The good thing about doing this blog is that every once in a while I'll come across a film that I had no idea existed until I started searching for content. It's a bonus to me when I do some research on the film and see that it contains some actors that I generally like. That was the case with this 1983 film as it features the film debuts of John Cusack, Virginia Madsen, Alan Ruck, Andrew McCarthy, and Lolita Davidovich (the first three are actors I like). The problem though is that this is a bad movie on so many levels. It's so bad I don't even know how much I even want to talk about it which is leading to this introduction that is being written but going no where. I guess I should slog through it.
Jonathan (McCarthy) heads off to prep school where he meets his roommate "Skip" (played by Rob Lowe). Skip is dressed in women's underwear and convinces Jonathan that there is some parade that happens at the the beginning of every school year. So they both get dressed and head outside with Skip pushing Jonathan out the door and then locking it behind Skip while the entire school body laughs at Skip.
To retaliate, Jonathan pretends like he has hung himself in the dorm room and when Skip runs to get help he brings back the dean and they see a mannequin hanging there with a picture of the dean's face. Skip then realizes that Jonathan is hiding int he closet once everyone leaves and they bond over their practical jokes. From there a friendship is born.
Skip makes it his mission to get Jonathan a date and tries to set him up with women on campus by getting him on the dance committee. This leads to a slapstick style scene with the girls that ends with Virginia Madsen's top being ripped open. The entire first 30 minutes of the movie is actually fine. It's not good or anything but it plays like a comedy and is at least never boring. But then the movie turns when Jonathan gets sent to Chicago by Skip to meet a woman for a sexual encounter. While there Jonathan gets picked up by an older woman and begins having an affair with her. They meet a few times and it's clear that Jonathan is smitten.
Skip takes Jonathan home for Thanksgiving and it's then that we find out that Jonathan's woman is Skip's mom. He tries to break it off but Skip's mom is persistent and wants to continue the relationship. Jonathan is at first worried about this but meets her at a hotel room to fool around. At the same time Skip brings along a bunch of friends to party with Skip and finds out what the viewer knows and is shocked. He gets mad and refuses to talk to Jonathan. There is also a side plot about Jonathan cheating on his SAT's to get into the school and get to Harvard and Skip knows this. Will he tell? Why should we care?
Then in the final confrontation Skip blows off Jonathan and Jonathan hounds him leading to Skip punching him in the face. At this point it's silly for the viewer to root for Jonathan in any way but the director and screenwriter want us to. Then the worst fist fight in the history of film commences. Skip heads into the woods and Jonathan jumps him from behind yelling, "Come here, you wanna fight." Then he picks up a rock and screams, "Leave me alone." Jonathan fights this thing like he is bi-polar. He wants to fight but he doesn't. Then they both run all the way back to campus and have a small fight in their dorm room before making up and Skip says, "Hey your mom called," making a joke about his best friend continually having sex with his mom. Makes zero sense and by the end I couldn't muster up the energy to care.
This is not really a good film as it can't decide if it wants to be a broad comedy, an earnest drama, or a coming of age parallel story about a woman trying to manage a spot in her life similar to the spot where Jonathan is at. Had the film explored any of those three options for the duration it would've worked better. As it is, it just falls completely flat. My score is a reflection of the first 30 minutes and young Virginia Madsen.
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