"They are? Well, as of this moment, they're on DOUBLE SECRET PROBATION!"
It's a new school year at Faber College, and freshmen Larry (Hulce) and Kent (Furst)are scoping out the campus fraternities. Their first spot is the Omega house, the most exclusive frat on campus...but they are considered "undesirables" so they decide to try the next house, Delta. Delta has a reputation as the "worst house on campus," but they decide to try it anyway since Kent's brother was a Delta. They are greeted / urinated on by Bluto (Belushi) who invites them into the party. Once inside, they meet the rest of the delinquent members: Hoover (Widdoes) chapter president, Otter (Matheson) the ladies man and unofficial leader, Boon (Riegert) Otter's sarcastic best friend, and D-Day (McGill) who is mysterious and dangerous. Larry and Kent decide to pledge Delta, and are given new names: Larry is Pinto and Kent is Flounder.
Meanwhile, the college dean, Dean Wormer (Vernon), enlists the snobby Omegas help. He has no patience for the Delta fraternity,
This is the movie so many modern "comedies" try to be. This is THE college film...perhaps it gives college bound teens the wrong idea about college / frats, but it still essential viewing for college kids! What makes this film work? It isn't just the crude / sexual references that make this comedy work... a stellar cast playing their characters and a timeless quality to it. Filmmakers are still being influenced by this film (see any college film and you'll see remnants of this). It was revolutionary when it was made, and it is still edgy today. John Belushi steals every scene, although the other Delta's keep the movie lively. The only downside: Donald Sutherland as the stoner English professor. He doesn't interact much with the cast (he's only in 3 scenes), and it takes away from the Delta's. Love the toga party and the Delta's singing "Louie Louie." I may not be the demographic this film was made for...but I know good comedy.
National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) 109 minutes
Rating: R
Director: John Landis
Starring: John Belushi as Bluto
Tim Matheson as Otter
Tom Hulce as Larry "Pinto" Kroger
Peter Riegert as Boon
Karen Allen as Katy
John Vernon as Dean Wormer
Verna Bloom as Marion Wormer
Mary Louise Weller as Mandy Pepperidge
Stephen Furst as Kent "Flounder" Dorfman
James Daughton as Greg Marmalard
Bruce McGill as D-Day
Mark Metcalf as Doug Neidermeyer
James Widdoes as Hoover
Martha Smith as Babs
Kevin Bacon as Chip Diller
Donald Sutherland as Professor Dave Jennings
Meanwhile, the college dean, Dean Wormer (Vernon), enlists the snobby Omegas help. He has no patience for the Delta fraternity,
"who dropped a whole truckload of fizzies into the swim meet? Who delivered the medical school cadavers to the alumni dinner? Every Halloween, the trees are filled with underwear. Every spring, the toilets explode"
and puts them on "double secret probation" to ensure they will be gone. Omega leader, Greg (Daughton) and ROTC commander Neidermeyer (Metcalf) are more than happy to rid the campus of the Delta's.
This is the movie so many modern "comedies" try to be. This is THE college film...perhaps it gives college bound teens the wrong idea about college / frats, but it still essential viewing for college kids! What makes this film work? It isn't just the crude / sexual references that make this comedy work... a stellar cast playing their characters and a timeless quality to it. Filmmakers are still being influenced by this film (see any college film and you'll see remnants of this). It was revolutionary when it was made, and it is still edgy today. John Belushi steals every scene, although the other Delta's keep the movie lively. The only downside: Donald Sutherland as the stoner English professor. He doesn't interact much with the cast (he's only in 3 scenes), and it takes away from the Delta's. Love the toga party and the Delta's singing "Louie Louie." I may not be the demographic this film was made for...but I know good comedy.
National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) 109 minutes
Rating: R
Director: John Landis
Starring: John Belushi as Bluto
Tim Matheson as Otter
Tom Hulce as Larry "Pinto" Kroger
Peter Riegert as Boon
Karen Allen as Katy
John Vernon as Dean Wormer
Verna Bloom as Marion Wormer
Mary Louise Weller as Mandy Pepperidge
Stephen Furst as Kent "Flounder" Dorfman
James Daughton as Greg Marmalard
Bruce McGill as D-Day
Mark Metcalf as Doug Neidermeyer
James Widdoes as Hoover
Martha Smith as Babs
Kevin Bacon as Chip Diller
Donald Sutherland as Professor Dave Jennings
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