Dead Man on Campus (1998)

Two college roommates go out and party, resulting in bad grades. They learn of the clause that says, "If your roommate dies, you get an A," and decide to find someone who is on the verge, so to speak, to move in with them.

Director:

Alan Cohn

Writers:

Anthony Abrams (story), Adam Larson Broder (story)

Stars:

Tom Everett Scott, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Poppy Montgomery

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Everett Scott	...	Josh
Mark-Paul Gosselaar	...	Cooper
Poppy Montgomery	...	Rachel
Lochlyn Munro	...	Cliff
Randy Pearlstein	...	Buckley
Corey Page	...	Matt
Alyson Hannigan	...	Lucy
Mari Morrow	...	Kristin
Dave Ruby	...	Zeke
Mark Carapezza	...	Hank
Jeff Tarpley	...	Jerry (as Jeff T)
Jason Segel	...	Kyle
Linda Cardellini	...	Kelly
Aeryk Egan	...	Pickle
Judyann Elder	...	Guidance Counselor

Storyline

Josh, (Scott) a college student on a scholarship, gets taught the about crazy nightlife of being in college by his unreliable roommate Cooper (Gosselaar) and fails his midterms due to being unprepared. With Cooper's father no longer willing to pay his son's way through college, and Josh needing to keep up his grades or risk losing his scholarship, the two learn of a hidden clause in the school's rules that basically says "if your roommate commits suicide, you get straight A's." Since neither are willing to do so, they instead decide to invite a suicidal colleague in. - and push him over the edge.

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Plot Keywords:

drug abuse | college dormitory | intoxication | perscription drug | prescription drug abuse | 

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Taglines:

Roommate Wanted...For a Limited Time Only

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for drug use, language and crude sexual humor

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tom Everett Scott and Linda Cardellini both appear in the TV show ER(1994).

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Goofs

When Cooper and Josh are breaking into the library at night, Cooper wraps the rope around a support beam. When Josh takes up the slack to lower Cooper into the library, the rope he is holding dangles loosely down, revealing it to not be taking any weight and also showing it's not wrapped around the beam. He also doesn't move at all when Cooper drops in and supposedly puts about 180 pounds of weight on the other end of the rope that Josh is holding.

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Quotes

[handing back a trophy]
Cooper: Here's your dildo.

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Crazy Credits

The opening sequence consists of diagrams of how to commit suicide as they would look if they were questions on a college midterm.

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Connections

Spoofs Carrie (1976)

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Soundtracks

I Only Want to Be with You
by Mike Hawker & Ivor Raymonde
Performed by Jeordie White (as Twiggy) & Twiggy
Produced by Jeordie White (as Twiggy Ramirez) & Sean Beavan
Twiggy Ramirez performs courtesy of Nothing Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Great Stress Relief

I own this movie and watch it several times a year. Why? Because when you are studying for exams you wish your school had a policy like this (and you could fake a death because who really wants a roommate to die?)

I find people are over-analyzing, and you have to take any movie with a grain of salt. All movies require a suspension of disbelief, as much of this is unbelievable, but it's a freakin' comedy! Not a statement on life. It pokes fun at a situation where many of us have been: most of us go through a slacker phase where the world is just too tough and you have to forget, just relax a little... still don't get how if we all need this there are still so many consequences but I digress.

Most of the intelligent stuff has been said already so I won't bore you by repeating the same sentiments. However, I do recommend this movie for when you can't get papers/exams out of your mind but you still need a break (or if you just feel like reliving that part of your life). It's better than "The Perfect Score" but that movie is also good for study breaks.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 August 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dead Man on Campus

Filming Locations:

7th Street Bridge, Modesto, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,704,688, 23 August 1998

Gross USA:

$15,064,946

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$15,064,946

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, MTV Productions, Pacific Western

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1