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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 August 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un cadavre sur le 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, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$15,062,898, 22 November 1998

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

To boost ticket sales for this film in the theater, its US release was timed with the start of the new college school year in late August 1998.

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Goofs

Buckley mentions losing half his brain to "falling asleep at Newark Airport", but if he'd really lost half his brain, he'd at least be in a stroke-like state, unable to control half his body. However, Buckley is paranoid, so this is excusable.

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Quotes

Cooper: [caught by their clueless friends, Cooper grabs Josh and pretends to have an intimate moment with him in the bushes] Can we have some privacy, please?
Cooper: [the friends leave] That was close.
Josh: Cooper, they're probably thinking we're making out here.
Cooper: [amused] I know, they're totally in the dark.

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Crazy Credits

During the opening credits, names of cast and crew appear as answer choices on a Scantron test form and booklet.

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Connections

Spoofs Carrie (1976)

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Soundtracks

Paint By Numbers
Written by Matt Mahaffey (p.k.a. Self)
Performed by Self
Courtesy of Spongebath Records, L.L.C. / DreamWorks Records under license from Universal Music Special Markets

User Reviews

This is the most underrated movie ever!

I can see why though. When this flick was released in theatre I thought it looked like garbage. Zack is back, I thought oh great. But then six months back I watched it on pay. Needless to say I was blown away. This movies has some unique characters. Cliff O'malley has some choice jokes and Buckley is great. I mean just look at those self portraits on his wall. One thing I expected was some lame Saved by the Bell jokes, which obviously isn't the case. The dark humour is fantastic. The cast fit each other so well, this helps you forget the ridiculous premiss of the movie. Dead Man shouldn't be taken seriously, that wasn't the writers intentions. It's a fun movie that I would like to see more of in the future. By that I mean a teen movie which doesn't suck. The soundtrack was also a great high point. Any soundtrack with Supergrass is terrific. The fact that it was full of great music that hasn't been pounded into your head by MTV deserves some respect. The chef recommends Dead Man on Campus. Forget the trailer, it wasn't marketed properly.