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What makes the group of guys work in movies such as The Hangover and even the aforementioned Project X of last year is that they all have definable traits. In Old School the trio is a fairly analogous group, having clichéd definers and no real substance. The only winning thing that the Wilson-Vaughn-Ferrell clique have going for them is a generous amount of affability with the audience that makes the crude things they do come off less obscene.

Released on February 21, 2003, Old School had an opening weekend of $17.5 million ($23.3 million today) against a $24 million budget. With fantastic holds, the film played well throughout Spring Break, finishing up at $75.6 million ($100.9 million adjusted). Overseas revenues contributed only $11 million, which is understandable given that comedies (especially college ones) rarely translate outside of North America and none of the leads were truly stars at the time. Critical reception was mixed to positive.

With box office success, a sequel was quickly commissioned but, in a very un-Hollywood manner, was never made due to the stars feeling as if the script was not up to par with what they wanted. Ferrell in 2008 commented on the defunct sequel: “I read [the script]. Some super funny set pieces, but I don’t know. I think Vince [Vaughn] had the same reaction. We’re just kind of doing the same thing again. It was like us going to Spring Break, but we’ve got to find this guy who’s the head of a fraternity. Once again, funny things but it’s just us once again back in a fraternity setting. It just felt like it was repeating.”

Directed and co-scripted by The Hangover mastermind Todd Phillips, Old School benefited with his timing knack, letting scenes play out, but not overstay their welcome.

After starring in The Cell and the ill-fated Psycho remake, this movie helped Vince Vaughn successfully transfer from being a dramatic actor to crowd-drawing comedy star. Old School also gave Ferrell’s film career a big boost and with Elf released nine months later, his SNL-days were clearly behind him.

Ironically, Luke Wilson, who already had an established filmography before Old School, found his career to sputter afterwards. Call it bad choices or just bad luck, the talented other Wilson brother has since starred in a string of flops. If you tally up the grosses of all of his films released from 2006 to today, they barely beat the final cume of Old School.

In my book, it is okay if a comedy is silly-stupid. But it is a problem if it is stagnant, which Old School is more often than not. It is sad to see the talented actors’ wheels turn, because the vehicle does not move fast enough. While there are some hilarious scenes (although lifted from other films - looking at you, Animal House), Old School does not have a consistent laugh rate of return.

A nonsensical harmless comedy about people doing harmful stunts, Old School has its moments, but they do not hit the mark hard enough. Worth watching on TV, if Old School was a college student, he would graduate, but certainly not worth a resume-worthy GPA.

Verdict: With Us

4 out of 10

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