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

The priest at the end of the movie is played by Patrick Thomas O'Brien, who played Mr. Dewey, one of Zack Morris's (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) regular teachers, on Saved By The Bell.

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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

Josh: I'm not gonna commit suicide, if that's what you're thinking.
Cooper: Aw come on Josh, you're fucked anyway. At least this way, one of us comes out on top.
Josh: Then you kill YOURself.
Cooper: Naw, I just couldn't see that working.

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Crazy Credits

After the credits, Cliff and Zeke make a final appearance.

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Connections

Spoofs Mission: Impossible (1996)

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Soundtracks

Cream of the Crust Versailles
by Chris Cote (as Christopher Cote), Dave Fredette (as David Fredette), Nat Freedberg (as Nathaniel Freedberg), Jim Janota (as James Janota) & Ted Widmer
Performed by The Upper Crust
Courtesy of Emperor Norton Records

User Reviews

Better than expected

Much to my surprise, this film actually wasn't bad. In fact, it had some pretty funny moments, which was a mild shock. Things start off particularly well, thanks to some fun opening credits, and the first half was especially enjoyable. Things definitely got a little too silly once the roommates started spending time with the weirdest people on campus, but it was still a fun movie that generally kept me entertained. Both leads played their characters well, the movie has a good pace, and a decent number of the jokes work, so this definitely was a pleasant surprise.

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