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

Film debut of Corey Page.

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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

Cliff: Do you guys ever get really horny?
Cooper: Depends where you're going with this.

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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

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

A film for idiots. 8/10

I'm an idiot. I loved this movie. Not only did I watch it MORE than once, I bought the DVD so now I have the benefit of watching this highly underrated piece of trash anytime I want. Let me do a brief description of Dead Man on Campus for those out there who don't know: An uptight med-student Scott (Werewolf in Paris) moves in with constantly partying Gossellar (you guessed it, Saved by the Bell) and starts to loosen up a bit. In the midst of all the all-night beer blasts and sex, the two start flunking out. They hear from a drunk, that if a roomate kills himself, then the other will be awarded a 4.0 grade-average. So starts the search for a suicidal roommate.

Now the premise is nowhere near as funny as it thinks, but what really gives this one staying power is its assortment of characters. Everyone loves Cliff O'Malley and his "I got some beers....Let's drink em'!!!" and who can ever forget the pseudo, British goth-boy Matt Noonan. His hairbrush scene is a riot and worth a rental in itself.

This is a no-brainer movie people and it's exactly what you would expect from an MTV production. The only thing missing is the gratutitus nudity that was so prevalent in the slew of college party-comedies of the 80s. What the hell, you can't have everything right? This one has almost enough laughs to make up for it. Call the boys over, crack open some Coors and laugh your ass off.