Fraternity Vacation

Some trendy movie goers take themselves's way too seriously, who are they trying to impress, parroting establishment criticts? You can disagree with the subject matter of movies like Fraternity Vacation, but to say the movie wasn't well made is pretty idiotic. I remember watching this movie on U.S.A up all night with Gilbert Godfried in the early 90's. I've had a crush on Kathleen Kinmont ever since and still do. I never understood why she never made a bigger mark. Shery J Wilson is stunning and bring's quiet dignity to an otherwise cliché'd character. Tim Robbins Steven Geofrry's and John Vernon deliver the most laughs by far. Liegh Mcloskey and Matt McCoy have memorable moments as the lead character's nemesis while Amanda Bearse is the perfect snob, she obviously drew from this performance when playing darcy of married with children. Cameron Dye is the weak link in the film, primarily because his character isn't really well written at all. The movie is predictable and sexist...but no one goes to a movie entittled Fraternity Vacation to be shocked and enlightened about the finer points of structural feminism, so I reject that sort of criticism, people get off your soap boxes. This movie is 2nd only to porky's of all the 80's sex comedies. Hardbodies was good too, but not as funny as Fraternity Vacation and the producers wisely made better use of Kathleen Kinmont. I recommend this movie to anyone with a sense of humor. If your offended by Bikini clad bimbos and man whores jockeying for sexual dominance , that's a personal problem and the movie isn't bad because it's subject matter doesn't appeal to you, that's tantamount to saying the Excorcist is bad because some people don't like horror flicks.

Wow, what an impression this movie and other movies like this made on me as a kid. I had thought, "Wow, I can't wait to go to college!" Upon a more recent viewing of this film, it had lost its luster. There are some great moments, for example the arrival to Palm Springs in traffic, which is pretty much dead on accurate, at least compared to Myrtle Beach spring break, even to this day. Unfortunately after that, very little could be considered realistic. The biggest issues I have with this movie are the 35 year old college frat guys, particularly the rich guys who were nothing but a 80's "Biff" device that are not believable in the slightest. These guys not only look 35, they act and dress as if they were 45, even while on spring break?

Also, the fun of the movie turns purely mediocre once the whole tired "bet" sequence begins (haven't we seen this before verbatim?).

Luckily, the ending turns out pretty solid however. One note to mention, the "nerd getting his day", another overused 80's device, is actually done better than average in this movie. One "neat factor" in this movie is seeing Tim Robbins in a role that most people would never believe he was in, but keep in mind that this was before his breakout success in Bull Duram. Heck, if someone offers me a role in a B level spring break movie, I wouldn't turn it down either! The only problem is that I am not 35 yet, and these days you have to be near 30 just to play a high schooler on TV shows (like Smallville) so maybe when I am 40? Overall, this is a fun movie that is best watched with a few beers and some friends, but don't even try to watch this one dead sober!!!

One of my favorite pastimes is scanning old pawn shops and video stores for movies that are long out of print and fit firmly in cheezy genres like campy horror or teen sex romps. Thankfully, cheap DVD pressings of these movies are starting to surface more and more often. I picked up this title at Walmart for $2.88 Canadian.

It's neat to see Tim Robbins in one of his earlier roles. The movie itself is quite watchable, but far from a masterpiece of comedy. The acting is not as bad as some I have seen and there are a few laughs. Pick this one up if you get the chance. It's got a pretty good soundtrack (if you like 80's cheese)and a no brainer plot whose twists you can spot from 20 miles away. The DVD is a really clean print and is not filled with digital artifacts like so many of these cheaper releases. The audio (music and dialogue) is crisp and well mastered. COnsidering this film is nearly 20 years old, I was surprised that I hadn't heard of it sooner. It dosen't quite have the potential for a cult classic, being inferior to Animal House and Ski School, but it would be fun at a party. Tim Robbins is really great and gets quite a bit of screen time. The women are quite attractive and there is some gratuitous nudity (classic 80's formula).

This is definitely one of them guilty pleasure kind of movies. It's one of them movies that I watched very often when I was just a little kid and it was first debuting on HBO. Most kids didn't get to watch this kind of stuff when they were just six-years-old, so I was fortunate. Of course, I didn't really understand a lot of humor and mostly what I took from it was seeing naked girls for the first time.

I recently found the movie on video from back in the day, so I just finished watching it for the first time in years. I'm now 22, and it makes a lot more sense than it did when I first saw it about 14 years ago, especially the line that Wendell uses to win over Nicole. The one nude scene early in the movie gave me a whole new kind of feeling as well. :)

After seeing Tim Robbins in movies such as Bull Durham, The Shawshank Redepmtion, and the Hudsucker Proxy; it's amusing to see him play the role of a college party animal named Mother. Some of the actors do seem a little old and overdressed for spring break, but it's still pretty funny and worth watching if you have some free time and feel like reflecting on the '80s. The movie has too much sentimental value for me to down it, so I give it two big thumbs up.

Fraternity Vacation is the classic teen comedy that follows 'Mother' (Tim Robbins) and Joe (Cameron Dye), two fraternity boys, utilizing nerdy Wendell (Stephen Geoffreys) whose parents' promise of helping their fraternity if they "teach him a few of the tricks of the trade" will have them spending time in sunny Palm Springs committed to their mission but also on trying to win a bet with two rival fraternity members.

You can tell how influential movies like this were for what would later come in the late 90s and 2000s. Teens doing what they like better: partying, chasing romantic interests, drinking, pulling pranks, etc. As usual in movie of those years, the actors weren't exactly young enough to play these roles: Tim Robbins had 27 years when the movie came out; Cameron Dye 26.

One of the things the movie does well is in keeping you engaged since it is a very eventful movie despite the natural lacks of its kind. When the trio arrives at Palm Springs, they lose no time and go to the swimming pool to meet some ladies. It doesn't take long for two girls to approach them and what began in chit chat progresses to the boy's room where Mother and Joe's euphoria upon ogling the attractive Marianne (Kathleen Kinmont) and Chrissie (Barbara Crampton) would make the Cheshire Cat's smile pale in comparison. The fun continues when the duo meets Charles (Leigh McCloskey) and J. C. (Matt McCoy), members of a rival fraternity, and they suggest the idea of betting on who they consider the most attractive girl, Ashley (Sheree J. Wilson). The first one to be with her wins 1000$.

Fraternity Vacation leans on silly jokes and prejudices to produce humor, some of the times succeeding, other times not so much. It is full of implausible events as most of these movies, rushed situations, underdeveloped characters, and simplistic unpretentious aims. Nonetheless it manages to be better than most of its kind where bad-taste humor consists of the go-to formula. Comparing Fraternity Vacation to something like American Pie would be like comparing Caviar to a Hot Dog.