Search - Summer School on DVD

"Happy that the world is upside down"

thecableguy | 02/13/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Summer School" surprised a lot of critics by bringing something new to a genre most people had already had enough of by the time of its release (1987). With a spunky screenplay and Carl Reiner's gift for comedic timing, the film fills in a gap neglected by the majority of the decade's other high school pics, whose styles were polarized between the rebellious, goofy sexcapades found in John Hughes' brat pack series, and more "mature," galvanizing films like "Stand and Deliver."

"Summer School" begins with Danny Elfman's song "Happy" playing as the clock counts down and students prepare for summer. Reiner himself portrays usual summer teacher, Mr. Dearadorian, who happens to win fifty thousand dollars in a scratch off lottery just as the last bell rings. His boss, Vice Principal Phil Gills (Robin Thomas) tries to tell him there is no Island, but he quits anyway.

Gills approaches Freddy Shoop (Mark Harmon), a gym teacher who is ready to spend the summer in Hawaii with his girlfriend -- "We got leis on and everything." Gills threatens his tenure, so he decides to stay. Shoop tries to get his girlfriend to stay by quoting "There's no place like home." She says she understands and will just go without him.

Mr. Shoop's class is made up of group of slackers and misfits who for a variety of reasons failed the English skills test required to graduate.

There are: Dave and Chainsaw, an inseparable pair, one is obsessed with Chainsaw, the other with the film, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"; There's Alan, the black-sheep of a genius family; Anna Maria, a buxom foreign exchange student brushing up on her English skills; Pam House, a spaced-out surfer girl with a thing for Mr. Shoop (I think it's funny the DVD's "Set-up" menu features a picture of her); Kevin, a football player kicked off the team for "being stupid"; Jerome, who spends most of the film in the bathroom; Rhonda, who is pregnant with either Sean Penn or David Lee Roth's child, Denise, a bad driver who suffers from dyslexia, and Larry who sleeps all the time because of his night job.

At first Shoop doesn't take his job seriously and takes the class on field trips to the beach, go-kart races, and theme parks. Then Dave and Chainsaw almost get arrested for drinking on the beach. Mr. Shoop says the booze was his, and gets arrested. Gills tries to fire him, but Dave and Chainsaw put on a Grand Guignol classroom show that scares away the replacement teacher, and the students demand Shoop returns. I'm probably revealing too much plot info here, but I mainly just wanted to note the blood and guts classroom scene doesn't seem as funny now in wake of all the school shootings. Though I know if I hadn't have made splatter films in high school I probably would've blown up the school, so maybe the film will help some people.

Anyway, Shoop seeks the aid of Robin Bishop (Kirstie Alley), who is teaching honor students who are spending their summer voluntarily in a classroom nearby. He likes her. She eventually likes him, even though she's seeing Gills.

Everything turns out okay in the end as you'd expect from this type of film; what's different is that there aren't any real bad guys, just a lot of miscommunication. Gills is presented in the worst light, but even he is spared the humiliation that similar characters in this genre of films usually receive (Ferris Bueller's Ed Rooney for example.) Here, Gills just loses the girl because he's intolerant and inflexible. Shoop and his students learn how to adapt.

Before "Summer School," I always resented Harmon for ruining the TV show "Moonlighting," but now I realize it's probably due more to the show's creators having a brain freeze after David and Maddie said two dirty words and finally slept together. "Summer School" was Harmon's first role after his "Moonlighting" appearances, and it's probably his most memorable and endearing (unless you like Ted Bundy).

There are a few dated references -- for instance, Dave and Chainsaw sing Eddie Murphy's "Party All the Time" and Rhonda mentions Sean Penn's marriage to Madonna -- but the film should still entertain audiences young and old - it even includes an homage to "From Here to the Eternity," with Shoop and Robin kissing on the beach, joined by Shoop's dog, Wondermutt, and his favorite toy, a stuffed doll's head named Bob."

Really captures the 80's!!

thecableguy | 02/16/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mark Harmon at his absolute best. This is a movie that will remind you of the good times you had in the 80's if you were fortunate enough to live them. This is a movie that doesn't take itself seriously and it looked as if the cast had a great time filming it. Paramount needs to release this on DVD ASAP!!!"