Back to School

Frequent profanity: f–k, p—y, goddamn, bastards. In one scene, a history professor refers to Asians as rice eaters. In another scene, while a character is admiring a painting by Gustav Klimt, Klimts last name is turned into a pun to sound like the word c–t.

Parents need to know thatBack to Schoolis a 1986 comedy starring Rodney Dangerfield as a successful businessman who decides to attend the college his son attends to finally get his degree. There is brief nudity (bare breasts), frequent profanity (including f–k and p—y), and plentiful sexual innuendos in Dangerfields frequent and hilarious quips. In one scene, a history professor refers to Asians as rice eaters, and, in another scene, Dangerfield makes a joke involving homosexual rape. As an 80s college movie, there are the requisite scenes of blowout parties with binge drinking. Still, for teens and those older,Back to Schoolis a classic of its genre — a movie in which Dangerfields pitch-perfect one-liners shine in every scene.

For all his faults, Thornton Melon is a self-made millionaire who must learn to put the same amount of work into getting his college education as he has into earning his fortune.

Thornton Melon (Rodney Dangerfield) is a self-made multimillionaire who owns a chain of Tall and Fat stores throughout the country. He goes to visit his son Jason — whom he believes has joined a fraternity and is on the diving team — only to find out when he gets there that Jason wants to drop out of school. Determined to prove to his son that you can be who you want to be, Melon decides to go back to college and earn the degree he never received when he was younger. Melons antics endear him to most of the students and professors, and he even finds a potential love interest in his English professor (Sally Kellerman). But when he fully embraces the collegiate party lifestyle and delegates the writing of his papers to employees, Melon is threatened with expulsion and must actually get the education he signed on for and prove to everyone that he has what it takes to stay in college.

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In its own way, this comedy shows the importance of hard work in achieving ones goals, as well as the importance of self-reliance in becoming who you want to be.

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Could the story of the movie alone sustain interest, or is the entertainment value primarily from Rodney Dangerfields constant quips and one-liners?

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Racy college comedy has heart; OK for older teens.

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What aspects of the movie seem dated to you? Do the dated aspects make this film more or less enjoyable? If you could remake the movie, who would you cast in the roles?

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In one scene, a huge fight breaks out in a bar. Punches are thrown, tables and chairs are broken, and bottles are smashed. There is a joke involving homosexual rape.

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Binge drinking is shown at a wild party. A college student, while trying to explain the party to the main character, is obviously intoxicated as he slurs his speech and eventually vomits on a tree. Characters drink beer at bars and champagne at parties. The chauffeur in the film is shown smoking a cigar.

In many respects, this thoroughly enjoyable comedy is a classic of its genre, the 1980s collegiate party movie. Its replete with blowout parties, bikini-clad women, and the eternal struggle between jock bullies and misfits. But what clearly separatesBack to Schoolfrom so many movies of this type from that time is Rodney Dangerfield, who uses this vehicle to do what he does best: make a constant barrage of jokes, quips, and one-liners. Hes basically playing his stand-up comedy persona, and so many of his jokes are truly unforgettable, which makes this such a fun movie to watch, time and time again.

Classic 80s comedy has lots of profanity, innuendo.

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Parents need to know that this movie could have got a PG rating if it werent for the f-bombs and nudity. There is a wild party at one point with drinking…Continue reading

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Families can talk about 80s movies set in colleges. Why do you think this was such a popular genre during that decade?

Although the overall story is as dated asRobert Downey Jr.s New Wave haircut — to say nothing of the sexism, racism, and homophobia that surface on occasion — when its funny,Back to Schoolis truly hilarious. Dangerfields execution of the Triple Lindy dive for the colleges diving team stands as one of the all-time great comedic moments in cinematic history. Overall,Back to Schoolis still a funny movie that has held up remarkably well.

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Characters are often seen drinking from cans of Miller Lite beer.

Dangerfield stars in another comedy hit with minor innuendo, brief nudity, and language

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Early in the film, the father of a son in college enters a dorm building looking for his son. He inadvertently looks into a shower stall and sees a womans exposed breasts. This same mans wife is shown in the kitchen of their mansion engaged in foreplay. When his wife wants a divorce, the man shows her a series of Polaroids in which its strongly implied that she has committed adultery on numerous occasions. Two male college students watch a female student walk by and make a lewd comment about her rear end. In one scene, the main character is shown shirtless from the waist up, moaning and making requests as if hes having sex; the camera pulls back to reveal hes getting a massage from his chauffeur. Overall, there is frequent sexual innuendo and sexual puns throughout the movie.

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Although this movie isnt as innocent as one may remember (hence its PG-13 rating), the only problem areas are the occasional innuendos, brief nudity and ntinue reading

Back to School


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