Search - Old School

Three men relive their carefree college years by killing off as many brain cells as possible in this over-the-top comedy. Mitch (Luke Wilson) returns home from a less-than-pleasant business trip one evening to discover his wife, Heidi (Juliette Lewis), involved in a ménage à trois with two blindfolded strangers. Feeling less than welcome at home after this, Mitch rents a house near the campus of a nearby college; two of Mitch's old college buddies, Beanie (Vince Vaughn) and Frank (Will Ferrell), stop by to cheer him up. They soon become regular guests at Mitch's place, despite the fact that Frank only recently wed Marissa (Perrey Reeves), while Beanie and his wife, Lara (Leah Remini), are busy with two kids. Beanie decides to throw a housewarming party for Mitch, and since Beanie sells audio equipment for a living, he's able to trick out the big bash with a massive PA system and an appearance by Snoop Dogg. Mitch soon finds he's the not-entirely-willing proprietor of the school's leading party spot, which raises the ire of Pritchard (Jeremy Piven), a dean at the college who was the target of Mitch, Frank, and Beanie's abuse when they were all students. Pritchard arranges to have Mitch's neighborhood zoned into a student housing district, but Beanie and Frank respond by forming a fraternity and making Mitch's home their headquarters. Mitch, however, is not enthusiastic about the idea, especially as he's trying to impress Nicole (Ellen Pompeo), a beautiful divorcee who is less than enchanted with Frank and Beanie's "party hearty" lifestyle. Old School director Todd Phillips knows more than a bit about the seamy side of fraternity life as director of the infamous unreleased documentary Frat House. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Luke Wilson - Mitch
Will Ferrell - Frank
Vince Vaughn - Beanie
Jeremy Piven - Gordon Pritchard
Ellen Pompeo - Nicole

For fans of the hilarious Old School, DreamWorks certainly has delivered the goods with this jam-packed DVD release, even though this version is presented in a pan-and-scan transfer that fails to preserve the original theatrical aspect ratio. Sound qualities range from the low end with 2.0 Dolby Surround (for those without a crazy theater system) to both 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS Surround tracks. English, French, and Spanish subtitles are generously provided, with additional tracks purely for the audio commentary with director Todd Phillips, and actors Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell, and Luke Wilson. While far more restrained than expected, the commentary is still a fun one, with the guys continuously joking about Wilson's wandering eyes and complicated love life on the set. A handful of decent deleted scenes are supplied too, giving both Vaughn and Jeremy Piven a little more room to shine, though none are really missed in the final film. Rounding out the disc is a throw-away making-of, "Welcome to Old School," that really does nothing but give Mr. Cheesy Voice-Over Man lots of lines to chew on. One of the biggest and best extra features on this disc is the often hilarious Inside the Actors Studio spoof with Will Ferrell continuing his SNL deadpan interview schtick with Phillips and the rest of the leads, including himself (with the aide of some split-screen movie magic). Finally, this disc is presented in its original R rating, which doesn't differ at all with the theatrical version, though it is missing the extra footage and racy menu design found in the unrated DVD. Also worthy of note is that the unrated version is the only way you can see the film widescreen, so if you're a widescreen enthusiast looking for the right version to buy, the unrated one is recommended. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

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