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    <title>National Lampoon's Animal House's Recent Activity - Spout</title>
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      <title>Film:National Lampoon's Animal House</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/films/National_Lampoon_s_Animal_House/39694/default.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<table width='100%' style='font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><tr><td><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t83307r3qgc.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' /></td>
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<strong>Title:</strong> National Lampoon's Animal House<br/>
<strong>Year:</strong> 1978<br/>
<strong>Director:</strong> John Landis<br/>
<strong>Plot:</strong> Director <a href="/players/P____98623/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>John Landis</a> put himself on the map with this low-budget, fabulously successful comedy, which made a then-astounding 62 million dollars and started a slew of careers for its cast in the process. National Lampoon's Animal House is set in 1962 on the campus of Faber College in Faber, PA. The first glimpse we get of the campus is the statue of its founder Emil Faber, on the base of which is inscribed the motto, "Knowledge Is Good." Incoming freshmen <a href="/players/P____33864/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Tom Hulce</a> and <a href="/players/P____25396/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Stephen Furst</a> find themselves rejected by the pretentious Omega fraternity, and instead pledge to Delta House. The Deltas are a motley fraternity of rejects and maladjusted undergraduates (some approaching their late twenties) whose main goal -- seemingly accomplished in part by their mere presence on campus -- is disrupting the staid, peaceful, rigidly orthodox, and totally hypocritical social order of the school, as represented by the Omegas and the college's dean, Vernon Wormer (<a href="/players/P____73373/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>John Vernon</a>). Dean Wormer decides that this is the year he's going to get the Deltas expelled and their chapter decertified; he places the fraternity on "double secret probation" and, with help from Omega president Greg Marmalard (<a href="/players/P____17106/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>James Daughton</a>) and hard-nosed member Doug Neidermeyer (Mark Metcalf), starts looking for any pretext on which to bring the members of the Delta fraternity up on charges. The Deltas, oblivious to the danger they're in, are having a great time, steeped in irreverence, mild debauchery, and occasional drunkenness, led by seniors Otter (<a href="/players/P___101693/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Tim Matheson</a>), Hoover (James Widdoes), D-Day (<a href="/players/P____47434/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Bruce McGill</a>), Boon (<a href="/players/P____59459/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Peter Riegert</a>), and pledge master John "Bluto" Blutarsky (<a href="/players/P_____5234/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>John Belushi</a>). They're given enough rope to hang themselves, but even then manage to get into comical misadventures on a road trip (where they arrange an assignation with a group of young ladies from Emily Dickinson University). Finally, they are thrown out of school, and, as a result, stripped of their student deferments (and, thus, eligible for the draft). They decide to commit one last, utterly senseless (and screamingly funny) slapstick act of rebellion, making a shambles of the university's annual homecoming parade, and, in the process, getting revenge on the dean, the Omegas, and everyone else who has ever gone against them. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide<br/>
<strong>Times Tagged:</strong> 42<br/>
<strong>Number of Lists:</strong> 65<br/>
<strong>Number of blog posts:</strong> 5<br/>
<strong>Number of discussion threads:</strong> 3<br/>
<strong>SpoutRating:</strong> 3<br/>
</td></tr></table>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:04:12 GMT</pubDate><spout:Title>National Lampoon's Animal House</spout:Title><spout:Year>1978</spout:Year><spout:Director>John Landis</spout:Director><spout:Plot>Director &lt;a href="/players/P____98623/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;John Landis&lt;/a&gt; put himself on the map with this low-budget, fabulously successful comedy, which made a then-astounding 62 million dollars and started a slew of careers for its cast in the process. National Lampoon's Animal House is set in 1962 on the campus of Faber College in Faber, PA. The first glimpse we get of the campus is the statue of its founder Emil Faber, on the base of which is inscribed the motto, "Knowledge Is Good." Incoming freshmen &lt;a href="/players/P____33864/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Tom Hulce&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="/players/P____25396/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Stephen Furst&lt;/a&gt; find themselves rejected by the pretentious Omega fraternity, and instead pledge to Delta House. The Deltas are a motley fraternity of rejects and maladjusted undergraduates (some approaching their late twenties) whose main goal -- seemingly accomplished in part by their mere presence on campus -- is disrupting the staid, peaceful, rigidly orthodox, and totally hypocritical social order of the school, as represented by the Omegas and the college's dean, Vernon Wormer (&lt;a href="/players/P____73373/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;John Vernon&lt;/a&gt;). Dean Wormer decides that this is the year he's going to get the Deltas expelled and their chapter decertified; he places the fraternity on "double secret probation" and, with help from Omega president Greg Marmalard (&lt;a href="/players/P____17106/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;James Daughton&lt;/a&gt;) and hard-nosed member Doug Neidermeyer (Mark Metcalf), starts looking for any pretext on which to bring the members of the Delta fraternity up on charges. The Deltas, oblivious to the danger they're in, are having a great time, steeped in irreverence, mild debauchery, and occasional drunkenness, led by seniors Otter (&lt;a href="/players/P___101693/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Tim Matheson&lt;/a&gt;), Hoover (James Widdoes), D-Day (&lt;a href="/players/P____47434/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Bruce McGill&lt;/a&gt;), Boon (&lt;a href="/players/P____59459/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Peter Riegert&lt;/a&gt;), and pledge master John "Bluto" Blutarsky (&lt;a href="/players/P_____5234/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;John Belushi&lt;/a&gt;). They're given enough rope to hang themselves, but even then manage to get into comical misadventures on a road trip (where they arrange an assignation with a group of young ladies from Emily Dickinson University). Finally, they are thrown out of school, and, as a result, stripped of their student deferments (and, thus, eligible for the draft). They decide to commit one last, utterly senseless (and screamingly funny) slapstick act of rebellion, making a shambles of the university's annual homecoming parade, and, in the process, getting revenge on the dean, the Omegas, and everyone else who has ever gone against them. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide</spout:Plot><spout:TimesTagged>42</spout:TimesTagged><spout:taglevel>Tag Target (&gt;10)</spout:taglevel><spout:Numberoflists>65</spout:Numberoflists><spout:NumberOfBlogPosts>5</spout:NumberOfBlogPosts><spout:NumberOfDiscussionThreads>3</spout:NumberOfDiscussionThreads><spout:SpoutRating>3</spout:SpoutRating><spout:FilmCoverURL>http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t83307r3qgc.jpg</spout:FilmCoverURL><spout:SpoutFilmDetailURL>http://www.spout.com/films/National_Lampoon_s_Animal_House/39694/default.aspx</spout:SpoutFilmDetailURL><spout:type>Film</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Loaded Weapon 1</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/risselada/archive/2009/8/11/43484.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t83307r3qgc.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/5353/default.aspx'>Risselada</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/risselada/default.aspx'>Risselada Blog</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 8/11/2009 2:04:12 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> Loaded Weapon 1 I guess the full title of this film is National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1.  I could never really figure out what the connection was between the different films with the "National Lampoon's" prefix was, but I just looked it up and realized it's just the name of a production company.  You know that the films are always comedies, and probably could have the descriptions of "zany", "crude", or "base" attached to them.  Most people will think of Animal House or the Vacation movies (written by the recently departed John Hughes).  Although I just found out the first ever National Lampoon's film was titled National Lampoon's Disco Beaver from Outer Space.  But Loaded Weapon 1 is actually a bit different in that it's pretty much a spoof movie, where the others aren't.  Obviously trying to work within the style created by the Zucker Abrahams Zucker team who did Airplane! and The Naked Gun, this film is much more based on a sequence of gags than really building complex character or scenarios.  Which is fine with me.  I love that stuff when it's done well.  And I feel that Loaded Weapon 1 was done well.  I have seen it a handful of times, and just pulled the shrinkwrap off a DVD that I've had in my house for a while after buying it on clearance to show my girlfriend.  I think she fell asleep like she usually does, but I still had a great time. It's a short little film, as it should be.  It's primarily a spoof of The Lethal Weapon movies which I have never seen.  I have seen enough pieces of them and know the basic plot that I'm still able to enjoy what they are spoofing.  A good spoof somehow gives you an insight into what the original scene of a movie it is spoofing was like even if you haven't seen it.  It's hard to explain how this is done, but if you GET the joke, you can sense where it's coming from.  One of the most striking things about the movie I think is how many cameos there are.  Here's a list: Dr. Joyce BrothersJames Doohan (Scotty)F. Murray AbrahamCharlie SheenDennis LearyCorey FeldmanPhil HartmanJ.T. WalshErik EstradaLarry WilcoxPaul GleesonWhoopie GoldbergChristopher LambertBruce Willis And Denise Richards (although she was not at all a celebrity at that time) Of course you have the main characters played by Emilio Estevez who was pretty well known then.  Samuel L Jackson was less well known.  But then you got some other funny performances from John Lovitz, Tim Curry, Kathy Ireland, and of course the wonderful William Shatner, who tries to pull off such a goofy voice here. So if you want some laughs, and to see a "gratuitous beaver scene" check this movie out.  Like I said, it's short and sweet. Rating: 9/10<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:04:12 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>Risselada</spout:postby><spout:postto>Risselada Blog</spout:postto><spout:postdate>8/11/2009 2:04:12 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>Loaded Weapon 1 I guess the full title of this film is National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1.  I could never really figure out what the connection was between the different films with the "National Lampoon's" prefix was, but I just looked it up and realized it's just the name of a production company.  You know that the films are always comedies, and probably could have the descriptions of "zany", "crude", or "base" attached to them.  Most people will think of Animal House or the Vacation movies (written by the recently departed John Hughes).  Although I just found out the first ever National Lampoon's film was titled National Lampoon's Disco Beaver from Outer Space.  But Loaded Weapon 1 is actually a bit different in that it's pretty much a spoof movie, where the others aren't.  Obviously trying to work within the style created by the Zucker Abrahams Zucker team who did Airplane! and The Naked Gun, this film is much more based on a sequence of gags than really building complex character or scenarios.  Which is fine with me.  I love that stuff when it's done well.  And I feel that Loaded Weapon 1 was done well.  I have seen it a handful of times, and just pulled the shrinkwrap off a DVD that I've had in my house for a while after buying it on clearance to show my girlfriend.  I think she fell asleep like she usually does, but I still had a great time. It's a short little film, as it should be.  It's primarily a spoof of The Lethal Weapon movies which I have never seen.  I have seen enough pieces of them and know the basic plot that I'm still able to enjoy what they are spoofing.  A good spoof somehow gives you an insight into what the original scene of a movie it is spoofing was like even if you haven't seen it.  It's hard to explain how this is done, but if you GET the joke, you can sense where it's coming from.  One of the most striking things about the movie I think is how many cameos there are.  Here's a list: Dr. Joyce BrothersJames Doohan (Scotty)F. Murray AbrahamCharlie SheenDennis LearyCorey FeldmanPhil HartmanJ.T. WalshErik EstradaLarry WilcoxPaul GleesonWhoopie GoldbergChristopher LambertBruce Willis And Denise Richards (although she was not at all a celebrity at that time) Of course you have the main characters played by Emilio Estevez who was pretty well known then.  Samuel L Jackson was less well known.  But then you got some other funny performances from John Lovitz, Tim Curry, Kathy Ireland, and of course the wonderful William Shatner, who tries to pull off such a goofy voice here. So if you want some laughs, and to see a "gratuitous beaver scene" check this movie out.  Like I said, it's short and sweet. Rating: 9/10</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: 10 Best Films About Academia</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2009/1/29/40057.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t83307r3qgc.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/9325/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog on spout.com</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 1/29/2009 11:01:21 AM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> There is a good reason Hollywood continually makes Animal House wannabes and avoids producing films that actually focus on academia. Kids prefer their college movies to be about the fun stuff. And so a movie like Old School grossed $75 million while another Luke Wilson comedy called Tenure currently lacks a distributor. The latter film may also be hilarious, as a satire of the tenure process, but if it doesn’t concentrate more on beer bongs and naked co-eds, it won’t attract as big an audience. And according to some scholars, it may not even resonate with them, because it couldn’t possibly be what the process is really like. Film blogger and associate professor Chuck Tryon was quoted about the film last year as saying, “my ongoing pursuit of tenure typically involves me sitting in front of my laptop until 1 a.m., I don’t know how interesting that would be to watch.”
And evident by the scathing reviews from Sundance of John Krasinski’s Brief Interviews With Hideous Men, it appears another film about academia has failed to make a strong case for the subject matter. Too bad for the late David Foster Wallace, whose stories were adapted for the film, that Gus Van Sant wasn’t at the helm. A decade ago, in an interview with Van Sant, Wallace pretty much gushed that Good Will Hunting is the most accurate film about academia ever made. Do we agree with him? Let’s just say there’s not a whole lot of competition for such an honor. But in our attempt to recognize the ten best films about academia, Good Will Hunting doesn’t quite make the top spot.


9. (tie) Elegy (2005) and The Human Stain (2003)
Neither of these films is especially great, but it would be criminal for us not to recognize the work of Philip Roth, an author who depicts the academic world perfectly in his novels, particularly The Dying Animal (which is the basis for Elegy) and The Human Stain. The adaptations of these two books fail to capture much of what’s on the page, but each film has its own merit. Elegy, which primarily deals with an affair between a professor (Ben Kingsley) and a student (Penelope Cruz), is worth seeing for the more interesting relationship between that professor and his Pulitzer Prize-winning friend (Dennis Hopper). Rarely is fraternity between two members of the academic intelligentsia portrayed so enjoyably. As for The Human Stain, which also involves a professor (Anthony Hopkins) and his affair with a younger woman (Nicole Kidman), the film deals primarily with the issue of political correctness within academia. The topic is addressed nowhere near as well as it is in Roth’s novel, but it is at least a starting point for discussion, and it’s also worth seeing for an example in how not to cast a movie.

8. Soul Man (1986)
If we are to include The Human Stain, it’s just as well we acknowledge this earlier comedy, which also involves ironic situations regarding race and academia. Hardly a brilliant movie, Soul Man is at least as humorous in its examination of racism as the Harold and Kumar movies. Yet it is far less esteemed. And the whole black face thing can no longer be looked down upon now that Robert Downey Jr. has that Oscar nomination for Tropic Thunder. The movie is a worthy lampoon of the politics of affirmative action and their affect on college admissions (as well as an obvious and general look at racism within the student population), but it’s especially entertaining for James Earl Jones as a professor who refuses to favor the masquerading protagonist (C. Thomas Howell) just because he’s black.

7. Back to School (1986)
While Soul Man deals with the benefit of being a minority when it comes to getting into college, this film from the same year deals with the benefit of being rich. The idea that anyone with enough money can get into the school of his or her choice is depicted comically in a two-scene setup. In the first scene, a university dean (Ned Beatty) asks millionaire entrepreneur Thornton Mellon (Rodney Dangerfield) how he could possibly admit him as a student when he has no high school degree, no transcripts and no SAT scores. The movie then cuts to the punch-line scene, in which the dean and Mellon are celebrating the groundbreaking of a new business school for the university, named after Mellon, of course. Another favorite jab at academia is with the famous cameo by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., who is hired by Mellon to write a paper about his own work. The paper earns a failing grade.

6. Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
You’re probably wondering how a comedy set at a summer camp could possibly be about academia. Well, it’s not specifically about academia, but it does feature a subplot involving a science professor (David Hyde Pierce) that does poke fun of the concept of tenure. This was pointed out by Elaine Showalter, an English professor at Princeton and author of the book Faculty Towers: The Academic Novel and Its Discontents, so you have to accept that it fits the list. Sure, she’s the mother of WHAS star and screenwriter Michael Showalter, but that shouldn’t take away from her observation.

5. The Paper Chase (1973)
This film features a plot that could very well lend itself to the other kind of college film, but it focuses its attention on the classroom and the relationship between student and professor rather than the dorm room and social affairs. Of course, the student protagonist (Timothy Bottoms) is getting some action, but it is with the daughter (Lindsay Wagner) of the professorial antagonist (John Houseman, who won an Oscar for the performance), and so even the sex stuff is part of the politics of academia. The best scene is at the end, when Bottoms’ character gives the finger to higher education by not even bothering to look at his final grades. If only the audience was also left unaware of his marks, as the original novel leaves that revelation out.

4. Good Will Hunting (1997)
David Foster Wallace may have considered this film to be the best film about academia when he discussed it with Gus Van Sant in 1998, but since that time there have been two more poignant films to deal with the subject. Plus, it never was the best film on academia to begin with. So, as much as he’s right to celebrate the film and in particular the portrayal of Stellan Skarsgard’s character and the issue of professors wanting their students to be brilliant, but not too brilliant, there are three more titles to go.

3. Wonder Boys (2000)
Based on Michael Chabon’s novel of the same name, Curstin Hanson’s film cinematically captures the atmosphere of academia as well as Philip Roth does on the page (perhaps Hanson should adapt Roth?). However, one issue with this atmosphere may be that the relationships and characters, though written and portrayed wonderfully, are rather common for such a story. Also, why not change things a bit and have the main character be a film teacher rather than a creative writing teacher, which an overused profession in these kinds of movies. The switch would be more appropriate for the medium, too. Aside from these minor criticisms, though, we can barely take a red pen to this film. It’s terrific.

2. The Rules of Attraction (2002)
Probably the most cynical look at higher education ever filmed, Roger Avary’s highly underrated adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel shows us just enough of the classroom and professors (i.e. canceled classes and a single professor who accepts sexual bribes) to let us understand that the joke is in how little of that side of academia is actually necessary to a film like this. In that way it kind of does for college what Heathers does for high school. Neither film is a teen sex comedy in the fashion of most high school and college movies. And neither is a satire of education institutions in the way most of the other films on this list are. Rather, they’re mockeries of the whole education system, but only in that they each consider their respective system to be already a mockery of itself.

1. Horse Feathers (1932)
Nobody mocks and satirizes better than the Marx Brothers, and in this film they bring their anarchic shenanigans and brilliant puns to the world of academia. At its core is the basic college sports story, but it’s also one of the first films (if not the first film) to deal with the concept of buying students/players. In addition to lampooning that practice, Horse Feathers makes fun of intellectual gatherings and talk, the influence of trustees and nearly every other aspect of scholarship and higher education you can think of, all in the opening scene. After more than 75 years, it’s still the funniest college movie and the greatest film about academia there is. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:01:21 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>SpoutBlog</spout:postby><spout:postto>SpoutBlog on spout.com</spout:postto><spout:postdate>1/29/2009 11:01:21 AM</spout:postdate><spout:body>There is a good reason Hollywood continually makes Animal House wannabes and avoids producing films that actually focus on academia. Kids prefer their college movies to be about the fun stuff. And so a movie like Old School grossed $75 million while another Luke Wilson comedy called Tenure currently lacks a distributor. The latter film may also be hilarious, as a satire of the tenure process, but if it doesn’t concentrate more on beer bongs and naked co-eds, it won’t attract as big an audience. And according to some scholars, it may not even resonate with them, because it couldn’t possibly be what the process is really like. Film blogger and associate professor Chuck Tryon was quoted about the film last year as saying, “my ongoing pursuit of tenure typically involves me sitting in front of my laptop until 1 a.m., I don’t know how interesting that would be to watch.”
And evident by the scathing reviews from Sundance of John Krasinski’s Brief Interviews With Hideous Men, it appears another film about academia has failed to make a strong case for the subject matter. Too bad for the late David Foster Wallace, whose stories were adapted for the film, that Gus Van Sant wasn’t at the helm. A decade ago, in an interview with Van Sant, Wallace pretty much gushed that Good Will Hunting is the most accurate film about academia ever made. Do we agree with him? Let’s just say there’s not a whole lot of competition for such an honor. But in our attempt to recognize the ten best films about academia, Good Will Hunting doesn’t quite make the top spot.


9. (tie) Elegy (2005) and The Human Stain (2003)
Neither of these films is especially great, but it would be criminal for us not to recognize the work of Philip Roth, an author who depicts the academic world perfectly in his novels, particularly The Dying Animal (which is the basis for Elegy) and The Human Stain. The adaptations of these two books fail to capture much of what’s on the page, but each film has its own merit. Elegy, which primarily deals with an affair between a professor (Ben Kingsley) and a student (Penelope Cruz), is worth seeing for the more interesting relationship between that professor and his Pulitzer Prize-winning friend (Dennis Hopper). Rarely is fraternity between two members of the academic intelligentsia portrayed so enjoyably. As for The Human Stain, which also involves a professor (Anthony Hopkins) and his affair with a younger woman (Nicole Kidman), the film deals primarily with the issue of political correctness within academia. The topic is addressed nowhere near as well as it is in Roth’s novel, but it is at least a starting point for discussion, and it’s also worth seeing for an example in how not to cast a movie.

8. Soul Man (1986)
If we are to include The Human Stain, it’s just as well we acknowledge this earlier comedy, which also involves ironic situations regarding race and academia. Hardly a brilliant movie, Soul Man is at least as humorous in its examination of racism as the Harold and Kumar movies. Yet it is far less esteemed. And the whole black face thing can no longer be looked down upon now that Robert Downey Jr. has that Oscar nomination for Tropic Thunder. The movie is a worthy lampoon of the politics of affirmative action and their affect on college admissions (as well as an obvious and general look at racism within the student population), but it’s especially entertaining for James Earl Jones as a professor who refuses to favor the masquerading protagonist (C. Thomas Howell) just because he’s black.

7. Back to School (1986)
While Soul Man deals with the benefit of being a minority when it comes to getting into college, this film from the same year deals with the benefit of being rich. The idea that anyone with enough money can get into the school of his or her choice is depicted comically in a two-scene setup. In the first scene, a university dean (Ned Beatty) asks millionaire entrepreneur Thornton Mellon (Rodney Dangerfield) how he could possibly admit him as a student when he has no high school degree, no transcripts and no SAT scores. The movie then cuts to the punch-line scene, in which the dean and Mellon are celebrating the groundbreaking of a new business school for the university, named after Mellon, of course. Another favorite jab at academia is with the famous cameo by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., who is hired by Mellon to write a paper about his own work. The paper earns a failing grade.

6. Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
You’re probably wondering how a comedy set at a summer camp could possibly be about academia. Well, it’s not specifically about academia, but it does feature a subplot involving a science professor (David Hyde Pierce) that does poke fun of the concept of tenure. This was pointed out by Elaine Showalter, an English professor at Princeton and author of the book Faculty Towers: The Academic Novel and Its Discontents, so you have to accept that it fits the list. Sure, she’s the mother of WHAS star and screenwriter Michael Showalter, but that shouldn’t take away from her observation.

5. The Paper Chase (1973)
This film features a plot that could very well lend itself to the other kind of college film, but it focuses its attention on the classroom and the relationship between student and professor rather than the dorm room and social affairs. Of course, the student protagonist (Timothy Bottoms) is getting some action, but it is with the daughter (Lindsay Wagner) of the professorial antagonist (John Houseman, who won an Oscar for the performance), and so even the sex stuff is part of the politics of academia. The best scene is at the end, when Bottoms’ character gives the finger to higher education by not even bothering to look at his final grades. If only the audience was also left unaware of his marks, as the original novel leaves that revelation out.

4. Good Will Hunting (1997)
David Foster Wallace may have considered this film to be the best film about academia when he discussed it with Gus Van Sant in 1998, but since that time there have been two more poignant films to deal with the subject. Plus, it never was the best film on academia to begin with. So, as much as he’s right to celebrate the film and in particular the portrayal of Stellan Skarsgard’s character and the issue of professors wanting their students to be brilliant, but not too brilliant, there are three more titles to go.

3. Wonder Boys (2000)
Based on Michael Chabon’s novel of the same name, Curstin Hanson’s film cinematically captures the atmosphere of academia as well as Philip Roth does on the page (perhaps Hanson should adapt Roth?). However, one issue with this atmosphere may be that the relationships and characters, though written and portrayed wonderfully, are rather common for such a story. Also, why not change things a bit and have the main character be a film teacher rather than a creative writing teacher, which an overused profession in these kinds of movies. The switch would be more appropriate for the medium, too. Aside from these minor criticisms, though, we can barely take a red pen to this film. It’s terrific.

2. The Rules of Attraction (2002)
Probably the most cynical look at higher education ever filmed, Roger Avary’s highly underrated adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel shows us just enough of the classroom and professors (i.e. canceled classes and a single professor who accepts sexual bribes) to let us understand that the joke is in how little of that side of academia is actually necessary to a film like this. In that way it kind of does for college what Heathers does for high school. Neither film is a teen sex comedy in the fashion of most high school and college movies. And neither is a satire of education institutions in the way most of the other films on this list are. Rather, they’re mockeries of the whole education system, but only in that they each consider their respective system to be already a mockery of itself.

1. Horse Feathers (1932)
Nobody mocks and satirizes better than the Marx Brothers, and in this film they bring their anarchic shenanigans and brilliant puns to the world of academia. At its core is the basic college sports story, but it’s also one of the first films (if not the first film) to deal with the concept of buying students/players. In addition to lampooning that practice, Horse Feathers makes fun of intellectual gatherings and talk, the influence of trustees and nearly every other aspect of scholarship and higher education you can think of, all in the opening scene. After more than 75 years, it’s still the funniest college movie and the greatest film about academia there is. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Re:Best College Flick Quotes?</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/groups/Best_movie_quotes/Re_Best_College_Flick_Quotes/17/38414/1/ShowPost.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t83307r3qgc.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/5353/default.aspx'>Risselada</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/groups/Best_movie_quotes/17/discussions.aspx'>Best movie quotes</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 12/15/2008 5:45:40 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> [quote user="seely"] Wow... I had no idea college comedies went back that far!  I think I ignorantly assumed that it was a genre launched by Animal House in the mid seventies.  I'll definitely have to check out Horse Feathers... [quote user="Risselada"] Horse Feathers is a good one Connie: If icky baby don't learn about the football signals, icky baby gonna cwy. Professor Wagstaff:   If icky girl keep on talking that way, big stwong man's gonna kick all of her teef wight down her fwoat. [/quote] [/quote] Heh, well it's not exactly in the same vein.  I mean it's pretty much the same style as all the other Marx brothers movies, just happens to be set at a college.  I think you are right that Animal House certainly set a kind of precident for all the other kinds of movies you named.<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2008 22:45:40 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>Risselada</spout:postby><spout:postto>Best movie quotes</spout:postto><spout:postdate>12/15/2008 5:45:40 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>[quote user="seely"] Wow... I had no idea college comedies went back that far!  I think I ignorantly assumed that it was a genre launched by Animal House in the mid seventies.  I'll definitely have to check out Horse Feathers... [quote user="Risselada"] Horse Feathers is a good one Connie: If icky baby don't learn about the football signals, icky baby gonna cwy. Professor Wagstaff:   If icky girl keep on talking that way, big stwong man's gonna kick all of her teef wight down her fwoat. [/quote] [/quote] Heh, well it's not exactly in the same vein.  I mean it's pretty much the same style as all the other Marx brothers movies, just happens to be set at a college.  I think you are right that Animal House certainly set a kind of precident for all the other kinds of movies you named.</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Best College Flick Quotes?</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/groups/Best_movie_quotes/Best_College_Flick_Quotes/17/38308/1/ShowPost.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t83307r3qgc.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/122321/default.aspx'>seely</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/groups/Best_movie_quotes/17/discussions.aspx'>Best movie quotes</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 12/12/2008 2:22:43 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> Maybe its just because I am of college age, but "college movie" quotes always seem particularly funny and memorable to me.  Whether its Fandango, Old School, Animal House, Accepted, PCU or something not quite centered specifically around college like Waiting, these movies all seem to share a lot of common themes and hilarious quotes.  Any favorites?  I'll start it off.  You're wearing the shirt of the band you're going to see to their show?  Gutter, don't be that guy. (Jeremy Piven to Jon Favreau in PCU) Earmuffs! (Vince Vaughn, Old School) I'm going to go Waco on you! (PCU) These, Tom, are the Causeheads. They find a world-threatening issue and stick with it for about a week. (Jeremy Piven in PCU) Nick, T-Dog. You guys are so one dimensional.  (Bishop, Waiting)Well @#$^ you, Whitey. (T-Dog/Andy Milanakis) You're my boy Blue!  You're my boy... (Will Ferrell, Old School)  Yours?<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 12 Dec 2008 19:22:43 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>seely</spout:postby><spout:postto>Best movie quotes</spout:postto><spout:postdate>12/12/2008 2:22:43 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>Maybe its just because I am of college age, but "college movie" quotes always seem particularly funny and memorable to me.  Whether its Fandango, Old School, Animal House, Accepted, PCU or something not quite centered specifically around college like Waiting, these movies all seem to share a lot of common themes and hilarious quotes.  Any favorites?  I'll start it off.  You're wearing the shirt of the band you're going to see to their show?  Gutter, don't be that guy. (Jeremy Piven to Jon Favreau in PCU) Earmuffs! (Vince Vaughn, Old School) I'm going to go Waco on you! (PCU) These, Tom, are the Causeheads. They find a world-threatening issue and stick with it for about a week. (Jeremy Piven in PCU) Nick, T-Dog. You guys are so one dimensional.  (Bishop, Waiting)Well @#$^ you, Whitey. (T-Dog/Andy Milanakis) You're my boy Blue!  You're my boy... (Will Ferrell, Old School)  Yours?</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Inspirational Speech Montage. Clip of the Day</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/12/11/38265.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t83307r3qgc.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/9325/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog on spout.com</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 12/11/2008 2:01:18 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> Thanks to Barack Obama, you’ve possibly had enough inspirational speeches for one year. But if not, go see Milk, and also watch this video, which splices together bits from 40 films including obvious choices like Independence Day, Patton, Braveheart, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Animal House, as well as surprise additions like Newsies, Swingers and Galaxy Quest. The montage had me at the 7 second mark due to an appearance from Fozzie and friends (from The Great Muppet Caper), but it goes on longer than 2 minutes.
This is not just some compilation of cinema’s greatest inspirational speeches, though; it’s a well-edited stitching of words that come together as one long speech, the most perfect inspirational speech ever. Even Obama could learn a thing from this video from YouTube genius Matthew Belinkie (he also gave us “The Dark Bailout”), especially if the president-elect finds himself at the center of an alien invasion, a war with England or in a roomful of Muppets at the Happiness Hotel.
Check out “40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes” after the jump.


[via Cinematical] Originally posted on:SpoutBlog<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 11 Dec 2008 19:01:18 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>SpoutBlog</spout:postby><spout:postto>SpoutBlog on spout.com</spout:postto><spout:postdate>12/11/2008 2:01:18 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>Thanks to Barack Obama, you’ve possibly had enough inspirational speeches for one year. But if not, go see Milk, and also watch this video, which splices together bits from 40 films including obvious choices like Independence Day, Patton, Braveheart, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Animal House, as well as surprise additions like Newsies, Swingers and Galaxy Quest. The montage had me at the 7 second mark due to an appearance from Fozzie and friends (from The Great Muppet Caper), but it goes on longer than 2 minutes.
This is not just some compilation of cinema’s greatest inspirational speeches, though; it’s a well-edited stitching of words that come together as one long speech, the most perfect inspirational speech ever. Even Obama could learn a thing from this video from YouTube genius Matthew Belinkie (he also gave us “The Dark Bailout”), especially if the president-elect finds himself at the center of an alien invasion, a war with England or in a roomful of Muppets at the Happiness Hotel.
Check out “40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes” after the jump.


[via Cinematical] Originally posted on:SpoutBlog</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Weekly Theme for September 22: Breaking the Fourth Wall</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/Weekly_Theme_for_September_22_Breaking_the_Fourth/625/35361/1/ShowPost.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t83307r3qgc.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/121669/default.aspx'>leeroy711</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/groups/Weekly_Theme/625/discussions.aspx'>Weekly Theme</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 9/22/2008 2:10:46 AM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> For those who are not familiar with this phrase, according to the fourth wall entry in Wikipedia: The fourth wall is the imaginary wall at the front of the stage in a proscenium theater, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play. It was made explicit by Denis Diderot and spread in nineteenth century theatre with the advent of theatrical realism. Critic Vincent Canby described it in 1987 as "that invisible screen that forever separates the audience from the stage.'" Therefore, "Breaking the fourth wall" refers to a situation in which a character reveals his or her awareness of the audience (this can also be called metatheatre). The technique has been used for millennia: it was standard practice in Greek comedy. (also quoted from Wikipedia) Are you still following me? It's like that scene in Animal House when John Belushi's character climbs the ladder to peep into the girls dorm window, then as he arrives at the top, he turns to the camera and winks at the audience. This occurs quite often in comedies, especially Mel Brooks type spoofs.         The Muppets and Looney Toones are also notorious for interfacing with the audience in this way. I think my favorite example of breaking the fourth wall is Michael Haneke's Funny Games. This film not only breaks the fourth wall, it does it in way to deliberately frustrates the audience and let us know who's really in charge. I haven't seen the American remake yet, but I'm a little skeptical that he used as much of this technique as he did with the original. So that's about it. What is your favorite scene that breaks the proverbial fourth wall? Or, do you hate the whole concept? I like it.<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 22 Sep 2008 06:10:46 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>leeroy711</spout:postby><spout:postto>Weekly Theme</spout:postto><spout:postdate>9/22/2008 2:10:46 AM</spout:postdate><spout:body>For those who are not familiar with this phrase, according to the fourth wall entry in Wikipedia: The fourth wall is the imaginary wall at the front of the stage in a proscenium theater, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play. It was made explicit by Denis Diderot and spread in nineteenth century theatre with the advent of theatrical realism. Critic Vincent Canby described it in 1987 as "that invisible screen that forever separates the audience from the stage.'" Therefore, "Breaking the fourth wall" refers to a situation in which a character reveals his or her awareness of the audience (this can also be called metatheatre). The technique has been used for millennia: it was standard practice in Greek comedy. (also quoted from Wikipedia) Are you still following me? It's like that scene in Animal House when John Belushi's character climbs the ladder to peep into the girls dorm window, then as he arrives at the top, he turns to the camera and winks at the audience. This occurs quite often in comedies, especially Mel Brooks type spoofs.         The Muppets and Looney Toones are also notorious for interfacing with the audience in this way. I think my favorite example of breaking the fourth wall is Michael Haneke's Funny Games. This film not only breaks the fourth wall, it does it in way to deliberately frustrates the audience and let us know who's really in charge. I haven't seen the American remake yet, but I'm a little skeptical that he used as much of this technique as he did with the original. So that's about it. What is your favorite scene that breaks the proverbial fourth wall? Or, do you hate the whole concept? I like it.</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: 10 Underrated College Movies</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/8/26/34417.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t83307r3qgc.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/9325/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog on spout.com</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 8/26/2008 6:01:05 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> 
I never went to a normal college, never lived in a proper dorm or experienced fraternity hazing or even rush week from an inside viewpoint. I went to an urban art school and then a commuter school. And though I grew up in a college town and later worked on the campus of another college I didn’t attend, I feel like I don’t have the proper perspective with which to judge most college movies and college kid characters as being true to life. This probably explains why I enjoy so many bad movies set in colleges and/or involving college students. I bet I could even check out a double feature of The House Bunny and College and have a good time at the movies.
Of course, I do have some semblance of good taste, and I also recognize that none of the following movies are anywhere near the quality of my favorite college movies (including Harold Lloyd’s The Freshman, the Marx Brothers’ Horse Feathers and the Frat Pack’s Old School), or even the beloved Animal House, which I regrettably find to be highly overrated (no, that doesn’t mean I dislike it or think it’s bad or unfunny). The ten movies on today’s list are merely guilty pleasures that I can’t stop appreciating no matter how hard I try or how old I get.

 
Teen Wolf Too - Certainly basketball is overused in high school and college sports movies, but following hoops with boxing gloves was an odd choice for this Teen Wolf sequel. It was almost as bad as having the popular jock character be on the wrestling team or, worse, a diver (see Back to School below). But despite the change of sport, the repeat of plot and the unfortunate recasting of the character “Stiles”, Teen Wolf Too has at least one enjoyable element: Jason Bateman. Even before he won our favor with Arrested Development and roles since, Bateman was quite a likable presence here. Sure, it’s not as good as the first movie, but does it really deserve that paltry 2.6 rating on the IMDb?

Back to School - Having gone back to college after a long hiatus, I have a very special place in my heart for this movie. But I’ve had multiple levels of appreciation since first seeing it 22 years ago. Originally, as a kid, I just liked Rodney Dangerfield. In high school, my favorite character was “Derek,” the freaky friend played by Robert Downey Jr. Later, I got into Oingo Boingo/Danny Elfman and favored their appearance. And almost finally, when Kurt Vonnegut became my favorite writer, his cameo was the coolest thing in the world (as an added bonus: Keith Gordon, who plays Dangerfield’s son in the movie, went on to direct an adaptation of Vonnegut’s “Mother Night”). In a way, the movie isn’t too underrated; it has a decent 6.1 rating on the IMDb and a very good 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, I’m always shocked that more people aren’t huge fans.

PCU - I’ve already claimed my pre-hip appreciation for Jason Bateman (I even loved Valerie/Valerie’s Family/The Hogan Family, so there!), and now I must admit to having been a fan of Jeremy Piven since the beginning, too (Lucas has always been one of my favorite teen movies). I don’t know how often it’s watched these days, but looking back on it now, PCU seems to be a great souvenir from its time. Also, I’ll always remember it as the movie that taught me not to wear a band’s t-shirt to their concert and informed me of the fact that at any given time, there’s either a Michael Caine or a Gene Hackman movie being aired on television.

Midnight Madness - I know it’s considered a cult classic now, but it truly deserves to be an actual classic. Is it not as popular or as widely seen as other college movies because it involves a college activity that isn’t centered around drinking or sex (there is at least the Pabst brewery)? When I first went away to college, I was nailed to the X (meaning I was straight-edge and didn’t drink or do drugs), so I would have loved it if there’d been scavenger hunts instead of keggers (actually, where I went, there wasn’t either), even if I’d already been arrested while participating in a hunt in high school. By the way, speaking of underrated scavenger hunt movies, where’s the DVD release of Scavenger Hunt already?

Up the Creek - I guess not everyone has an appreciation for movies featuring Stephen Furst, despite his prominence in the king of college movies, Animal House. He followed that by appearing in both of my beloved scavenger hunt movies (see #4) and then later reuniting with his Delta brother Tim Matheson in this movie, which as a kid I always thought of as like a live-action, R-rated remake of Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown.

Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise - It lacked the boobs and the bush, and its premise was pretty weak, even for being something of a redo of the first film’s plot. However, if you’ve ever seen the subsequent sequels, it’s clear that it could have been worse. Personally, I like the parts with James Hong, Bradley Whitford (always a well-played snake) and the song “No on 15″ (see the video above).

Higher Learning - I tend to hate movies that so categorically divide the supposed social hierarchies of high school and college — maybe I just went to an abnormal high school, but it never seemed that distinct to me — and I don’t especially like the way this movie defines people by the music they listen to, but I have as much appreciation for Higher Learning as I do for The Breakfast Club and Crash, each of which I consider to be more about using thin characters as vehicles for ideas rather than about real people and a narrative story.

Happy Together - No, I’m not referring to the Wong Kar-Wai film. Rather, the 1989 movie starring Patrick Dempsey and Helen Slater. Maybe it’s just the fact that my only college roommate was a girl. But that was intentional, unlike the scenario of this movie. Prior to its relevance to my life, though, it was merely great for featuring Supergirl (and Billie Jean) topless.

Pumpkin - After so many high school and college movies in which the handsome guy or pretty girl ultimately falls for the “ugly” guy/girl, it was quite an interesting concept to have the “ugly” one be a mentally handicapped, as well as socially handicapped, person.

Road Trip - Thanks to Martin Lawrence and Raven-Symone, I now have to specify that I don’t mean College Road Trip. I also have to note that I think it would be a much better movie if Tom Green wasn’t in it. Also, compared to Old School, which was also written by Scot Armstrong and Todd Phillips and directed by Phillips, it’s got about a tenth of the laughs, if even that much. Surprisingly, however, Andy Dick is actually tolerable in Road Trip and not in Old School. Is it just me, or should DJ Qualls be doing better for himself these days?
 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:01:05 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>SpoutBlog</spout:postby><spout:postto>SpoutBlog on spout.com</spout:postto><spout:postdate>8/26/2008 6:01:05 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>
I never went to a normal college, never lived in a proper dorm or experienced fraternity hazing or even rush week from an inside viewpoint. I went to an urban art school and then a commuter school. And though I grew up in a college town and later worked on the campus of another college I didn’t attend, I feel like I don’t have the proper perspective with which to judge most college movies and college kid characters as being true to life. This probably explains why I enjoy so many bad movies set in colleges and/or involving college students. I bet I could even check out a double feature of The House Bunny and College and have a good time at the movies.
Of course, I do have some semblance of good taste, and I also recognize that none of the following movies are anywhere near the quality of my favorite college movies (including Harold Lloyd’s The Freshman, the Marx Brothers’ Horse Feathers and the Frat Pack’s Old School), or even the beloved Animal House, which I regrettably find to be highly overrated (no, that doesn’t mean I dislike it or think it’s bad or unfunny). The ten movies on today’s list are merely guilty pleasures that I can’t stop appreciating no matter how hard I try or how old I get.

 
Teen Wolf Too - Certainly basketball is overused in high school and college sports movies, but following hoops with boxing gloves was an odd choice for this Teen Wolf sequel. It was almost as bad as having the popular jock character be on the wrestling team or, worse, a diver (see Back to School below). But despite the change of sport, the repeat of plot and the unfortunate recasting of the character “Stiles”, Teen Wolf Too has at least one enjoyable element: Jason Bateman. Even before he won our favor with Arrested Development and roles since, Bateman was quite a likable presence here. Sure, it’s not as good as the first movie, but does it really deserve that paltry 2.6 rating on the IMDb?

Back to School - Having gone back to college after a long hiatus, I have a very special place in my heart for this movie. But I’ve had multiple levels of appreciation since first seeing it 22 years ago. Originally, as a kid, I just liked Rodney Dangerfield. In high school, my favorite character was “Derek,” the freaky friend played by Robert Downey Jr. Later, I got into Oingo Boingo/Danny Elfman and favored their appearance. And almost finally, when Kurt Vonnegut became my favorite writer, his cameo was the coolest thing in the world (as an added bonus: Keith Gordon, who plays Dangerfield’s son in the movie, went on to direct an adaptation of Vonnegut’s “Mother Night”). In a way, the movie isn’t too underrated; it has a decent 6.1 rating on the IMDb and a very good 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, I’m always shocked that more people aren’t huge fans.

PCU - I’ve already claimed my pre-hip appreciation for Jason Bateman (I even loved Valerie/Valerie’s Family/The Hogan Family, so there!), and now I must admit to having been a fan of Jeremy Piven since the beginning, too (Lucas has always been one of my favorite teen movies). I don’t know how often it’s watched these days, but looking back on it now, PCU seems to be a great souvenir from its time. Also, I’ll always remember it as the movie that taught me not to wear a band’s t-shirt to their concert and informed me of the fact that at any given time, there’s either a Michael Caine or a Gene Hackman movie being aired on television.

Midnight Madness - I know it’s considered a cult classic now, but it truly deserves to be an actual classic. Is it not as popular or as widely seen as other college movies because it involves a college activity that isn’t centered around drinking or sex (there is at least the Pabst brewery)? When I first went away to college, I was nailed to the X (meaning I was straight-edge and didn’t drink or do drugs), so I would have loved it if there’d been scavenger hunts instead of keggers (actually, where I went, there wasn’t either), even if I’d already been arrested while participating in a hunt in high school. By the way, speaking of underrated scavenger hunt movies, where’s the DVD release of Scavenger Hunt already?

Up the Creek - I guess not everyone has an appreciation for movies featuring Stephen Furst, despite his prominence in the king of college movies, Animal House. He followed that by appearing in both of my beloved scavenger hunt movies (see #4) and then later reuniting with his Delta brother Tim Matheson in this movie, which as a kid I always thought of as like a live-action, R-rated remake of Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown.

Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise - It lacked the boobs and the bush, and its premise was pretty weak, even for being something of a redo of the first film’s plot. However, if you’ve ever seen the subsequent sequels, it’s clear that it could have been worse. Personally, I like the parts with James Hong, Bradley Whitford (always a well-played snake) and the song “No on 15″ (see the video above).

Higher Learning - I tend to hate movies that so categorically divide the supposed social hierarchies of high school and college — maybe I just went to an abnormal high school, but it never seemed that distinct to me — and I don’t especially like the way this movie defines people by the music they listen to, but I have as much appreciation for Higher Learning as I do for The Breakfast Club and Crash, each of which I consider to be more about using thin characters as vehicles for ideas rather than about real people and a narrative story.

Happy Together - No, I’m not referring to the Wong Kar-Wai film. Rather, the 1989 movie starring Patrick Dempsey and Helen Slater. Maybe it’s just the fact that my only college roommate was a girl. But that was intentional, unlike the scenario of this movie. Prior to its relevance to my life, though, it was merely great for featuring Supergirl (and Billie Jean) topless.

Pumpkin - After so many high school and college movies in which the handsome guy or pretty girl ultimately falls for the “ugly” guy/girl, it was quite an interesting concept to have the “ugly” one be a mentally handicapped, as well as socially handicapped, person.

Road Trip - Thanks to Martin Lawrence and Raven-Symone, I now have to specify that I don’t mean College Road Trip. I also have to note that I think it would be a much better movie if Tom Green wasn’t in it. Also, compared to Old School, which was also written by Scot Armstrong and Todd Phillips and directed by Phillips, it’s got about a tenth of the laughs, if even that much. Surprisingly, however, Andy Dick is actually tolerable in Road Trip and not in Old School. Is it just me, or should DJ Qualls be doing better for himself these days?
 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: #8...(three way tie)</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/eagle795/archive/2007/8/28/19068.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t83307r3qgc.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/89058/default.aspx'>eagle795</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/eagle795/default.aspx'>eagle795 Blog</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 8/28/2007 11:48:35 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> I was in a fraternity in college. Actual fraternity life wasn&rsquo;t quite as depraved &amp; fun as it&rsquo;s depicted in Animal House, but then again it&rsquo;s an example that&rsquo;s hard to live up to.         <br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 29 Aug 2007 03:48:35 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>eagle795</spout:postby><spout:postto>eagle795 Blog</spout:postto><spout:postdate>8/28/2007 11:48:35 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>I was in a fraternity in college. Actual fraternity life wasn&amp;rsquo;t quite as depraved &amp;amp; fun as it&amp;rsquo;s depicted in Animal House, but then again it&amp;rsquo;s an example that&amp;rsquo;s hard to live up to.         </spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:Classic</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Classic/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/Classic/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>Classic</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 816</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 312</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 1453</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:54:36 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>816</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>312</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>1453</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:sex</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/sex/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/sex/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>sex</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 2414</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 126</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 548</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:50:42 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>2414</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>126</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>548</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:comingofage</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/comingofage/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/comingofage/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>comingofage</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 1186</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 72</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 219</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:51:56 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>1186</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>72</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>219</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:college</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/college/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/college/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>college</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 854</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 48</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 187</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:40:05 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>854</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>48</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>187</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:party</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/party/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/party/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>party</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 900</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 43</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 169</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:17:56 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>900</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>43</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>169</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:house</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/house/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/house/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>house</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 680</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 26</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 50</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:30:19 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>680</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>26</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>50</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:student</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/student/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/student/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>student</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 1420</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 24</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 63</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:35:57 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>1420</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>24</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>63</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:professor</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/professor/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/professor/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>professor</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 742</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 22</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 39</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:30:14 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>742</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>22</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>39</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:SNLAlum</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/SNLAlum/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/SNLAlum/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>SNLAlum</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 71</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 15</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 107</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 23 Jun 2007 07:57:40 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>71</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>15</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>107</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:fraternity</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/fraternity/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/fraternity/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>fraternity</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 115</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 14</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 20</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:03:15 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>115</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>14</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>20</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:prank</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/prank/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/prank/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>prank</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 255</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 10</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 13</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:59:52 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>255</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>10</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>13</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:rampage</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/rampage/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/rampage/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>rampage</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 1183</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 9</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 16</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:08:16 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>1183</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>9</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>16</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:partyanimal</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/partyanimal/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/partyanimal/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>partyanimal</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 35</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 8</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 11</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:01:28 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>35</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>8</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>11</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:belushi</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/belushi/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/belushi/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>belushi</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 12</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 6</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 16</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 09 Jan 2007 20:52:44 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>12</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>6</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>16</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:double</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/double/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/double/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>double</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 4</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 5</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 5</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 13 May 2008 00:16:37 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>4</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>5</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>5</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
  </channel>
</rss>