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:

Palmer Woodrow III earned his diploma the old-fashioned way. He hired Eddie Keaton to graduate for him.

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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 original composer for the film was Danny Elfman, who was suggested by Richard Kraft who was the head of music of Cannon films at the time and was immediately rejected by the film producers to score the film. Kraft would later become Elfman's agent along with the late Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein and Basil Poledouris among others, after he was fired from Cannon Films after this film was completed in post-production

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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

Palmer Woodrow: What do you recommend?
Caddy: Lessons.
Palmer Woodrow: I meant what club, wise-ass?
Caddy: Aah, if I were you, I'd stick to kicking.
Palmer Woodrow: If you were me, you wouldn't be a caddy.

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Crazy Credits

Palmer and Eddie will return in Tourista Coming Soon

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Connections

Spoofs Staying Alive (1983)

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Soundtracks

"Shakin' in My Shoes"
Written by Jon Astrop and Philip Saatchi
Performed by Tunes
Courtesy of Goldfish Records

User Reviews

Come on, don't be a curmudgeon.

You have to take this movie for what it is and when it was released. The characters are likable and the dialogue doesn't try too hard to be funny; it just is.

Granted, some of the appeal may be nostalgic at this point; it's hard to imagine how this looks to a first-time viewer today. OK, some parts are bound to be ridiculous; there is a break-dancing scene and accompanying music that are hopelessly dated... then again break-dancing does appear to be making a comeback.

I'm not a huge Andrew Dice Clay fan, but this movie is where the "Diceman" character originated.

The actor who plays Palmer Woodrow wrote the movie The Burbs, as it turns out.