Classic 80s Movie: “Back to School”
Today’s Classic 80s Movie guest post comes from John Henderson.
Movie Title: Back To School
Year: 1986
Writers: Story by Rodney Dangerfield & Greg Fields & Dennis Snee. Screenplay by Steven Kampmann & Will Porter and Peter Torokvei & Harold Ramis
Lead Actors: Rodney Dangerfield, Sally Kellerman, Keith Gordon
Director: Alan Metter
Plot Summary: To help his discouraged son get through college, a funloving and obnoxious rich businessman decides to enter the school as a student himself.
Why I Think This Is A Classic 80s Movie: It’s a simple setup: Rodney Dangerfield goes to college. The idea of Dangerfield bringing his bombastic, no-respect routine to a university setting was all audiences needed to understand the plot of Back To School. Fortunately, the movie’s screenplay is more than just stretching this concept out for 90 minutes. Dangerfield makes Melon’s character a likable, goodhearted guy who truly loves his son and wants the best for him. Even when Melon makes mistakes (ex: hiring NASA scientists to write his son’s Astronomy paper), we know they are meant with good intentions. When Melon faces expulsion and decides to actually learn the material for himself rather than let his team do his work for him, we root for him to succeed.
The screenwriting credits feature a who’s who of 80’s comedy. Co-writer Ramis was one of the screenwriters for National Lampoon’s Animal House and later co-wrote and directed Stripes, Ghostbusters, and Caddyshack (which also starred Dangerfield and featured a similar slobs vs. snobs attitude). Co-writers Steven Kampmann and Peter Torokvei wrote for WKRP In Cincinnati and Torokvei also co-wrote the screenplay for another 80’s comedy, Real Genius.
In addition to Iron Man himself, Robert Downey, Jr, in a supporting role as Melon’s son’s roommate, Back to School features many 80’s-era actors, including: William Zabka (The Karate Kid), Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog, Swamp Thing), and Burt Young (the Rocky movies).
My Favorite Moment In The Movie: The opening credits which serve as a montage of Thornton Melon’s life. In less than three minutes, we see his rise from poor kid to self-made millionaire in the clothing business. The montage also foreshadows later events in the movie such as the Triple Lindy high-diving scene.
My Favorite Dialogue In the Movie:
Thornton Melon: Boy, what a great-looking place. When I used to dream about going to college, this is the way I always pictured it.
Jason Melon: Wait a minute. When did you dream about going to college?
Thornton Melon: When I used to fall asleep in high school.
Key Things You Should Look For When Watching This Movie:
The scene where Melon explains how economics work outside the classroom. While on one level it shows Melon’s understanding of the real world compared to his theoretical-minded professor, it also presents Melon as someone who has bought his way through life, something that he will have to address before the movie ends.
Danny Elfman, the movie’s composer, appears with his band, Oingo Boingo, in the dorm room party scene and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr plays himself in a scene.
Thanks, John! To show our gratitude for your guest post, here’s a dash of creative juju for you. Whoosh!
Tomorrow: Another Classic 80s Movie!
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