Ski School (1991)

Director:

Damian Lee

Writer:

David Mitchell (written by)

Release Date:

11 January 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

The hottest action ever to hit the slopes

Plot:

Rival groups in a skiing school do battle on and off the piste. One gang are rich and serious, the other group are party animals.

Plot Keywords:

Skiing | Lambada | Cult Favorite | Crude Humor | Female Nudity

Cast

Dean Cameron	...	Dave Marshak
Tom Bresnahan	...	John E. Roland (as Tom Breznahan)
Patrick Labyorteaux	...	Ed Young
Mark Thomas Miller	...	Reid Janssens
Spencer Rochfort	...	Derek Stevens
Darlene Vogel	...	Lori
Stuart Fratkin	...	Fitz Fitzgerald
Charlie Spradling	...	Paulette
Ava Fabian	...	Victoria
Gaetana Korbin	...	Bridget
Mark Brandon	...	Anton Bryce
John Pyper-Ferguson	...	Erich Blor
Johnny Askwith	...	Client / Bart
Alison Dobie	...	Ooh Dave Girl
Stacy Brink	...	Half Naked Woman

Also Known As:

L'école de ski s'envoie en l'air (Canada: French title)

Runtime:

89 min | USA:95 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Moviestore Entertainment

Trivia:

The character of David Marshack was originally scripted, and played out as David Marshall. However, feeling the name was too bland, Marshall was dubbed over with Marshack; unfortunately, the mouth movements of the other characters do not hide this fact as well as the director would have liked. Nor were the visual cues changed: at just under 1 hour into the film, the place card for David Marshall can be clearly seen on the leader board, just as Marshack slides to a halt beneath it.

Goofs:

Continuity: In more than one scene the cast is standing around, talking, carrying skis, etc. outside the base lodge. You can see leaves on the green trees in the background. It's not winter, not even close.

Quotes:

Fitz: This isn't a party, it's a still life.

Movie Connections:

References The Forbidden Dance (1990)

Soundtrack:

Punch Drunk

"School" daze....

If Bluto Blurtarsky had ever taken up skiing, this would no doubt be the result.

"Ski School" is about as close to the "Animal House" spirit as any of AH's subsequent rip-offs ever came close to. Again, the slobs versus the snobs, only this time on the ski slope.

Cameron, as leader of the slobs, makes a jovial wit as a hybrid between a Delta pledge and a champion (or in this case, lucky) skier. His partners in crime are also as crass as they come: beer-drinking, food-gorging, leering, sexist and eternally adolescent. But in a movie like this, those are considered positive qualities.

The women are all beautiful and, par for the course in a movie like this, mostly naked. But they are also given personalities, character traits and allowed to make their own decisions. That's something most guys like this are probably unused to and, therefore, find attractive. Lucky guys.

The skiing scenes are quite professional and exciting. And a surprising amount of the gags here succeed. There's even a few minutes where the origins of the lambada, monogamy in wolves and the creative uses for video equipment are dwelled on at length. Funny stuff.

If any of you think the spirit of "Animal House" is long gone from today's straight-to-video slob comedies, rent "Ski School" and breathe a sigh of relief.

The tradition lives on.

Six stars. Plus one for Cameron's considerable contributions. And a half star for the lambada...that's the forbidden dance, you know.