How I Got Into College (1989)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Savage Steve Holland

Writer (WGA):

Terrel Seltzer (written by)

Release Date:

19 May 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

The simple story of two young Michigan high school students, Jessica, Class President, Local Smart Girl...

Plot Keywords:

College | Beautiful Woman | College Entrance | Reference To Ed Mcmahon

Cast

Anthony Edwards	...	Kip Hammett
Corey Parker	...	Marlon Browne
Lara Flynn Boyle	...	Jessica Kailo
Finn Carter	...	Nina Sachie
Charles Rocket	...	Leo Whitman
Christopher Rydell	...	Oliver
Gary Owens	...	Sports Announcer (voice)
Brian Doyle-Murray	...	Coach Evans
Tichina Arnold	...	Vera Cook
Bill Raymond	...	Flutter
Philip Baker Hall	...	Dean Patterson
Nicolas Coster	...	Dr. Phillip Jellinak, Sr.
Micole Mercurio	...	Betty Kailo
Robert Ridgely	...	George Kailo
Richard Jenkins	...	Bill Browne

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The original director, Jan Eliasberg was fired during production and replaced by Savage Steve Holland.

Goofs:

Continuity: Jessica thinks she's blown the interview and rips open her shirt, she then runs out of the office holding her shirt closed with Marlon only a few seconds behind her. However when Marlon catches up to her, the shirt is perfectly buttoned up even though she didn't have any time to button up.

Quotes:

Jessica Kailo: I can't believe we're breaking and entering into the college we want to get into.

Movie Connections:

References "Wheel of Fortune" (1975)

Soundtrack:

What I Like About You

Oh those darn college applications!

This is an amusing story that highlights that blasted college admissions process. The story follows several soon-to-be high school graduate's plans for the future. For Marlo (Parker), it's going to whatever school his dream girl Jessica (Flynn Boyle) is going to. For Oliver, it's giving into the white line fever and experiencing life Jack Kerouac style with the possibility of meeting "renegade game show hostesses" on the side. But, for most of the students in the movie, it is all about getting into college. We see the whole bit of it, taking the SATs, college recruitment day, college prep programs, and the dreaded admissions interview.

It's quite an amusing exageration of the whole process, and probably more likely so for kids actually going through the college application process. Although, the movie, at least for me, is sometimes funny and sometime not so funny, on the multiple occassions that I have seen it. I like the idea of the living SAT's with the fate of word problem person A and B resting on Marlo's selection of answers. I like the running gag about admitting a pig among the admissions officers. Despite the fact that the actors are too old to play teenagers (except Oliver and Wanda), it is a nice little movie about kids stuck in a nerve wracking situation hoping to just make it through things.