Back to School (1986)

To help his discouraged son get through college, a funloving and obnoxious rich businessman decides to enter the school as a student himself.

Director:

Alan Metter

Writers:

Rodney Dangerfield (story), Greg Fields (story),

Stars:

Rodney Dangerfield, Sally Kellerman, Burt Young

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rodney Dangerfield	...	Thornton Melon
Sally Kellerman	...	Dr. Diane Turner
Burt Young	...	Lou
Keith Gordon	...	Jason Melon
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Derek Lutz
Paxton Whitehead	...	Dr. Phillip Barbay
Terry Farrell	...	Valerie Desmond
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Coach Turnbull
Adrienne Barbeau	...	Vanessa
William Zabka	...	Chas
Ned Beatty	...	Dean David Martin
Severn Darden	...	Dr. Borozini
Sam Kinison	...	Professor Terguson
Robert Picardo	...	Giorgio
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.	...	Himself

Storyline

Millionaire businessman Thornton Melon is upset when his son Jason announces that he is not sure about going to college. Thornton insists that college is the best thing he never had for himself, and to prove his point, he agrees to enroll in school along with his son. Thornton is a big hit on campus: always throwing the biggest parties, knowing all the right people, but is this the way to pass college?

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Plot Keywords:

college | millionaire | party | shower with clothes on | college campus | 

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Taglines:

Registration starts Friday, June 13, at theaters everywhere.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Sport

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Official Sites:

MGM Studios [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 June 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mach's nochmal, Dad

Filming Locations:

1530 Orange Grove Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$91,258,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paper Clip Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Black and White (prologue) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original music score for the movie was composed by band leader Danny Elfman of Oingo Boingo. The band was featured performing their song "Dead Man's Party" at Thornton Melon's dorm party.

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Goofs

During the final dive meet the diver who gets blinded by the mirror courtesy of Derrick has his appearance change from skinny with longer dark hair before the dive to a much stockier individual with short blonde hair during the dive.

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Quotes

Thornton Melon: The football team at my high school, they were tough. After they sacked the quarterback, they went after his family.

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credits, there is a still of Rodney Dangerfield from Caddyshack.

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Connections

Referenced in Step by Step: Back to School (1995)

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Soundtracks

"Respect"
Written by Otis Redding
Performed by Aretha Franklin

User Reviews

good natured with a lot of laughs.

I love Rodney Dangerfield. Always have. His one-liners, and all-around smartass attitude have made him a living legend and he never fails to crack me up. Back to School is a great example of what he can do and I never get tired of watching it. Keith Gordon is great as his son and Robert Downey Jr. is pretty hysterical as his best bud. The ever-reliable Burt Young is a lot of fun as Dangerfield's limo-driver/best friend and he does his duty at supplying the laughs.

It's a shame that more people haven't seen this. I believe that it's one of Rodney's best. It's got a great premise, an outstanding cast, and the laughs are nonstop.