Making the Grade (1984)

Lazy preppie Palmer Woodrow hires street-smart Eddie Keaton to go to school for him while he lives it up in Europe. Eddie falls in love with preppie gal Tracey, upsetting Biff, the Hoover ... See full summary »

Director:

Dorian Walker

Writers:

Gene Quintano (screenplay), Gene Quintano (story),

Stars:

Judd Nelson, Jonna Lee, Gordon Jump

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Judd Nelson	...	Eddie Keaton
Jonna Lee	...	Tracey Hoover
Gordon Jump	...	Mr. Harriman
Walter Olkewicz	...	Coach Wordman
Ronald Lacey	...	Nicky
Dana Olsen	...	Palmer Woodrow
Carey Scott	...	Rand
Scott McGinnis	...	Bif
Andrew Dice Clay	...	Dice (as Andrew Clay)
John Dye	...	Skip
Dan Schneider	...	Blimp (as Daniel Schneider)
John Stevens	...	Mr. Hoover
Lucile Doan Ewing	...	Mrs. Hoover (as Lucille Ewing)
Patrice Watson	...	Muffy
Moses Peace	...	Regis

Storyline

Lazy preppie Palmer Woodrow hires street-smart Eddie Keaton to go to school for him while he lives it up in Europe. Eddie falls in love with preppie gal Tracey, upsetting Biff, the Hoover Academy bully. When his bookie from the old neighborhood, Dice, comes to collect on Eddie's gambling debts and Palmer returns early from Europe, the the scheme slowly starts to unravel. Soon, Eddie can't even tell whose side he's really on.

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Plot Keywords:

preppie | gambling | gambling debt | high school | principal | 

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Taglines:

His major was attitude.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Sport

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 May 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Last American Preppy

Filming Locations:

Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cannon Group, The, Golan-Globus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's music budget before composer Basil Poledouris was brought on board was a paltry five thousand-dollars, which was completely used on a composer who was rejected by the producers for the project. Soon after Poledouris was hired, Cannon films had "mysteriously" come up with more money for the music budget.

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Goofs

When Eddie is throwing rocks at his girlfriend's window, all of his dialogue is dubbed in as his lips don't move once, all while facing the camera.

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Quotes

Caddy: Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like, yes it is! It's slicing toward the elm trees!
Palmer Woodrow: Who are you, Curt fucking Gowdy?

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Crazy Credits

Palmer and Eddie will return in Tourista Coming Soon

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Connections

Referenced in Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Body Talk"
Written by Tony Swain, Steve Jolley, Leee John and Ashley Ingram
Performed by Imagination
Courtesy of Red Bus Records

User Reviews

better than average formula teen flick

Back in the mid-eighties the movie industry churned out teen comedies trying to capture some of the spark and success of Caddyshack and Animal House. Mostly, they failed. Class, Private School, all of the Revenge of the Nerd flicks, and even the high brow attempts like the John Hughes films, all ended up formulaic, inane, poorly plotted, and silly. Perhaps the only exception is Risky Business which rises above the genre. "Making the Grade", however, is not an exception. It has all the same problems as "Breakfast Club" or "Better Off Dead" or "Sixteen Candles". But if you're in the mood for this kind of movie, I'd pick this one up rather than any of the others. It captures some of the attitudes and styles of the time quite nicely, like when the preppy nerd is trying to teach urban kid Judd Nelson how to dress for prep school. And Dana Olsen is absolutely hysterical, easily stealing the movie, as the obnoxious rich kid hiring Nelson to complete school for him. The movie has some genuinely funny scenes mixed in with the snobs versus slobs formula. Don't expect much, but low expectations are the key to a good time with a movie like this.