National Lampoonâs Animal House
Bad taste in movie comedy had been cultivated for almost a decade after the collapse of The Old Production Code, mostly in the work of Mel Brooks. But this 1978 film which has been hailed as a classic to this day reached a new high (or low) by bringing the mindset to the setting of a college campus circa 1962. Although only one actor (and character) achieved legendary status, the smart, funny, and consistently lowbrow tone of the enterprise that is maintained throughout by director John Landis (on an once in every century hot streak for any director in a run that included Kentucky Fried Movie, Blues Brothers, and American Werewolf), and featuring the most enduring role of the late John Belushi as John âBlutoâ Blutarsky, the most animalistic member of The Delta House fraternity at Faber College. The story (what there is) tells of the efforts of the pernicious Dean Wormer (John Vernon, an underrated character acting legend who never got his just due) to expel the Deltas from his campus, even as The Delts themselves party on with some episodic bits of their shenanigans with their pledges as well as their rivalry with the straight arrow Omega fraternity (of which Kevin Bacon is a pledge) led by Mark Metcalf as the unforgettable Doug Niedermeyer, a character so imposing he reprised it in the 80s in a couple of renowned Twisted Sister videos. Also in the mix is mostly future well known character actors such as Tim Matheson as ladiesâ man Otter; Peter Riegert as the wisecracking Boon, always having girlfriend troubles with his significant other played by Karen Allen; Stephen Furst as the fat, goofy Flounder, a role he was associated with for the rest of his career; Tom Hulce as the virginal Pinto, always up to discovering new things; James Widdoes as the wimpy Fraternity President Hoover; Bruce McGill as the crazed biker D-Day; and Sarah Holcomb (a lot more appealing here than her annoying Irish girl schtick in Caddyshack) as the underage daughter of the town Mayor who hooks up with Pinto. In addition we get Verna Bloom as The Deanâs horny wife who shacks up with Otter; Cesare Danova as The Town Mayor, and best of all Donald Sutherland as the bored, intellectual, pot smoking professor who hangs out with a number of his students. The film builds up a pace of crazy events, with The Deltas coming off as virtual anarchists looking to tear down conventional society and their prejudices along with it, with their final act of destruction at the townâs homecoming parade coming off as something almost akin to a benign terrorist attack. Belushiâs antics are the true highlight, whether it be âpopping a zitâ, peeping on naked girls, or just getting shitfaced and crazy in general, this is certainly the film role for which he stood out the most (unlike Blues Brothers where he kind of blended with Aykroyd). Though in the realm of the many, many college comedies to come in the years after, this would only be surpassed by Revenge Of The Nerds, nonetheless this remains a classic and a well known initiation rite in many real life college fraternities, probably foreverâŚ
10/10