the norm, at least where I go to school. However, the hazing that the pledges (and at one point the filmmakers) have to go through is pretty chilling. I should have been able to have seen this on HBO, but instead I had to go to a film festival just to see it. I'm very disappointed that just because of potential legal problems HBO shelved this movie, one of the better documentaries that I've seen in recent years.

I finally saw a bootleg tape of this "long suppressed" documentary & have come to the conclusion that the reason it was never aired by HBO (as was intended) is that there is NOTHING in "Frat House" that hasn't been covered before & covered in greater depth. Back in the 1980s the TV show "60 Minutes" did a 20 minute piece on frats that blew "Frat House" right out of the water. "Frat House" comes across like an overlong edition of NBCs tabloid show "Dateline". There was nothing shocking or revealing about "Frat House". Sure all frat boys are morons, we all know that. Anyone who so desperatley needs to be part of a group that they will submit to extreme humiliation is an overgrown adolescent wuss. Thank God for frats though: In my job I have to review resumes & I immediatley throw out ANY that boast of fraternity affiliation. Who needs a spineless follower as an employee? Anyhow, "Frat House" is a routine, by the numbers TV show & nothing else.

This movie suffered serious criticism for paying the fraternities and fraternity brothers to act out pieces of the movie. The main school involved does not even pledge in the Spring, as this movie made viewers believe. A good movie to see as long as you realize it is developed to perpetuate the stereotypes the film makers have about fraternities. I did enjoy seeing the movie, it was well produced, and had a good "documentary" feel. HBO will not allow this movie to be presented on TV, and for good reason, it just is not true. There are several instances in the movie where brothers in the fraternity actually act as though they are pledges and act out scenes which supposedly happen in a fraternity.