Old School (2003)

Old School remains funny to this day, and spoke to me on an adult level that I hadn’t yet discovered despite seeing the film so many times. Sure, it’s ridiculous, but there’s far more to relate to in Old School than many might assume. A lawyer (Luke Wilson) and two of his friends (Vince Vaughan and Will Ferrell) attempt to relive their glory years by setting up a fraternity house at Mitch’s (Wilson) new house on a college campus. All three are disillusioned with their lives; Mitch’s girlfriend has just cheated on him, Frank (Ferrell) has recently got married and his wife has decided she wants him to become a different person (why marry him then?) and Beanie (Vaughan) is now a family man, dealing with kids all day and desperate to reclaim some happiness of former glories. The comedic set up for a fraternity house to be enjoyed by these middle aged men is one that might seem like a dream but one that none of us would actually like to do in real life. So as a film, this works excellently, there are laughs a plenty (“We’re going streaking!”) and it has real heart. Ferrell and Wilson’s characters you feel especially sorry for, Frank loves his wife but she decides after they’re married he should no longer be the person she fell in love with, he should be who she wants him to be. After he’s forced to move out, he falls back into being ‘Frank the Tank’ resulting in some truly hilarious scenes of debauchery. Mitch’s life takes an abrupt turn after he discovers his girlfriend frequently partakes in threesomes when he’s away. The heart of the film is there, but it really doesn’t matter; Old School is a comedy that doesn’t particularly care about its heart, it’s just nice that it struck a tune. Also, it’s bloody funny. 7.3/10